Domain studies - Hangaku

During the Edo period, educational institutions for the children of feudal retainers were established and run by each feudal domain. They are also called domain schools, domain schools, or domain schools. They may also refer to medical schools, Western schools, imperial schools, or local schools. In the early Edo period, as the transition from military rule to bureaucratic rule became common, each domain established domain schools to educate the samurai within their households, such as Meirindo in Nagoya, Owari domain. In the late Edo period, with Matsudaira Sadanobu's encouragement of both the arts and the military during the Kansei period (1789-1801), each domain focused on training human resources in order to foster capable officials for the domain government reforms in response to the deepening feudal crisis. Most powerful daimyo established domain schools, and the country entered a period of growth, with as many as 255 domain schools nationwide. In the early days, these schools were merely places of study for feudal lords or private schools for invited Confucian scholars, but they were later organized and had school buildings, and became important facilities for comprehensive education for the feudal domain. In 1871 (Meiji 4), when the feudal domains were abolished and prefectures were established, they were abolished, and some were converted into public and private technical schools, junior high schools, and elementary schools.

Domain schools varied from domain to domain, but an overview can be found below. The main target audience was the children of samurai, and some domains, such as the Okayama Domain in Bizen and the Kanazawa Domain in Kaga, allowed commoners to attend. The schooling age was set between 8 and 20 years old, and in many cases all children of samurai were forced to attend school. Some domains made the completion of certain courses a condition for inheriting the family headship.

The curriculum aimed to equip students with both the arts and martial arts, but in reality the emphasis was on the arts. Students entered at a young age, often learning the arts first, and then from around the age of 15 also learning martial arts. It was towards the end of the Edo period that martial arts such as sword, spear, softball, archery, artillery, horsemanship and military science were actively introduced into domain school education. Swimming training was also conducted in over 30 domains, including Aizu, Mito and Hagi. Chinese classics were the core of the curriculum, and were taught in all domain schools, and even beginners were required to read Confucian texts such as the Four Books and Five Classics and to practice calligraphy. There were many different schools of Confucianism in each domain, but after the Kansei era ban on alternative schools, the Zhu Xi school became the most prevalent.

During the development period, domain schools had a strong practical orientation, and many of them established departments such as medicine, imperial studies, arithmetic, and astronomy in addition to Chinese studies and calligraphy. Medical departments were established in many domains from the Kasei period (1804-1830), and especially with the introduction of Dutch medicine, they contributed to the development of Western studies and scientific rational thought in Japan. In the late Edo period, the number of imperial studies also increased due to political instability.

The educational structure was mainly for day students, with some students boarding. Beginners were separated into elementary school students and advanced students into university students, students with similar academic abilities were organized into classes, lessons were given through group readings, study groups, and lectures, and a system of promotion by exams was adopted, which was noteworthy in that it was becoming closer to modern schools. However, as in the early days, face-to-face individual guidance by teachers and seniors was also widely practiced.

The domain schools were under the jurisdiction of influential elders under the domain lord, and the instructors were Confucian scholars who had served the domain for generations, serving as professors and assistant professors. The domain lords would visit the domain schools regularly, or on an ad hoc basis, to attend ceremonies for the enthronement of Confucians and examinations, and personally listen to lectures to encourage the students in their studies.

Some of the school buildings of the domain schools, including Sendai Yokendo, Mito Kodokan, and Bizen Shizutaniko, still remain in part, but they were grand in scale and equipped with chapels, lecture halls, classrooms, dormitories, and martial arts halls, symbolizing the spirit of Confucian education. Most domain schools did not charge tuition fees, but instead provided school land or were run and maintained with domain funds, but the construction costs of the grand school buildings and other expenses were a heavy burden on the domain's finances. Many domain schools also often engaged in publishing projects.

Under the Tokugawa shogunate and feudal domain system, the aim of domain education shifted from cultivating the character of domain samurai to providing practical education that cultivated the knowledge and skills of domain officials in line with current affairs for the enrichment and strengthening of the domain's military. During this time, the schools also contributed to the promotion of local culture.

[Tetsuo Kizuki]

"Materials on the History of Education in Japan, compiled and published by the Ministry of Education, 10 volumes (1889)" ▽ "Comprehensive Study of Early Modern Domain Schools, by Kasai Sukeharu (1960, Yoshikawa Kobunkan)" ▽ "Study of Publications at Early Modern Domain Schools, by Kasai Sukeharu (1962, Yoshikawa Kobunkan)" ▽ "Study of Academic Schools at Early Modern Domain Schools, Volumes 1 and 2 (1969, 1970, Yoshikawa Kobunkan)" ▽ "History of Domain Schools, by Uno Tetsuto, Ototake Iwazo, et al. (1943, Bunshodo Shoten)" ▽ "The Architecture of Domain Schools, by Kido Hisashi (1945, Yotokusha) " ▽ "Education in the Edo Period, by R.P. Doerr, translated by Matsui Hiromichi (1970, Iwanami Shoten)"

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

江戸時代、各藩によって設立・経営された藩士の子弟の教育機関。藩黌(はんこう)、藩校、藩学校ともいう。そのほか、医学校、洋学校、皇学校、あるいは郷学校などを総称する場合もある。江戸初期、武断的支配から官僚制的支配への移行が一般化すると、尾張(おわり)藩名古屋の明倫(めいりん)堂をはじめ、各藩は家中の士人教育のため藩学を設立した。さらに江戸後期には、寛政(かんせい)期（1789～1801）松平定信(さだのぶ)の文武奨励もあり、封建危機の深化への対応として、藩政改革にあたって有能な吏僚を育成すべく、各藩が人材養成に力を入れ、ほとんどの有力大名が藩学を設け、発展期を迎え、全国255校をも数えた。初期の、藩主の学問所や招聘(しょうへい)された碩儒(せきじゅ)の家塾的なものから、組織・校舎などが整備され、総合的教育のための藩の重要な施設となった。1871年（明治4）廃藩置県で廃止され、一部は公私立の専門学校、中学校、小学校に変わった。

　藩学は各藩さまざまであるが、概観すれば以下のごとくである。主たる対象を藩士の子弟とし、なかに、備前(びぜん)岡山藩、加賀(かが)金沢藩などは庶民の入学を許した。8歳から20歳ごろまでを就学年齢とし、藩士の子弟全員の就学を強制した例は多い。一定の課業の修了を家督相続の条件とした藩もあった。

　学習内容は「文武兼備」を目標としたが、実際には文の比重が大きい。年少で入学し、まず文を学び、15歳前後から武をも学ぶ例が多い。藩学教育に剣、槍、柔、射、砲、馬術や兵学などの武芸が積極的に導入されるのは幕末に至ってである。また会津、水戸、萩(はぎ)など三十余藩では水練を行った。学習の中枢は漢学で、すべての藩学で行われており、初学者にも四書五経などの儒学書の素読と習字を課した。儒学の学派は、各藩学さまざまであるが、寛政(かんせい)異学の禁以後は、やはり朱子(しゅし)学派が多くなった。

　発展期の藩学は実学的指向が強く、漢学・習字のほか、医学・皇学・算術・天文学などの科を設けたところが多かった。医学科は、化政(かせい)期（1804～30）以降、多くの藩で設けられたが、ことに蘭(らん)医学が導入されるに及んで、日本の洋学発達と科学的合理思想発展に貢献した。幕末期、政情の動揺に伴い皇学も増加している。

　教育の組織は、通学生が主で、一部寄宿生を置いた。初学者を小学生、上級者を大学生と分けたり、同程度の学力の者を学級に編成し、会読、輪講、講義などの方法で授業を行い、試験による進級の制度がとられるなど、近代的学校に近づいている点も注目される。しかし、初期以来の、教師・先輩による対面個人的指導も広く行われた。

　藩学は藩主の下、家老級の有力者に管轄され、教官には、代々藩に仕える儒者が教授・助教授として任にあたった。藩主は定例的に、あるいは随時、藩学に赴き、釈奠(せきてん)の儀式や試験に臨席し、自ら聴講して、学生の業を励ました。

　藩学の校舎は、仙台養賢堂、水戸弘道(こうどう)館、備前閑谷黌(しずたにこう)をはじめ、建物の一部が現存するものもあるが、聖堂、講堂、教場、学寮、演武場などを備えた規模壮大なものが、儒教主義教育の精神を象徴している。ほとんどの藩学は、授業料等を徴することなく、学田を付し、あるいは藩費をもってこれを経営維持したが、壮大な学舎の建設費をはじめ、藩財政の重い負担であった。また多くの藩学で、しばしば出版事業も行われていた。

　幕藩体制下、藩学は藩士の忠誠心を養う人格陶冶(とうや)から、藩の富国強兵のための時務に通ずる吏僚の知識技能を培う実学教育を目ざす方向に進んだ。また、この間に、結果として地方文化の振興にも貢献した。

［木槻哲夫］

『文部省編・刊『日本教育史資料』全10巻（1889）』▽『笠井助治著『近世藩校の綜合的研究』（1960・吉川弘文館）』▽『笠井助治著『近世藩校に於ける出版書の研究』（1962・吉川弘文館）』▽『笠井助治著『近世藩校に於ける学統学派の研究』上下（1969、70・吉川弘文館）』▽『宇野哲人・乙竹岩造他著『藩学史談』（1943・文松堂書店）』▽『城戸久著『藩学建築』（1945・養徳社）』▽『R・P・ドーア著、松居弘道訳『江戸時代の教育』（1970・岩波書店）』

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