School System Proclamation Day

What Is School System Proclamation Day?

August 2nd marks "Gakusei Happu Kinenbi" (School System Proclamation Day) in Japan, commemorating the day in 1872 when the "Gakusei" (School System) was proclaimed as Dajokan Proclamation No. 214, establishing Japan's first modern school education system.

The Educational Reform the Gakusei Brought

The Gakusei was drafted by a commission of mostly Western-studies scholars, drawing on France's school district system and the educational content used in the United States.

• Its philosophy: rejecting the class-based educational disparities of the feudal era, it championed equal education for all under the principle "let there be no household without learning, no person without education"
• Its structure: a sweeping law spanning 109 chapters across six sections covering school districts, schools, teachers, students and examinations, overseas students, overseas teachers, and school expenses
• Proclamation and distribution: proclaimed on August 2nd, and distributed nationwide the following day, August 3rd

The Gap Between Ideal and Reality

Though the Gakusei was a groundbreaking system built on the principles of individualism and practical learning, its uniform school districts, which ignored regional circumstances, and the burden of school construction costs placed on local residents, created friction across the country -- leading to its later revision under the Education Order of 1879.

Tips for Marking This Day

• Learn about the contents of the Gakusei and the background behind this educational reform
• Trace how Japan's current school system took shape over time
• Learn about the social changes surrounding education in the Meiji era
• Look into the history of the school you yourself attended

Japan's School System, Born From the Ideal of "Leaving No One Uneducated"

The Gakusei wasn't a perfect system, but it marked the starting point of modern Japanese education, built on the ideal of equal educational opportunity regardless of social class. Let August 2nd be a day to reflect on how the school system we take for granted today first began.