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

96 CASE STUDIES2) Eating and drinking in the dormitories was prohibited.3) The rooms were to be kept tidy.4) The teacher or the head student was to be told of anycomings and goings.5) Behaviour outsidethe juku was to be based on thegeneral rules.6) Questions about the education in general were to beaddressed to the ryōsekichō [highest rankin g student in thedormitory], questions relating to the juku to the sekichō[highest ranking student]. 60Those whom Sōan deemed suitable were given responsibility formaintaining discipline. Sōan dealt with delinquents by talking tothem and making them sit in silent meditation to reflect upon theirmisdeeds. If they offended a second time he notified the parentsand if they offended a third time they had to leave; this happenedrarely.Not much is known about tuition fees. It appears that somekind of payment was offered at mid-year and at the end of theyear. 61 In autumn 1873, in answer to government orders, Sōanreluctantly submitted a formal application to run a juku. In amemorandum drawn up at the same time he laments the factthat he is forced to take this step (see Chapter 4). 62 The issue offees in particular disturbed him, since for him teaching was notsomething one did for the money. The application stated thatentrance fees were left to the discretion of the students and thatmonthly fees were 6 gō (1.08 liters) of white rice and 1 sen 7 ri inmoney. Teaching was described as consisting of lectures andindividual reading and texts named were the Four Books and FiveClassics and the Elementary learning; others ranged from theKinshi roku to the collections of writers from the Song to the Mingas well ancient and modern Chinese and Japanese histories andEuropean and Korean texts. The only juku regulation mentionedin the application is that seating order was to be independent ofrank or ability, solely according to age, with the exception ofstudents from the nobility, who were to be seated at the top ofthe class. Apparently Sōan insisted on this, although in 1871,when for the first time a member of the court nobility and the sonof a feudal lord had entered the juku, Sōan’s decision to seat themapart from the others had led to opposition from students of thesamurai class, who themselves were not treated differently fromcommoners. 63