<Articles>Sensei and Gift-giving in Soseki's Kokoro : Towards an Alternative Economy of Teaching (The 7th International Symposium between the Institute of Education, University of London (UK), and the Graduate School of Education, Kyoto University (Japan))

Abstract

In this paper, I shall reconsider the idea of 'teacher' in contemporary education through an analysis of the idea of 'sensei' ('teacher' in English) as it is presented in Soseki's novel, Kokoro (1914). Paul Standish, in "Sounding the echoes", Chapter l of Education and the Kyoto School of Philosophy, takes issue with an interpretation of "Sensei" in "Kokoro"as a provider of Western culture and instead pays attention to Soseki's reticence about "Sensei's" expertise or his field of study. In Chapter 16, Satoji Yano discusses the relationship between 'sensei' and 'gift giving' in terms of 'pure gift giving', and he presents another model of teacher which is exemplified by "Sensei". Through their respective interpretations of 'Sensei' in Kokoro, Standish and Yano both try to point to another kind of economy of teaching, one that exceeds the economy (or principles) of exchange. However, they seem different in their position about what it is to be exceeded or transcended. I shall illustrate the difference through the interpretation of Kokoro, reconsidering Yano's theory of gift giving and teaching and his interpretation of Kokoro. Through this reading, I shall show that there is a hint in Kokoro of an alternative economy of teaching precisely as Standish shows in Chapter 2 of the book.