Youth group - Seinendan

This refers to a youth group formed based on the life of the local community. The term "Youth Association" was used in 1880 (Meiji 13) when the Tokyo Young Men's Christian Association (YMCA) was founded. After that, youth associations as volunteer groups that had shed the old youth groups began to appear in various places, but they became widespread after Takinosuke Yamamoto (1873-1931) advocated the creation of youth associations in his book "Inaka Seinen" (1896). After the National Youth Conference was held in Nagoya in 1910 (Meiji 43), where the "Twelve Rules for the Youth Association" and other rules were discussed, the name "Youth Association" gradually came to be used more frequently. Initially, the purpose was to break down old customs among young people and introduce a path of civilization and enlightenment. After activities behind the lines during the Sino-Japanese and Russo-Japanese wars, the mission of young people to take responsibility for their country and hometown was emphasized. The Ministry of Home Affairs, which had taken notice of the activities of the Youth Association, issued instructions on the development of youth organizations in parallel in 1905 (Meiji 38) and jointly in 1915 (Taisho 4) in order to promote local autonomy and industry, and the Ministry of Education, which had institutionalized vocational supplementary schools for young people, issued instructions on the development of youth organizations in order to strengthen that system.

In 1921 (Taisho 10), the Japan Youth Hall (present-day Kasumigaoka-cho, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo), an organization affiliated with the Ministry of Home Affairs and the Ministry of Education, was established with contributions from Youth Association members from all over the country, and the following year, a national organization, the Greater Japan United Youth Association, was formed at a convention in Nagoya. Meanwhile, the Youth Department of the Central Hotoku Association, an educational organization established in 1905 (Meiji 38) under the patronage of the Ministry of Home Affairs, was renamed the "Youth Association Central Department" in 1916 (Taisho 5) and became the central base for Youth Association activities nationwide. It can be said that the main purpose of the Youth Association at this time was to be an independent organization for self-cultivation and service. However, it was gradually transformed with the strengthening of the militarist system, and despite the efforts for autonomy and freedom made by such men as Tazawa Yoshiharu (1885-1944), who left the Ministry of Home Affairs to dedicate himself to promoting the Youth Association, and Shimomura Kojin, who served as director of the Youth Association Training Center at Tazawa's request, the Youth Association ended up becoming an organization that cooperated with the war effort. In 1941 (Showa 16), it was merged with the Women's Youth Association and others to form the "Greater Japan Youth Association," but was dissolved at the end of World War II.

After the war, they were quickly reborn as "regional youth organizations" that also included women, and in 1951 (Showa 26) a national organization, the Japan Youth Association (Nissho Kyokai), was formed. Nissho Kyokai discussed the ideal form of education for working young people, created the theory of "cooperative learning," and expanded learning programs nationwide that addressed issues in the daily lives of young people. They were also actively involved in the movement for the return of Okinawa, exchanges with Chinese youth toward the normalization of Japan-China relations, and the anti-atomic and hydrogen bomb movement. In response to these movements, efforts were made all over the country to change feudal customs at the local level and to democratize local politics.

On the other hand, the rapid economic growth that began in the 1960s spurred the concentration of young people in cities, dealing a major blow to the rural-based youth organization movement and causing a sharp decline in the number of youth organization members nationwide. However, these organizations have sought to operate as independent, locally-based organizations and have been steadily carrying out and developing their activities in various regions.

In particular, since the 1990s, it has attracted attention by promoting intergenerational exchange through activities involving children and the elderly, improving the status of young women in rural areas, and working on marriage issues. Every year, it holds a youth problem research meeting to discuss the results of its reports, and in November it holds a national youth conference, which serves as a forum for gathering together sports and cultural activities that are regularly carried out in the community.

The Japan Youth Association is based at the Japan Youth Center (a foundation), and at its peak, the number of local youth group members gathered there exceeded one million, but as of 2009 (Heisei 21), although there are organizations in every prefecture in the country except Tokyo, Saitama, Toyama, Hyogo, etc., the number of members is less than 200,000. However, it remains the largest youth organization in Japan, and there are also local youth groups that are not affiliated with it.

[Hideo Fujiwara and Takazane Uesugi]

"History of the Greater Japan Youth Corps" (1942, Japan Youth Center) ▽ "History of Youth Groups" (1969, Central Council of Youth Groups) ▽ "History of the Greater Japan Youth Corps" (1970, Japan Youth Center) ▽ "Thirty Years of the Japan Youth Association - Views and Attitudes of the Movement" (1982, Japan Youth Center Council) ▽ "Fifty Years of the Regional Youth Movement" (2001, Japan Youth Center Council)

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

地域社会の生活を基盤にして結成された青年団体をさす。「青年会」の語は1880年（明治13）東京基督(キリスト)教青年会（YMCA）結成に際して用いられた。その後、かつての若者組から脱皮した有志の集団としての青年会が各地にみられるようになったが、山本滝之助（1873―1931）が自著の『田舎青年』（1896）で青年会づくりを提唱して以後、普及した。1910年（明治43）名古屋で全国青年大会が開かれ、「青年団規十二則」などが議せられてから、「青年団」の呼称がしだいに優先することになった。当初、その目的は、若者の間の旧弊を打破して文明開化の路線を導入することにあった。日清(にっしん)・日露の両戦争の銃後活動などを経て、国や郷土を担う青年の任務が強調された。青年団の活動に注目した内務省は、地方自治振興や産業振興のため、また、青年のための実業補習学校を制度化した文部省は、その制度補強のため、1905年（明治38）には並行して、1915年（大正4）には共同で、青年団体育成に関する訓令を出した。

　1921年（大正10）、全国の青年団員の醵金(きょきん)で内務・文部両省関係法人「日本青年館」（現東京都新宿区霞岳(かすみがおか)町）が設立され、翌年、名古屋での大会によって全国組織「大日本連合青年団」が結成された。一方、内務省の庇護(ひご)のもとで1905年（明治38）設立されていた教化団体の中央報徳会に設けられた青年部が、1916年（大正5）「青年団中央部」と改称され、全国の青年団活動の中央拠点とされた。このころの青年団の主たる目的は、自主的な修養・奉仕団体の性格をもっていたといえよう。しかし、その後、徐々に軍国主義体制の強化とともに変質させられ、内務省を辞して青年団振興に尽力した田澤義鋪(よしはる)（1885―1944）や田澤に請われて青年団講習所所長を務めた下村湖人(しもむらこじん)らの自主自由への努力にもかかわらず、青年団は結局戦争協力団体と化していった。1941年（昭和16）には女子青年団その他とともに「大日本青少年団」へと統合され、第二次世界大戦末期にはそれも解散させられた。

　大戦後はいち早く女性も加わった「地域青年団」として再生し、1951年（昭和26）には全国組織「日本青年団協議会」（日青協）が結成された。日青協は働く青年たちの教育のあり方を討議し、「共同学習」の理論を生み出し、青年の日常生活の課題を取り上げる学習を全国に展開させていった。また、沖縄返還運動や日中国交正常化に向けた中国青年との交流、原水爆禁止運動などにも積極的にかかわった。こうした運動を受け、地域レベルでも封建的な慣習を変えたり、地域の政治の民主化を図ったりといった実践が全国各地で生まれた。

　一方、1960年代から始まった高度経済成長は青年の都市集中に拍車をかけ、農村を基盤とした青年団運動に大きな打撃を与えるとともに、全国的な青年団員数も激減させたが、地域を基盤にした自主的な組織としての活動を模索し、各地で地道な活動を展開・発展させている。

　とりわけ、1990年代以降は子供や高齢者とかかわる活動を展開して世代間交流を進めたり、農村での若い女性の地位向上や結婚問題に関する取り組みなどを展開して注目を集めている。また、毎年、青年問題研究集会を開き、レポートに基づいて話し合うほか、11月には全国青年大会を開催し、地域で日常的に取り組まれているスポーツ・文化活動の集約の場としている。

　日青協は日本青年館（財団法人）を拠点とし、最盛期にはここに結集する地域青年団員は100万人を超えていたが、2009年（平成21）現在、東京都、埼玉県、富山県、兵庫県などを除く全国の道府県に組織があるものの、団員は20万に満たない状況にある。しかし、日本最大の青年団体であることには変わりはなく、また未加盟の地域青年団もある。

［藤原英夫・上杉孝實］

『『大日本青年団史』（1942・日本青年館）』▽『『青少年団体史』（1969・中央青少年団体協議会）』▽『『大日本青少年団史』（1970・日本青年館）』▽『『日青協の30年――運動の見解と態度』（1982・日本青年団協議会）』▽『『地域青年運動50年史』（2001・日本青年団協議会）』

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