Changes in the Edition of “Urashima Taro” in Japanese Language Textbooks and its Role in Different Periods: Focusing on the Form of Containing and the Orthography used

Abstract

This paper focuses on “Urashima Taro”,which has been contained repeatedly in Japanese language textbooks for primary school education,from the second National Textbook in the Meiji era to the current editions of school textbooks. The authors analyzed the changes in containing forms in Japanese language textbooks and how they have been used in Japanese language classes in each period. The study focuses on the illustrations and the orthography in their materials,including their historical backgrounds,which have not been examined diachronically in previous studies.

The materials above have been transformed into various editions over time,depend on the education for modern writing,for unification of speech and writing,and for standardizing Japanese pronunciation since the Meiji period,the education for communication from the modern to contemporary periods,for grammar and reading in the postwar period,and for linguistic culture of Japanese in the Heisei period. The story has been passed down orally for a long time,and after being written down in Japanese language textbooks,only pictures have been included since the 1977 edition,conforming to the teaching guidelines in each period. The fact that only pictures are included in the textbooks makes it possible for students from various backgrounds to retell the story in their own words.