In Taiwan, the elementary schools would be established to introduce Japanese culture to a broad population of young Taiwanese. A smaller number of institutions for higher learning would emerge as well.

Education in the elementary schools had two primary objectives. The Taiwanese children would be taught the Japanese language, and they would learn "ethics and practical knowledge, in order to cultivate them in qualities of Japanese citizenship." In this way, the Japanese hoped to unite the population in their loyalty to the state, as well as provide them with the "discipline, skills, and attitudes Japan's version of modernization required of its people." Mastering the Japanese language was the key to educating these children in the Japanese way, and the first schools established in Taiwan were primarily for language training. By separating the students from their native language, the Japanese hoped to encourage identification with Japan.

Through the vernacular the child, to begin with, enters into the thought and feeling of those with whom he is most closely linked both in the home and in the village; through the vernacular he also enters into the minds of those who, in song and story, have given voice to their deepest and inmost thoughts; through the vernacular he becomes heir to the social customs and ceremonies of his people. Thus the child comes to value his mother tongue not only as a medium for self expression, but also as the means whereby he can secure for himself all that is worthy of his loyalty and devotion to his cultured past...

     The Japanese language was substituted for the vernacular in elementary schools. Little did the Japanese know their Taiwanese students would eventually use their knowledge of Japanese as an important tool during the literary resistance movement against Japanese rule.

     After the completion of elementary school, options for pursuing higher education were severely limited for the Taiwanese. The Japanese intent was to win support for the administrative and clerical needs of the government. Institutions for higher learning open to the Taiwanese included only normal schools (for training teachers) and medical schools. At this point, the general population of Taiwan was clearly divided. The urban centers were largely populated by Japanese citizens. Japanese citizens had been encouraged (by the offer of government subsides) to immigrate to Taiwan in early stages of colonial development.

  Prev   |2|3|4|5|6|7|8|9|10|11|12|   Next