『琉球教育』(1895-1906)にみる沖縄教育の展開 : 「学術」「教授と訓練」欄の傾向を中心に

抄録

The purpose of this study is to examine the journal Ryukyu Education (1895 - 1906), published by the Okinawa Private Education Association, and to describe the positive action of teachers, who identified themselves as "Okinawans". There are already several studies on this journal. According to those studies, the nature of education in Okinawa was that of assimilation (kominka), and Okinawan teachers blindly played a crucial role in the Japanese assimilation of Okinawans. However, these studies failed to carefully examine Ryukyu Education, which is one of the most important and fundamental historical documents for this study of this subject. This paper will examine Okinawan education through a careful analysis of all the articles in Ryukyu Education. This paper reaches the following conclusions: First, the journal Ryukyu Education went through three stages. In the first stage, the "member's opinion" section (concentrated on educational thought) comprised the journal's primary focus ; by the third stage, the journal's focus had moved to the "Instruction and Discipline" section (centered on instructional techniques). The majority of writers for the former section were Japanese, while writers for the latter were Okinawan. Essentially, the shift in direction coincided with the participation of Okinawans in the journal Ryukyu Education. Second, although assimilation (kominka) dominated discourse, there arose some conflict regarding the recognition of Okinawan history and language. On the history of Okinawa, most opinion leaders' statements were based on the theory of cultural similarity between Japan and Okinawa (Nichi-ryu-dosoron) that sought to justify the annexation of Okinawa. However, there were many historical facts undermining this theory that some students valued, while some teachers taught Okinawan culture and history. As for the language of Okinawa, most teachers agreed that it should be banned at school, but there were some teachers and students who continued to use Okinawan. Based on these findings, it can be argued that some teachers were uncomfortable with the dominant discourse, reflecting signs of Okinawan of self-awareness.