戦前期の実業教育機関と中国人留学生の活動について

―京都高等工芸学校を中心に―

抄録

  This paper examines the projects and course assignments of Chinese international students enrolled in the Kyoto Higher School of Arts and Crafts between 1904 and 1940, their education conditions, and post-graduation paths.

  The handbooks published by the Kyoto Higher School of Arts and Crafts between 1904 and 1941, that is, between the late Meiji period and the end of the Second Sino-Japanese War, reveal that 54 Chinese students enrolled in the school, specifically 21, 20, 12, and 1 in the departments of weaving, dyeing, design, and ceramics, respectively. In this study, the educational landscape of the international students was examined through a case study of those enrolled in the design course. The design course at Kyoto Higher School of Arts and Crafts was designed to cultivate specialists for the revitalization of the industrial sector amid rapid modernization by integrating new technology and knowledge while contributing to the further development of traditional arts and crafts.

  In this case study, the representative experiences and works of a student named Zhao Han Zhang, whose projects are extant in the Kyoto Institute of Technology Museum and Archives, were examined. An analysis of his works offers insight into the education that Chinese students received in Japan. In essence, through their experience in Japan, Chinese students were able to engage with Western, specifically European, advancements, which they would later employ in China’s own modernization and industrial development. Finally, the post-graduation paths of 38 Chinese students, whose experiences have hitherto been overlooked in the extant body of scholarly work, were investigated. While some of the 38 students remained in Japan to pursue their education further, others returned to China to work in factories and schools.

  Therefore, this study demonstrates that Chinese students studied Western advancements in Japan and were able to assume leadership positions following their return to China, contributing to the modernization of vocational education in China. In particular, the design course graduates did not aim to become designers, but prepared themselves to assume the role of instructors in their native country.