Primary School Haiku Teaching in the Late Taishō Period: A Case Study of Furuichi Ordinary and Higher Primary School, Hyogo Prefecture

Abstract

This paper aims to clarify the characteristics and practical significance of haiku teaching as it was conducted in the late Taishō period while taking into consideration the regional conditions that supported it. The case study was based in a region whose late-Taishō period residents were very interested in haiku. The school in this region asked the children to compose haiku under the tutelage of teachers who composed it themselves. Moreover, the children were taught how to express themselves through haiku, with the teachers motivating their students by suggesting themes and awarding prizes. While haiku is restricted by its fixed verse form, the school taught its children how to express their childlike perspectives and ideas within the limitations of haiku. Not much research on the history of Japanese-language education has focused on primary school haiku teaching in the Taishō period. However, as demonstrated through this case study, the fact that haiku teaching at the primary school level flourished in some regions during this period merits our attention.