<林間学校>の誕生 : 衛生的意義から教育的意義へ

Abstract

This paper aims at providing historical knowledge and background of the 'vacation colony' until the Taisho Era, with the purpose being the reconsideration of the necessity of 'vacation colony'. In Japan, the 'vacation colony' began at the end of the Meiji Era, which was at that time not necessarily held for educational purposes. Until the end of the Taisho Era, the 'vacation colony' possessed five features: restricting the participants to children who had a frail constitution, having longer terms, the existence of 'half-colony' type, activities for hygienic purposes and repeated physical examinations. These features implied that the 'vacation colony' was afforded a hygienic significance. The reason for this is that the 'vacation colony' was modeled on 'Ferienkolonie' in Germany, which was a charity event for children who possessed frail constitutions. However, educational significance was added to the 'vacation colony' in the Taisho Era. This was primarily concerned with the fact that the participants of the 'vacation colony' were children of 'the new middle class', which included an increasing number of white-collar workers and civil servants. Families in 'the new middle class' were seeking ways on how to make their children spend significant summer vacations. That's why the 'vacation colony' was afforded different kinds of significance. The 'vacation colony' in the Taisho Era has been referred to only in the context of education for children with frail constitutions. This paper draws attention to a different aspect of the 'vacation colony'.