2010 Volume 146 Pages 144-158
This paper investigates an aspect of Japanese education in northern occupied China through an analysis of the primary Japanese textbooks: Shokyū Nichibun Mohan Kyōkasho and Nihongo Nyūmon Hen, which were edited by the Modern Science Library Pei-ching, and its precursor. The materials of Shokyū Nichibun Mohan Kyōkasho are divided into two types. One type is based on the government-designed textbooks for Japanese children and the other has illustrative and conversational sentences. The teacher's manual included in the textbook proposes the use of the Chinese language to teach the Japanese language and it also focuses on the learning process of learners. However, these features were modified in Nihongo Nyūmon Hen, which was a revised version of Shokyū Nichibun Mohan Kyōkasho and replaced it as an introductory textbook. A considerable amount of the explanation in Nihongo Nyūmon Hen is in Chinese; this indicates that this textbook more closely resembles those that are based on the literal translation method of teaching. Japanese library staff and Chinese Japanese language teachers were involved in the compilation of both these textbooks, but the later textbook shows a stronger influence of traditional Chinese methods for the study of Japanese. In this paper, I point out the need for a study approach that takes into account the history of Japanese learning and education for a Chinese learner.
