著者
平田 諭治
出版者
筑波大学人間系教育学域
雑誌
筑波大学教育学系論集 = Bulletin of Institute of Education, University of Tsukuba (ISSN:03858979)
巻号頁・発行日
vol.42, no.2, pp.1-13, 2018-03

Yoshisaburo Okakura (1868-1936), who is known to have led the drive to establish and make uniform English language education as well as English philology and literature in modern Japan, had traveled as a student sent abroad by the Department of Education in the year of 1901 and had experienced advanced research and education in Europe. Studying abroad is said to have brought about a turning point in his academic and intellectual pursuits and career, but this had not been clear in terms of substance for the most part until now. The main purpose of this paper is to elucidate the basic facts and concrete aspects while investigating the background and the circumstances related to his European study abroad experience, and to approach one reason for studying abroad in relation to modern Japan and academic and intellectual pursuits while conducting a reexamination about the turning point and change in his academic and intellect pursuits. Okakura was selected to be an overseas student while quantitative expansion and administrative reinforcement of students sent abroad were established as a policy, and the system was strengthened as a result. His research theme was English philology and language teaching methods. It is known that Kazutoshi Ueda, a senior academic, who had studied linguistics with Okakura at the Imperial University, participated in his selection as chief of the Bureau of Special School Affairs in the Ministry of Education. It was demanded that "the issue of foreign languages" was placed as the inevitable corollary while the institutionalization of the Japanese "national language" for the nation-state was quickly implemented, and Okakura supplemented an agenda of language policy which Ueda had promoted. As an overseas student, Okakura associated with the Reform Movement that is a modern language teaching crusade and learned the importance of "Realien" and the new experimental phonetics, and more importantly, he gained greater knowledge of language teaching while touring and inspecting European academic settings. His experiences were set out in the mission and the institutional framework that various possibilities would be imposed on.