A Motto for Instituting Education
"Statement of Intent" - Joshi Kyôiku Shôreikai
(Committee for the Promotion of Education for Women) |
When reflecting upon our nation's education system, it can be said
that significant improvements were made in the twenty years since the Meiji
Restoration; however, as a whole, it contains imperfections. One of these
is that education for women has not flourished. As society is composed
of both men and women, without mutual cooperation, there can be no expectations
of a prosperous nation.
What is expected of women can likely be illustrated by how a woman
behaves when she finds herself in three situations. What are the three
situations? They are to be a person's wife, to be a housewife who can protect
her family, and to be a mother. Without the highest levels of education,
it would be difficult for a housewife and a mother to successfully attend
to her family. The housewife in a household cannot hold this position unless
she is familiar with protecting her family, caring for the health of the
family members, and overseeing the financial aspects of the household.
Hence, there is no doubt that women's education is essential.
It is when a woman becomes a mother that one feels that education
is necessary for women. To begin with, a child's education does not begin
when he or she first enters school.  Education begins from the moment a child receives life(outside the mother's
womb),breathes air and bathes in sunlight. Education for the child from
infancy to school age rests entirely in the palm of the mother, and it
can be said that whether the child develops into an outstanding(superior)
individual or not mostly rests on the appropriateness of the education
the child receives during this period. Trees are said to form themselves
during their youth; human beings are influenced the most during their infancy.
It is needless to state that school education is important, but it is a fruitless act to make a child who has not received good education from his mother during infancy to suddenly receive education in a school. The mother must first be capable of giving basic education herself, if the child is to benefit from school education. In light of these considerations, it is necessary for women to receive education.
However, these are not the only reasons why education for women is
a priority nowadays. There is a saying that reads as follows: "Imbalance
is the root of severed relations," and when selecting an individual
for marriage, there should be a similarity in the levels of knowledge and
class between the potential spouses. Without this balance of similarities,
mismatched emotions naturally lead to a distance between the two, and love
grows weaker. Once a relationship between spouses reaches this state, important
day-to-day family life can not be properly enjoyed; furthermore, starting
with the education of the child, problems will result and escalate with
respect to society, and the progress of the nation, as well.
When one looks at the relationship between men and women in our nation
today, it is intolerably sad that there are forces which strengthen the
practices that encourage separation of married couples, or act as obstructions
to spouses. Education for men improves on a daily basis, while education
for women remains in its aged form. Almost as if we were still in the "Dark
Ages" when Japan was sealed off from the rest of the world - Knowledge
and thought for men make progress, while the distance between women and
men increases. Therefore, those who lose the precious balance described
above lose their way, and as a result, male-female relationships grow further
apart, just as the love between a husband and wife similarly has no choice
but to grow weaker. How can one hope for the nation to flourish when the
state of relationships of men and women in society is like this?
It is essential that education for women is invigorated, made equal to the education for men, and as men obtain knowledge and thought, that balance must be put into action and never be lost.
The urgent necessity for women's education has been illustrated in
the above statements, and in light of this, we hereby found the Joshi Kyoiku
Shoreikai (Committee for the Promotion of Education for Women) to assemble
those individuals who think alike from all places. We strongly promote
education for women, and hope that in the future, they will obtain in full
the success and happiness that is inherent for all men and women of this
country; and thereby contribute to the state of society and the advancement
of the nation.
It is hoped that all of you who share in the same spirit will join in
this objective, and join this committee without further delay.
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Founders
November 19th year, Meiji era (1886) |
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