明治時代の英語副読本 (I)

抄録

Though few people have paid attention to the English supplementary readers in the Meiji era, they cannot be ignored in that they formed one of the main channels through which Western culture flowed into Japan. As English was an important subject at school in those days and it happened that a number of teachers used literary works as their textbooks, English literature, coupled with English thought, rapidly infiltrated into Japan. The purpose of this article is to examine the kinds of works chosen as textbooks and how they affected Japanese culture in general.
It was in 1877 (the 10th year of the Meiji era) that the first 3 English readers were published at the newly organized Tokyo University. Beginning in 1877 until the close of the Meiji era, more then 400 diverse readers of this kind were published. It was through these English textbooks that Japanese students realized for the first time what Western novels were like and how Western people tended to think. Among those who were deeply engrossed in the readers were many gifted persons who were to take part in laying the groundwork for the construction of a new Japan, or others who were to create their own imaginative literary works later. By examining these textbooks published during the Meiji era, a feeling for the spiritual atmosphere, in which the ability of such Japanese leaders was fostered, is made much clearer. Moreover, it also sheds light on the early activities of leading publishers such as Maruzen, Yuhikaku and Sanseido and provides insights into the early English education in Japan.