“西瓜太郎”的故事：教育的发展与文化的结构

The Tale of “Melon Boy”: Educational Development and Kinship System

从义务教育阶段的入学率与巩固率的角度来看，日本在明治时代实现了巨大的教育成就。本文认为，亲属制度是解释这一教育成就的一个重要因素，而迄今为止，这一因素并没有得到充分、深入的学术讨论。由于日本的“同族”制度在家业的继承问题上注重“业”的做大而非“姓”的传承，实行的是长子继承制，因此明治时代的日本家长，在某种程度上倾向于利用学校教育来解决长子之外的子女生活出路问题。明治维新后现代学校制度的成立和建设，为日本的家长提供了一个表达父爱母爱的最佳机会，这一“爱”的情感，也正是明治20年代刚刚萌芽、发现而又在30年代开花结果。

Japan has scored very high on enrollment rate and retention rate in compulsory education since the Meiji era. This paper argues that this enviable achievement can be partly explained by Japanese kinship system－the “douzoku” system that is featured by primogeniture and the emphasis it puts on the preservation of family assets than the continuation of surname. Given that the “douzoku” system endows the eldest son with the whole family assets, Japanese parents during the Meiji era tended to regard schooling as a way for the other children to build up their own career. Therefore, modern schooling in Meiji era functioned as a channel for Japanese parents to express their “love”－an emotion that firstly emerged in Japan during the second decade and then popularized in the third decade of Meiji reign－for their children.