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

180 PRIVATE ACADEMIES OF CHINESE LEARNING IN MEIJI JAPANNishinomiya had the backing and financial support of likemindedmen, and this time he was successful. The openingceremony was held on 3 February 1880. The local newspaper,Akita kaji shinbun, quoted some of the opening speeches, whichmention the fact that Shijodō already had 200 pupils, includingthe ones from Tōkaku gakkō, a public school on the grounds nextto Shijodō, established in 1874. The speeches praisedNishinomiya’s private initiative and the independence of privateschools and spoke critically of public education, which waspercieved to be contaminated with officialdom. 22As the articles celebrating the opening of Shijodō pointed out,its 200 pupils included the 30 pupils of Tōkaku gakkō, whotransferred to the new juku, apparently with the support of theirteachers. As a result the public school had to close and Shijodōtook over its buildings. 23 The increase in student numbersrequired extending the school buildings, and Nishinomiyaapplied to the prefecture for a loan of 500 yen, which he received;in May 1880 he reported how it had been spent.Tōkaku gakkō was not the only public school which lost itspupils to a juku at this time. A newspaper article appearing threemonths after the opening of Shijodō mentioned another privateschool in the same district, Kyūsei gakkō, which had replaced apublic school. 24These developments disturbed the prefectural authorities. TheEducation Ordinance made it possible for private schools toreceive public funding, and when the district governor asked forfinancial support from the Ministry of Education and out of theregional taxes in May 1880, the prefectural authorities launchedan enquiry to determine whether the two schools served thepublic good, how they were financed and what had happened tothe public money which had gone to the former public schools in1874. The district governor was asked to provide detailedinformation on the two schools’s finances, the number of pupils,the circumstances of their taking over the public schools and thefinancial arrangements of the takeover and even maps of theschools indicating from which surrounding areas the pupilscame. 25We have little information on the actual day-to-day running ofShijodō (even less is known about Kyūsei gakkō, which had asmany as 400 pupils). Pupils seem to have come from theneighbourhood; there is no mention of boarders. At the time ofthe enquiry it had 242 pupils at three different levels, 22 of them