Japan lags behind the global industrial revolution due to the isolation policy of the Edo period, but it quickly caught up with the world due to the wealthy soldiers of the Meiji era, and was on par with European countries in terms of economic power. , I gained the strength to win the Russo-Japanese War.
Japan has one of the highest literacy rates in the world
I think this is the result of the diligent and earnest efforts of the Japanese people, but even in the Edo era during the isolation period, there was a part that was second to none in the world.
It is literacy rate is.
Literacy rate is a number that represents the rate at which characters can be read, written, and understood.
In the Edo period, many children went to Terakoya [ literacy abacus ] I had acquired the basic academic ability. Even children in poor cities could read the letters. The literacy rate was much higher than that of China, Korea, and Russia at that time.
That number was 70% to 90% around the end of the Edo period. So, if you limit it to the samurai class, that number is 100% . It is recorded that it was.
This high literacy rate seems to have been from before the Edo period, and Francis Xavier came to Japan during the Warring States period. " Most people can read and write both men and women, especially samurai and merchants Luis Frois who visited Shimabara Is said to have been surprised at the high literacy rate.
In addition to reading and writing, it is said that the common people, regardless of gender, learned waka, renga, and Chinese poetry through their daily learning, which can be read from historical sources.
If you can't read and write letters, you can't learn using books. Therefore, the school enrollment rate is a constant factor in determining the literacy rate. Since the school enrollment rate in the latter half of the Edo period is said to be about 70% to 86%, it is considered that the literacy rate was higher.
World literacy rate
World literacy rate Looking at, 20% -25% in the big industrial cities of the United Kingdom In proportion to that, even in big cities, enrollment rate Is 25% or less It is said to be an extremely low number.
Even in England, when it was called the factory of the world by the Industrial Revolution, many children in the lower classes could not read letters, and the literacy rate was 10% . It is said that.
In France, 1794 Free primary education The enrollment rate for teens was as low as 1.4%, and the literacy rate did not increase. This is because the wealthy people were not attending school and were educated by tutors, but this was limited to the wealthy people and did not lead to an increase in the literacy rate of the entire country.
In the Japanese samurai class, the literacy rate is an amazing 100%! !!
Returning to Japan, the samurai class, who was a leader in politics and administration during the Edo period, is now a civil servant. Documents for office work Is indispensable. Until the Warring States period, samurai used to say something about armed forces, but in the Edo period, when the world became peaceful, gradually " academic society " It changed to.
The ability required for a samurai is " martial arts " Academic " rather than " It became more important for the samurai to attend school than the kendo dojo.
Therefore, the literacy rate of the samurai class was an amazing 100%.
Clan school of the samurai class in Japan , Private school Education in Japan, Terakoya system in the common people Not only missionaries during the Warring States period, but also foreigners who came to the negotiations to open the country in the late Edo period could not hide the surprise of the high literacy rate and aspirations in Japan and the curiosity for new things. ..
In addition, there is no discrimination against women in education in Japan, and it seems that the school enrollment rate of women is higher in some areas.
By the end of the Edo era, Japan was well-educated like no other in the world, and it is considered that Japan was by far the best in the world in terms of literacy rate.
I think that the high literacy rate has blossomed at once after the opening of the country, and has led to the world's top-class economic power as it is today.