近代日本における性教育論の諸相とその特徴 : 1910～30年代における翻訳性教育論を中心に

抄録

The purpose of this study is to analyze characteristics of the translated version of sexual education books published between 1910-1940. This paper clarifies the commonalities and differences of these publications with contemporary Japanese sexual education theories. At that time, there were many books on sexual education published in Japan. Japanese sexual education theories developed under the influence of European and American culture. A comparison of translated works and Japanese theories clarifies certain characteristics of Japanese sexual education theories. This approach will provide a better understanding of the essence of problems underlying current sexual education in Japan, a significant point of this study. Three characteristics of Japanese sexual education theories are delineated in chapter one: (1) Japanese sexual education began as sexual desire education; (2) the reason for the publication of so many books arose from a sense of impending crisis in the context of sexuality; (3) in spite of an increase in sexual education discussion, the educational field took an extremely negative attitude toward sexual education. Chapter two details U.K. and American attitudes toward sexual education as background to the translations of English works on the subject. In addition, the translated versions of sexual education theories are arranged in order of author's standpoint. Chapter three analyzes the contents of the translations from the following two perspectives. First, how the translations view the necessity and purpose of sexual education. Second, how human beings, sex differences, and gender roles became the premise of these sexual education theories. The first characteristic of the translations is that they strongly emphasize "the bad influence of the negative image of sex," and that an important purpose of sexual education was to wipe out this negative image. Accordingly, scientific knowledge of nature and sexual facts were regarded as important. There were even examples of how masturbation and homosexuality were addressed in a positive context Furthermore, some influence of First-Wave Feminism can be discerned, while conservative gender biases, such as "a man is active and a woman is passive" in sexual behavior, is strongly represented in the translations. Finally, differences between Japanese and translated versions of sexual education theories are analyzed. The three following differences are made clear. (1) In the translations, the most important purpose of sexual education is to promote an affirmative understanding of sex. In contrast, Japanese sexual education theories lacked such purpose. (2) In the translations, sexual morality means "positive sexual behavior and a sense of values." In the Japanese context, however, it means "abstinence." (3) The viewpoint of gender equality, readily found in the translations, is weak in the Japanese theories. These issues have direct bearing on today's problems in Japanese sexual education.