Private Academies of Chinese Learning in Meiji Japan: The Decline ...

PRIVATE ACADEMIES OF CHINESE LEARNING IN MEIJI JAPAN 85From the new application it is apparent that Masako hadmoved her juku to another part of town. She gives her yearlyincome as 100 yen, her running costs as 25 yen and her ownsalary as 75 yen. If we assume that the rent for the new premiseswas about the same as before, around 20 yen per year, 5 yenwould have been for other running costs. Masako’s income waslow compared to that of teachers at the prefectural normal andmiddle school and about the same as the lowest salary apoliceman drew. 42By 1884 Masako had attracted the interest of the prefecturalgovernor. He visited the school in 1883, sent his own children thereand employed her to teach kangaku at the elementary schoolattached to the prefectural teacher training college in 1884 and atthe teacher training college itself in 1885. Masako was the firstwoman to teach at the college. Among her mostly male pupilswere two young women who later played a leading role inpromoting women’s education in Ehime prefecture, FunadaMisao and Shimizu Hide. 43 Hide later also attended Masako’sjuku Suishō gakusha, in Tokyo. Of the men Masako taught duringher eight years in Matsuyama, several are said to have madethemselves a career in the army, in the navy, in politics or asscholars.Masako closed Meirin gakusha when her own son reachedmiddle school age and she wanted to offer him bettereducational opportunities than Matsuyama could provide at thetime. She moved to Tokyo in March 1887. There she opened anew juku, Suishō gakusha. The application is dated June 1887, 44and the stated purpose of her juku was to teach mainly English,kangaku and arithmetic. Thus Masako made concessions to thechanging times. There was a stream for boys and one for girls;the girls were also taught etiquette, sewing, knitting, music,singing and wabun (writing in Japanese). There was a night school,and students could elect to study only one subject. Regularstudents entered at age twelve after graduation from elementaryschool, and the course ran for three years. Each year was dividedinto two semesters. Holidays were from 1 August to 31 Augustand from 26 December to 7 January, as well as Sundays andnational holidays. Lessons lasted from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. for daypupils and from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. for night school pupils.Examinations took place at the end of each month and at the endof each semester, and advancement into the next class dependedon passing the examinations.