Abstract
This paper aims to clarify features of lower grades' textbooks in national elementary school (Kokumin-Gakkou) established in April, 1941. The Educational Council (Kyoiku-Shingikai) was organized for the purpose of reforming all the educational systems of Japan in December, 1937. About elementary school, as an opportunity of submitting "the reform draft proposed by the secretary", the discussion was especially focused on the problem whether accepted the total teaching and made "a comprehensive textbook"; this idea was that the Ministry of Education edited a textbook contained many contents (for example, moral, Japanese, history, geography and so on) . Afterward, the proposal was approved as the report in the Council. In this paper, the writer described as following; The first, he pursued the outline of discussions as to teaching method and textbook in the Council. The second, as a tendency of the Ministry after approval of reports, he examined editing principles that the Textbook Bureau and the Committee of Investigating Textbooks decided the principles of textbook, and their worked. The third, he analyzed the original plan of subjects made by the Bureau. After all, it was impossible for the Textbook Bureau to make a comprehensive textbook. The Bureau, however, made efforts to edit the textbooks, and then a teacher could deal with comprehensively by connecting teaching materials of each subject. In addition, according to the compilation outline of the textbook, teachers were encouraged to design their curriculums based on the textbook.
