Hosei University Tairiku-bu (Continental department) : From establishment to abolishment

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  • 法政大学大陸部 : その設置から廃止まで
  • ホウセイ ダイガク タイリクブ : ソノ セッチ カラ ハイシ マデ

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Abstract

This article examines the historical context of the Tairiku-bu (Continental department), from its establishment to its abolishment and its educational content. Tairiku-bu was established in 1939 after the outbreak of the Second Sino-Japanese War, aimed at educating students on East Asian developments (Kōa-kyoiku). Ōkawa Shūmei, the pan-Asian thinker, was appointed chairperson of Tairiku-bu. Other universities also established similar departments on East Asian developments, ensuring they became an indispensable theme when considering the relationship between universities in wartime and the national policy. However, in the history of Hosei University, no research on Tairiku-bu exits. In this article, we clarify the overall picture of Tairiku-bu and refer to similar cases in other universities. First, we introduced discussions about "Tairiku-ka" in the right-wing and the Imperial Diet and gathered facts based on Ōkawa Shūmei’s diary, as the background for the establishment of Tairiku-bu. Additionally, we examined how faculty members and students from the university viewed China during the period from the Manchurian Incident to the Second Sino-Japanese War using university newsletters (Hosei Daigaku Ho ) and the student press (Hosei Daigaku Shimbun ). We found Shinago-ka (Chinese department) as the origin of Tairiku-bu as well as groups for East Asian development (Kōa ) at the university around the time of the establishment of the Continental department. Regarding the educational content of Tairiku-bu, we did research about the faculty and the curriculum organized under Ōkawa. Faculty members were classified into three groups: Toa-Keizai Chosakyoku (East Asiatic Economic Investigation Bureau), Takushoku University, and the Army. We also found that learning Chinese was a top priority in the curriculum, reflecting Ōkawa's intentions. Finally, we explored why Tairiku-bu stopped recruiting students in 1944. Following an examination of the measures taken by Hosei University, when higher educational institutions resorted to extreme measures during World War Ⅱ, we examined why only Tairiku-bu was abolished, while other departments of the Specialty Division continued.

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