CIE が視察した体育の授業：1948 年松本千代栄氏の実践

抄録

After World War II had ended in defeat for Japan, teachers throughout the country had to demilitarize and democratize physical education classes. However, most studies have concluded that in the immediate post-war years, this was not possible. Kusabuka (1996) has reported that the CIE (Civil Information and Education Section) under the control of GHQ/SCAP (General Headquarters, Supreme Commander for the Allied Powers) put an affirmative evaluation on physical education classes in 1946. Miura (1991) states that the CIE inspected fifteen schools in 1948 and considered three of them to be affirmative. Thus it was shown clearly in these studies that some physical education classes were evaluated highly in the few years after World War II. The purpose of the present study was to clarify the extent to which the CIE inspected and affirmatively evaluated physical education classes in Japan by reference to historical materials, focusing especially on Nara Women's Higher Normal School Annexed Elementary School, which was inspected in 1948 by H. Manley, health education consultant for the CIE. Manley reported that the secondary school had an excellent games program, and also that 6th grade girls were taught an excellent rhythm program. Materials related to the history of the elementary school from 1945 to 1948 were then studied to specify the content of the physical education classes. This revealed that Chiyoe Matsumoto conducted an excellent rhythm program on July 3rd of that year, in which children had smiling faces, and a good sense of rhythm and power of expression. The main principles of this class were to develop and nurture a sense of individuality among the children. Manley was evidently impressed by Matsumoto’s approach. Therefore, it seems appropriate to note that during the two or three years immediately after World War II, all physical education classes in Japan were not necessarily in a state of disorder, and that some teachers were making efforts to improve their approach. In future studies I intend to explore the main factors that made it possible to improve physical education classes by inspecting the relationship between postwar and prewar activities in the same elementary school.