Abstract
The aim of this study is to discuss the meritocratic characteristics of kanbun educational materials in the Meiji period through a comparison of kanbun educational materials in Chutou Kanbun Tokuhon (edited in1901) with the first national elementary textbooks (edited in 1904). Comparison of these books reveals that the meritocratic characteristics of kanbun educational materials are different from those of the first national elementary textbooks. Kanbun meritocratic materials were composed in the tradition of samurai education. On the other hand, the meritocratic materials in elementary education consisted mainly of the life histories of NINOMIYA Kinjiro, an efficient farming producer in the Edo period, and educational materials for citizenship. This fact seems to be related to the position of elementary education and kanbun education in the Meiji period.
