Shuji Izawa

Japanese: 伊沢修二 - いさわ・しゅうじ

Year of death: May 3, 1917
Year of birth: June 29, 1851 (July 27, 1851)
A pioneer who led the education world of modern Japan. His achievements span all aspects of school education and private education. Born into a low-ranking samurai family in Takato Domain in Ina, Shinano Province (Nagano Prefecture), he was the eldest son of Fumiya (father) and Takate (mother). His family lineage was related to the Takeda clan during the Warring States period, and his surname was derived from Isawa Castle. Born with natural intelligence and a strong desire to learn, he studied Japanese, Chinese, and Western studies at an early age, and became the dormitory supervisor at Shintokukan, the domain school, and also played drums in the Dutch-style drum and fife corps. In 1870 (Meiji 3), he was selected as a contributory student to Daigaku Nanko, and then became an executive member of the First Middle School (later the First High School), and in 1874 he was appointed principal of the national Aichi Normal School. In 1875 he was sent to the United States, where he studied education, music, science, and organic thought at Bridgewater Normal School and Harvard University, returning to Japan three years later. In 1887 he became the principal of Tokyo Normal School, and also served as the head of the Gymnastics Training School and as a music investigator, devoting himself particularly to the introduction of Western music. In 1887 he became the first principal of the Tokyo Music School (Art University), while at the same time implementing the textbook certification system as editor-in-chief of the Ministry of Education, and writing works such as "Pedagogy" (1883) and "Principles of Evolution" (1889). In 1890 he formed the National Education Society and went into private life to campaign for the national treasury to subsidize the costs of compulsory education, and immediately after the Sino-Japanese War he became involved in colonial education as director of the education department of the Taiwan Governor-General's Office. After returning to Japan in 1897 he worked on educational reform as a member of the House of Peers, but in 1901 he founded the Rakusekisha Society and devoted himself to a project to correct stuttering, dedicating his later years to the study of Chinese phonology. His impulsive personality and drive led him to lose his job three times in his life, and some people (Fujiwara Kiyozo) commented that he "never even became the Minister of Education," but his true talents lie in his role as a modern rationalist who pursued international cultural exchange and common ideals and laws for all mankind.

(Uemura Hachiro)

Source: Asahi Japanese Historical Biography: Asahi Shimbun Publications Inc. About Asahi Japanese Historical Biography

Japanese:

没年：大正6.5.3(1917)
生年：嘉永4.6.29(1851.7.27)
近代日本の教育界をリードした開拓者。その業績は学校教育や民間教育の全面におよぶ。信濃国(長野県)伊那高遠藩の下級士族の出身で,父文谷,母多計の長男。家系は戦国の武田氏に属し姓も石和城にちなむ。生来俊敏で向学心に富み,早くから和漢洋三学を学び,藩校進徳館で寮長となりオランダ式鼓笛隊の鼓役も勤めた。明治3(1870)年に大学南校貢進生に選ばれ,次いで第一番中学(のちの第一高等学校)幹事,7年には官立愛知師範学校長に挙げられた。8年アメリカに派遣されブリッジウォーター師範学校やハーバード大学で教育学や音楽,理学,有機体思想を学び,3年後に帰国した。12年東京師範学校長のほか体操伝習所主幹,音楽取調掛などを歴任,特に洋楽の導入に力を注ぎ,20年東京音楽学校(芸大)初代校長を務める一方,文部省編集局長として教科書検定制度を実施,『教育学』(1883),『進化原論』(1889)なども著した。23年国家教育社を結成,野に下って義務教育費国庫補助運動を展開,日清戦争直後には台湾総督府学務部長として植民地教育に手を染めた。30年帰国後は貴族院議員として学制改革に従事するが,36年楽石社をおこして吃音矯正事業にうちこみ,かたわら中国音韻学の研究に晩年を捧げた。直情径行の性格と行動力が生涯3度の非職を招き,「遂に文部大臣にもなれなかった」と評する者(藤原喜代蔵)もいたが,もともとその本領は国際的な文化交流と人類共通の理念や法則を追求する近代的合理主義者としての側面にあったと考えられる。<参考文献>上沼八郎『伊沢修二』

(上沼八郎)

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