[Reprint edition] Elementary school training [Middle/Senior year edition]

Written by the Ministry of Education, with commentary by Naoki Yahagi, Professor Emeritus at the University of Tokyo

The "Moral Education" textbook for 3rd-6th graders in the National Elementary School is being republished in modern, easy-to-read kana spelling.

A huge hit! Following on from the "Elementary School National History," this "forbidden" textbook was blacked out by GHQ. "Through stories of great figures, students can learn about virtues such as loyalty, filial piety, courage, sincerity, diligence, and compassion in a practical way." " Naoki Yahagi

Praised overseas! This textbook modeled on a moral education textbook became a huge US bestseller, second only to the Bible.

Looking for the future: Learning from the past - Now that the deterioration of education has long been called out, perhaps we can learn something from pre-war moral education textbooks.

Point: Through entertaining myths, historical figures, and Japan's beautiful scenery, you can learn how to behave as a person, member of society, and citizen! Point: You will naturally acquire the basic knowledge that every Japanese citizen should have, such as the Imperial Family ceremonies like the Kanname-sai, which are a symbol of Japan's national character, and their significance!

I've been looking for a textbook like this! Illustrations, photographs, and diagrams reproduced from the original text

"Postwar moral education, which rejected 'moral education,' only instilled moral principles and lacked a proactive perspective on how students would put them into practice in the real world. Many of the virtues advocated in 'moral education' still have value today. I think it would be good to teach students the need to think about how to put them into practice." (Naoki Yahagi) (From "Commentary")

About "Elementary Moral Education" On April 1, 1941, the "National School Act," which revised the Elementary School Act, came into effect, marking the establishment of national schools. This book's original text, "Elementary Moral Education I-IV," was the only and final nationally-designated moral education textbook (fifth period) published for national schools. It was intended for students in the third through sixth grades of the National School Elementary School, with first and second graders using "Yoi Kodomo Vol. 1 and 2." Because the Director of the Army Ministry's Military Affairs Bureau and the Director of the Navy Ministry's Education Bureau were heavily involved in the compilation of this text as advisors to the Ministry of Education, its style differs from the first four periods, including passages encouraging the nation's efforts to build a new Greater East Asia. (From Naoki Yahagi's "Commentary")

Table of Contents

Imperial Rescript on Education Imperial Rescript to Young Students

Elementary School Moral Education I (For Third Graders)

1. The Beginning of the Nation 2. Spring 3. Japanese Children 4. The Clinging of the Younger Generation 5. Anniversary of the Time 6. Vaccination 7. Swallow's Nest 8. Summer Evening 9. Messenger of the Great God 10. Autumn 11. Brother 12. One Heart 13. A Grain of Rice 14. Tamon Maru 15. Fire Drill 16. The Japanese Flag 17. Winter 18. Maruyama Okyo 19. Defeated 20. Her Majesty the Empress

Elementary School Moral Education 2 (For 4th Graders) 1. From Spring to Summer 2. "Kimigayo" (National Anthem) 3. Yasukuni Shrine 4. Prince Yoshihisa 5. The People of Miyako Island 6. Japan is a Land of the Gods 7. Hideyo Noguchi 8. Japan is a Sea Country 9. The Unburned Town 10. From Autumn to Winter 11. Nagamasa Yamada 12. Language 13. The Virtues of Emperor Meiji 14. Masazumi's Study 15. Passenger Boats 16. From New Year to Spring 17. General Nogi's Childhood 18. Kurumegasuri (Sleeping Cloth) 19. The Ingenious Boy 20. The Continent and Us

Elementary School Moral Education 3 (For 5th Graders) 1. Great Japan 2. Captain Sakuma's Will 3. The Saints of Omi 4. The Day of the Election 5. Farmer Sakubei 6. Tsujun Bridge 7. Etiquette 8. Captain Hisada 9. ​​The Image of the War God 10. Katsu Yasuyoshi 11. Kanrin Maru 12. Mamiya Rinzo 13. Uryu Iwako 14. Kotaijingu Shrine 15. Special Attack Force 16. The Imperial Family 17. The Sea of ​​Yomo 18. Pilot Iinuma 19. The Dew of Northern Manchuria 20. From the Past to the Present

Elementary School Moral Education 4 (For 6th Graders) 1. Offering the Emperor's Will 2. Our Home 3. Imperial Visit by Young Students 4. Father and Son 5. Serving the Teacher 6. Shoka Sonjuku (School of the Shōka Sonjuku) 7. Nomura Botoni 8. Universal Conscription 9. Inō Tadataka 10. Iwatani Kyujō 11. A Night in Matsusaka 12. Paying Taxes 13. Father of the Davao Development Project 14. The Daijōsai Ceremony 15. Takadaya Kahei 16. Japanese Swords 17. The Complete Sutra of the Iron Eye 18. The Imperial Constitution 19. Victory Celebration Day 20. A New World

Term Explanation Commentary by Yahagi Naoki