明治期高等女学校卒業生における同窓会活動の意味と機能

――石川県立第一高女同窓会誌の「会員消息」記事の分析から――

抄録

This study explores how schoolgirls in the Meiji era (1868-1912), who were the first generation of girls to attend school, associated themselves with their alma maters after graduation, and what networks they developed with their former teachers and classmates. More specifically, the report examines whether their circles of close friends characterizing schoolgirl culture were maintained and expanded after graduation or whether their real lives and social positions specified their networks after graduation. The paper looks at Saibi Kai (Saibi Society), the alumni association of Ishikawa Prefectural Daiichi Girlsʼ Middle High School, and examines how the Meiji-era alumnae were involved in the alumni association networks from the Taisho (1912-1926) to the prewar Showa period (1926-1989), by analyzing the “news on members” column in the alumni bulletin. The results clarified the following points:

1. In examining the development of class reunion networks during the first half of the Taisho period, this study focused on the differences in profiles between members whose up-to-date information appeared in the column and those whose information did not, and used this to extract some characteristics of the networks. This examination shows that membersʼ involvement in the network was largely affected by residence in Kanazawa City (regional factor), their locality, and good academic achievement during their school days, and not by such factors as their social status under the old system and legal domiciles in the family registry. The members also retained their connections through formal exchanges such as class reunions and sports meetings, rather than through such informal means as letters and postcards. In other words, they formed a network where information on members was exchanged through activities in Kanazawa City, the location of the school, [m1] which functioned as the center of the network.

2. The author also analyzed the profile s of members who had taken leadership in formal activities and members who had developed strong connections through informal gatherings. The analysis shows that many of the husbands of such members enjoyed prestigious social statuses, as high-ranking military officials, bureaucrats, university professors, and so on, and that the first generation of schoolgirls enjoyed rich, privileged lives.