The purpose of this paper is to clarify the changes in the content of composition textbooks after the promulgation of the Middle School Curriculum (Chugakko Kyoju Yomoku) of 1902 (Meiji 35). The author studied the difference between two composition textbooks edited by Yoshikata Tomoda. One of the textbooks was published before the promulgation, and the other was published after. Based on the study results, the author clarified that (1) contents on composition planning and standard rhetoric were increased on the later, and also (2) contents on grammar and high-level rhetoric (originating in tanka and the Chinese classics) were decreased on the later. The author concluded that these changes in the content were introduced in order for the composition education to be more independent.