［研究論文］識字をもたらす者ともたらされる者─1820年代のハワイ王国における識字定着のプロセス

抄録

  This study examines the introduction of literacy education in the early 19th-century Hawaiian Kingdom from the perspectives of both Anglo-American missionaries and Hawaiian society. While traditional Hawaiian historiography often frames literacy as a unidirectional import of Western culture, this research emphasizes its dynamic development as a product of interactions among diverse actors. Specifically, it analyzes the cooperative efforts between British and American missionaries to promote literacy, the internal conflicts among Hawaiian elites between modernization advocates and traditionalists, and the mixed reception of literacy among the general populace, characterized by both acceptance and resistance.

  Through the analysis of missionary records and previously underutilized sources, this study reveals that literacy served as both a tool for disseminating Protestant ideals and advancing modernization, while also engendering religious tensions and societal anxieties. Furthermore, it demonstrates how literacy education intertwined local transformations with international influences, reflecting the complex interplay between Hawaiian traditions and Western cultural forces. This paper positions the introduction of literacy as a process of internal transformation within Hawaiian society, offering a new perspective on the intersections between Polynesia and the Western world, while contributing to a broader understanding of global and regional dynamics in historical change.