The purpose of this study is to clarify the principles that determined the curriculum of compulsory education during parts of the Meiji Era (1868-1912) through analyzing the discussions on the introduction of "content subjects" -such as geography, history, and science- into the curriculum of compulsory education. The curriculum of elementary school, according to the Code of Education issued in 1872, was informally thought of as compulsory, and included not only reading, writing, and arithmetic but also content subjects, e.g. geography, history, and science. However, in 1880, compulsory enrollment was reduced from eight years to three, and leaning geography and science began in the fourth grade at that time, these content subjects were only included in upper grades that were not compulsory: higher elementary and secondary school. Later, a four-year compulsory education act was issued in 1886, students did not begin to study geography and science until fifth grade, which was non-compulsory. At that point, the curriculum of compulsory education was limited to reading, writing, and arithmetic, moral training, and physical training, until the term for compulsory education was extended to six years in 1907, thereby including content subjects in its last two years. The main theme of this paper focuses on opinions and reasons given by two main groups: one which argued that content subjects should be made compulsory, and the other which resisted it, during the discussions which precluded the changes in the curriculum of compulsory education each time. Discussions about the treatment of content subjects in the curriculum of compulsory education mainly focused on the two following points: whether or not content subjects should be required, and whether or not content subject material should be separated from the Japanese reading textbook. As for the first issue, it can be seen that the reasons why content subjects were not required have changed from term to term. In the 1880s, when the school attendance rate was still only between 40% and 50%, the Ministry of Education believed that increasing the number of subjects taught would prevent more children from going to school. Then, in the beginning of the 1890s, a rise in school attendance allowed focus to shift to the problem that leaning placed a burden on children. This serious problem began to influence the policy regarding the curriculum of compulsory education. Regarding the second issue, geography, history, and science had been recognized as necessary components in compulsory education with the aim of forming a nation of dutiful people. However, as a result of the problems in school attendance, the issue of the burden placed on children, and the idea that reading, writing, and arithmetic were the most important subjects, the Japanese reading textbook ultimately continued to include material from content subjects. Additionally, the prolongation of compulsory education to six years helped solve the above two problems. At this point, a third issue arose. A plan was needed to ensure that these content subjects were taught efficiently and would demonstrate a practicality that could be applied to daily vocational life after graduation. While in addition to literacy and arithmetic, content subjects had been approved as practical ones, the curriculum of compulsory education was continually based on the premise that children would not go on to study in secondary schools. In conclusion, two themes remained constant in the debate over compulsory education: Practicality and Efficiency. The effects these two principles had on the development of curriculum and national character throughout the Meiji Era will be explored in depth in this paper.
