Murray - Murray, David

Japanese: マレー - Ｍｕｒｒａｙ，Ｄａｖｉｄ

Year of death: 1905.3.6 (1905.3.6)
Born: October 15, 1830
American educator and educational administrator. He was invited to Japan in the early Meiji period and contributed to laying the foundations of the educational administration system. He was born in New York State as the son of Scottish immigrant William Murray and his wife Jean. He studied at Union College in New York State, and after graduating he served as the principal of Albany Academy and a professor of mathematics and astronomy at Rutgers University. In 1872 (Meiji 5), he responded to a letter of inquiry from Mori Arinori, the Japanese envoy to the United States, which led to his invitation to Japan the following year. He served as the superintendent of the Ministry of Education for five and a half years, assisting Fujimaro Tanaka, the Minister of Education, in all aspects of educational administration. He also wrote various reports on educational reform in Japan, explaining the need for teacher education and the promotion of women's education. He also cooperated in the establishment of the University of Tokyo. Of particular importance among his reports is "Japanese Educational Law Conceived by the Superintendent of Education," which could be considered his proposal for reform of the school system (issued in 1872). In this document, Murray basically supported the idea of radical educational reform, and advocated extreme centralization, such as control of various educational institutions and educational content by the Ministry of Education, establishment of qualifications for public school teachers, and censorship of textbooks. This proposal was reflected in the so-called Revised Education Act (1880) and subsequent Ministry of Education decrees. He returned to Japan in 1812. From the following year, he served for ten years as secretary of the New York State College Regents' Committee, overseeing all secondary and higher educational institutions in the state. Here, he again promoted the centralization of educational administration, such as expanding the state-wide unified examination system and strengthening the management of normal school education. In his later years, he worked hard to introduce Japan, writing The Story of Japan (1894) and giving a lecture at Johns Hopkins University titled Education in Japan.

(Yoshiie Sadao)

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

Japanese:

没年：1905.3.6(1905.3.6)
生年：1830.10.15
アメリカの教育者,教育行政家。明治初年日本に招かれ,教育行政制度の基礎作りに貢献したお雇い外国人。スコットランド移民ウイリアム・マレーと妻ジーンの子として,ニューヨーク州に生まれた。同州ユニオン大学に学び,卒業後オルバニー・アカデミー校長,ラトガース大学の数学天文学の教授を務める。明治5(1872)年駐米小弁務使森有礼の質問状に回答を寄せたのが契機となり,翌年日本に招聘された。以後文部省学監として5年半,教育行政全般にわたり田中不二麿文部大輔を助ける。また日本の教育改革に関する諸報告書の中で師範教育,女子教育振興の必要などを説く。東大の創設にも協力した。報告書の中で特に重要なのは,彼の学制(1872年発布)改革案ともいえる「学監考案日本教育法」である。この中でマレーは学制の急進的教育改革の構想を原則的に支持し,文部省による諸教育機関および教育内容の統括,公立学校教員資格の制定,教科書の検閲など極端な中央集権を提唱した。この提言は,いわゆる改正教育令(1880)とその後の文部省諸法令に反映される。12年帰国。翌年から10年間ニューヨーク州大学校リージェント委員会幹事として州内の全中等・高等教育機関を監督。ここで再び全州統一試験制度の拡充,師範教育の管理強化など教育行政の中央集権化を推進。晩年は《The Story of Japan》(1894)を著したり,ジョンズ・ホプキンズ大学で〈Education in Japan〉と題する講演を行うなど,日本の紹介に努めた。

(吉家定夫)

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