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

16 PRIVATE ACADEMIES OF CHINESE LEARNING IN MEIJI JAPANmonths later, the Shōheikō was placed under the jurisdiction ofthe Executive Council (gyōseikan) in the Council of State. TheShōhei gakkō or gakkō was not only a school, but also anadministrative office responsible for the entire education system.In the summer of 1869 it was renamed daigakkō (university) andthe schools of medicine and Western studies were placed underits jurisdiction, while the university (daigakkō) received the statusof a ministry of education. When the school was closed thefollowing year and most of the teaching staff dismissed, theuniversity retained its administrative functions until the Ministryof Education was established in 1871. The schools of medicineand Western studies became independent again until they weremerged in 1877 to form the core of Tokyo University. The closurewas a result of conflicts between scholars of kokugaku (NationalLearning) and kangaku, who competed for influence in the neweducation system and for political power, and of tensionsbetween teaching staff and students. 20Initial plans to introduce a comprehensive education systemwere made around 1870, and in 1871 attempts to reform theeducation system began in earnest. Meanwhile, traditionalpatterns of schooling persisted. The domain schools continued toplay a central role in the education of samurai, and feudal lordssponsored yūgaku (travelling for study), with Tokyo as the mostimportant destination. 21 In 1871 the Meiji government abolishedthe domains which had retained much of their independence inthe years immediately following the Meiji Restoration. Thedomains were replaced by a system of prefectures. Jurisdictionover the entire country and its populace, control of the revenuesof the former domains and control over their military powerwere thus consolidated in the hands of the central government.Following the introduction of the prefectural system, the Councilof State (dajōkan) was reorganized. A Ministry of Education wasestablished, and plans were made to introduce a centralizededucation system. In some prefectures (Kyōto, Shizuoka, Aichi)the authorities had already developed ambitious educationprogrammes. 22The abolition of the domains formally spelt the end of thedomain schools and of yūgaku sponsored by the domains.However, many schools were reopened as private schools bymembers of the local elite, often with the support of the formerfeudal lord. Equally, sponsorship of yūgaku continued in somecases. Thus the domain school, in the form of its private