ｾＧｦ＠ w-.- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - : ｾ［＠ . Conflicted Childhoods in the South Seas: ｾ Ｍ ｔｨ･＠ Failure of Racial Assimilation in the Nanyo BRUCE MAKOTO ARNOLD• 1 ｾ ｢･＠ Japanese empire's attempt to establish a formal schooling system within icronesia beginni1zg in 191 8 followed similar East Asian attempts. The &6jten:sible purpose of these schools was to fu!fi/l Japan's League mandate "'·iibfigatiom to civilize and educated the natives. However, the real purposefor '0theseschools was to create a marginalized indigenous population that would aid 'i]apan in its overseas commercial and political goals. This research demonstrates ··-· at the marginalization of the nati'l.!e Micronesian children actually hindered Japanese state's abilities to transform the indigenous population intosecond- '?.t/ass cilium. I ·<;:- . , . Ｇ ｩ ｟ Ｎｾ ａｊ Ｍ ﾷ＠ __• ｾｴ･ｲ＠ the :esolution ofthe ｆｾｲｳｴ＠ World War, t_housands of ｾ ｭ｡ｬ＠ .:> tslands m the central Pacific Ocean remamed largely msu- _,;' . ated from the wave of colonial expansion that had already ｾ ｾ ｅ ｯｮｳｵｭ･､＠ larger countries, islands, and kingdoms throughout the l ::;t>acific Rim. Spain and Germany had laid claims in this vast area- ｬ ｾ ｮｯｷ＠ known as Micronesia-but outside of some nascent attempts "-fo exploit the region economically, both colonial powers generally ｾ ｩｧｮｯｲ･､＠ the native people inhabitants of the region's islets .and atolls. ｲＯ［ Ｎ ｾ＠ Unlike those Western nations, Japan's interest in the region had ｬ ｾ ｧｵｮ＠ even before Commodore Matthew C . Perry steamed into :E_·.do_Bay in ＱｾＵＳ＠ ｴｾ＠ compel the ｾｨｯｧｵｮ｡ｴ ?5? ･＠ to end over years of ,self-Imposed 1solatwn. By that hme, many forward-thinking lead- ｾ ｾ ｾ ｲ ｳ＠ in Japan saw the economic, political, and defensive benefits of ｾ ｦＧＢＺ ･ｸｰ｡ｮ ｳ ｩ ｯ ｮ＠ into the "south seas." When the Japanese empire came Jtln_ t o possession of the islands after the First World War, Japan was ｾ Ｈ ｡ｬｲ･､ｹ＠ a regional colonial power with formalized imperial policies. ｾ Ｎ Ａｨ･ ｾ･＠ policies w_ere ｢｡ｳ･ｾ＠ ｯｾ＠ simil:U: European ｮｯｴｩｾｳ＠ of e:'Pan- ｾ ｩ＠ s10rusm, but also mcluded md1genous 1deas about Japans place m the ib ｾ ［ Ｎ＠ ; ｉ ｉ ＮＭｂ ｾ｣＠ Makoto A rnold isan at M.A. Candidate Louisiana State University ahd .__Agricultural and Mechanical College (Baton Rouge, Louisiana). ｾ ﾷ＠ ｾ＠ So 'CI:It: T\JP"J'S HlSTORJCAL R£Vl2 W ean.flicted Childhf)O(/s in ｴｨｾ＠ South Seas region as a hegemonic power. Japan's colonial rhetoric was steeped the Japanese state and its colonial education system were inef- in Japanese-born and adopted forms of philosophy, history, religion because the Japanese could not move past their beliefs on race and views of social status, culture, and race. Japan's newly-acquired assimilation. By understanding the Japanese ｾ ｴ｡ ･Ｇｳ＠ atten:-pts to "south seas" possessions were not another testbed for its colonial the children of the South Seas in companson to the1r East philosophy, but the first opportunity to implement that system in colonies we can see that instead of marginalizing Micronesian a region where realities of race, culture, distance, and international .• children, the ｊｾｰ ｡ ｮ･ｳ＠ system empowered them by overlooking their goals wildly diverged from Japan's previous imperial experiences in ·agency and the resilience of their indigenous customs. Korea and Formosa, where the native population were viewed as historically and visibly East Asian. At the center of this experiment Ruling Through Race and Class were the Micronesian children, who were ostensibly guaranteed an Japan acquired its South Seas possess_ions ｦｯｾ｡ｬｹ＠ from Article 22 education by the League of Nations mandate system that governed of the L eague of N ations Covenant (mcluded m the Treaty of Ver- Japan's Pacific Island territories. sailles and ratified on 10 January 1920), which created a mandate- Historians have generally agreed that the system developed by . trustee system for former German territories, "owing to the spare- the Japanese colonial administration was hardly about education at ·. ness of their population or their small size, or their remoteness from all. Mark Pettie summarizes the conventional view, writing that the ·the centers of civilization." This "Class C" mandate-known col- developed system was a "showpiece to demonstrate Japan's commit- loquially to the Japanese as the ｎ｡ ｾＧｹｯ＠ Ｈ Ｂｳｯｾ ｴｨ＠ seas")-included o;er ment t o its mandate obligations," when in effect its true function 1 400 of the Micronesian Islands m a reg10n of the western Pacific was "a means to perpetuate Japanese rule and to keep the indig- of over three million total square miles with an area roughly ＱＬｾＰ＠ enous population in a state of perpetual dependence.''1 While this · : roiles from north to south, and 2,500 miles east to west. Consist- is generally true, the reality of the system was much more personal ing of the Marianas, the Marshalls, and the Carolines, the ｊｾｰ･ｳ＠ to the children of the South Seas islands. Through the Japanese island possessions began 600 miles to the west of the Philippmes, educational structure, the Japanese overseas government in Micro- and roughly 5,000 miles to the west of San Francisco.z nesia went to great lengths to root out indigenous soci.al, political, The islands' Japanese colonial government, the Nan'yo-cho, was and cultural institutions and replace them with a Japanese system headed by a governor, headquartered at Koror, Palau, who reported designed to bolster Japanese commercial desires in the region. At its ' directly to the Japanese Prime Minister. The entire _mandate was bro- worst this development exposed native youth to harsh living condi-. .ken into five districts (Mariana, Yap, Central Carolines, Eastern Car- 3 tions and a militaristic foreign ideology that did not resemble their . olines, and Marshalls), each with its own branch governor. Further- peoples' traditional beliefs. Additionally, measurable results of edu- .. more the seven-article mandate gave the "Emperor ofJapan ···full cational instruction were limited by the Japanese administration's pow:r of administration and legislation over the ｴ･ｲｩｯｹｾ＠ in order to lax system of controls over its teachers, the denial of support for "promote to the utmost the material and moral well-bemg and the continued schooling after graduation, the inability to create an aca- social progress of the inhabitants."4 The Japanese were not allowed demic environment relevant to the indigenous population, and the to fortify the islands with military bases; slave trade and forced ｬ｡ ｾｲ＠ J apanese's refusal to see Micronesians and their children as anything were prohibited (the latter with a few ･ｸ｣ｰｴｩｾｮ ｳ ＩＬ＠ as was the ｴｲｾﾭ beyond primitive and nearly unteachable. ing of natives for militaristic purposes outs1de of ｰ･｡｣ ･ ｫｾｰｮｧＮ＠ H owever, the Japanese view of their Micronesian charges allowed Additionally, the mandate stipulated rights to freedom of relig10n, the native Micronesian children to carry on with theirtraditions, his- including the right for missionaries from any ､ ･ ｮｯｭｩ ｾ ｴｩ ｯ ｮ＠ to n:avel tory, language, and culture--unlike the children who were educated in freely among the islands. Although the ｾ｡ｮｴ･Ｎ＠ offictally p:oVlded Japan's East Asian colonies. Even with their dubious and self-serving ··benevolent goals for the Nan'yo's occupatlon, lt did not proVIde any "l'HE TtJFTS HJSTORlCAL ｒｅｖｉｾＧｗ＠ Conflicted Childhoods in the S(JU/h SeM guidelines for how the natives were to be viewed racially or culturally · mosans), Koreans, and even Okinawans who were, at the very least, by the Japanese. ; . ·.· of the A sian race. 8 Initial reports to the League of Nations were Japan's colonial-era rhetoric, like that of other imperial powers, · . · in the language ofracial stratification, and revealed the J apa- was steeped in the language of race. Even before Japan started to · ,. prejudices and an overall lack of willingness to see the native spread its influence beyond its home islands, their language ofjusti- .. '· ﾷＭ ｴｾﾷ ﾷ ＢｕＧｾ Ｍ as anything other than uncivilized, abjectly backwards, and fication relied on both indigenous Japanese and imported inferences, unsuited for intellectual pursuits such as government. notions, and conceptions of racial and cultural superiority. Historian .· The first report to the League, submitted in 1921, indicated, at Louise C. Young noted three ｭｯ､ｾｲｮ＠ phases of homegrown and ·· rhetorically, that the Japanese understood their mandate obliga- external Japanese adaptations of race theory beginning in the "late , and highlighted their efforts to bring the region into modernity. nineteenth century when Confucian ideas of proper place in social •Early reports were carefully worded, knowing full well that they ｾｯｵｬ､＠ hierarchies and Shinto beliefs in the divine ancestry of the Japanese be viewed critically by the rest of the world. Schools were established people were overlaid by the framework of Western racial science.» the islands and Japanese medical professionals were instructed to These Western imports included the concept of Social Darwinism ·.· treat and cure any illnesses or diseases, and to instruct the natives and the "European confusion between national, ethno-linguistic, .. modern hygienic standards.9 The Japanese strove to improve the and phenotypical definitions of race."·1 Later, as·the Japanese state .· lives of the natives by promoting livestock production and the formalized their administration of their colonies, "debates over , · . 'elimination of pests. However, by the next year, the Japanese began whether it was possible and appropriate to J apanize colonial subjects . ·to use the Spencerian rhetoric of race and societal development to set in motion a process of defining and articulating the nature of dif- • the limited educational opportunities available to the natives. ference between Japanese and other Asians in a colonial context."" ..· the Japanese described the Nan'yo as a place where human The third phase was "the enthusiastic embrace of the idea of racial · ､･ｶｬｾｯｰｲｮＱｴ＠ was at such an infantile state that the natives would not assimilation," which was "justified by the blend of mythohistoti- able to benefit from higher education in th e least. Instead, upper- cal, Confucian, and pseudoscientific construction of race that had , , , , . . . .ｾＮｶ ﾷｵ＠ school could be "established for practicing education relating evolved over the previous half ｣･ｮｴｵｲｹＮ ＢＧｾ＠ These views of race had a · agriculture, carpentry, and other manual arts."10 In 1933, the Japa- profound effect on Japan's administration of the Nan'yo, particularly · were reported to the League that some groups, particularly those since it was an overseas possession, drastically different in ｣ｯｭｰ｡ｲｩｾ＠ ·. ·m•mu1 u,,,.; the region around Yap in the West ern Carolines were "sav- son to its mainland continental colonies. · whom it was rather difficult to keep in order." 11 Correspondingly, TI1e primary feature that distinguishes Japanese connner1ta1 Ｎ ｾｩ ﾷＭ ＧＢｾﾷＴ ｾ＠ felt if the natives were trained for administrative posts, their and "overseas" expansion is not the interstitial existence of social status would marginalize them from their own people, between Japim and its colonies, but the perceived gap between the • opted natives from taking civil posts. The Nan'yo-chii ｾｧ｡ｮ＠ to racial characteristics of the Japanese and its colonial subjects. 1111J'1"'""'" its formal education doctrine even before recelVlng the sense of racial alienation was exacerbated by the distance from the mandate, and had built their system on top of tomin gakko Nan'yo to the home islands ofJapan. In the case ofJapan's ｣ｯｮｴｩ･ ｾ＠ .. \•••·•uu..... school), which had been constructed early on by occupy- tal possessions, the primary race over which the Japanese reigned _ naval forces. These schools were meant to educate and civilize the was Asian, whereas in its overseas colonies, the natives were not · Classified as santo-kokomi, or "third class persons','' Micronesians . · were considered uncivilized and· not perceived as hearty or hard- .· ·. . 'Educating the Nan'yo working stock. Therefore, the Japanese saw them as unfit to contrib- their core, these public schools were similar to Japan's other colo- ute substantially to the region's economy, unlike the Chinese (For- .•. · schools. They demonstrated that the Japanese were benevolent iH£ 'l'UFTS HlSTOA I CAL ll.E\'l:kW occupiers who labored to bring the people of the Nim'yo into within the mandate or one of several agriculrural stations 19 civilized fold of nations. The 1922 report to the League ｾＢﾷ ＢＧ Ｑ ･＼Ｑ＠ｺ they received vocational educations. • the goals of the system: In the lower-division public school, teachers nommally devoted one-half of a student's twenty-four hour weekly The objective of natives' schools is to enable native children to •: · to Japanese language instruction. ｓｴｵ､ｾｮｳ＠ studied ｾｴｨ＠ enjoy the benevolence of his Majesty the Emperor of Japan, to and written Japanese using the languages two ｳｹｬ｡ ｾ｡ｮ ･ｳ＠ teach the Japanese language, to give moral ·training to and hiragana) and the Chinese-character-based Ideo- ordinary knowledge and art necessary to life. 13 system (kanji}. The intended goals for teaching Japanese was: In later reports, the stated goals of the educational system were left . to teach ordinary words, characters in daily use and easy written largely unchanged, but the reports were amended to inform the · language; to make the pupils fluent in the practical ｡ｰｾｴｩｯｮ＠ League that Japan sought "the bestowal on children of moral educa- of what they have been taught; to foster in them the abihty to tion as well as such knowledge and capabilities as are indispensable express themselves correctly in the language, ･ｾｰ｣ｩ｡ｬｹ＠ to enable to the advancement and improvement of their lives, attention being" · them to acquire such degree of mastery as ｷＱｾ＠ ena?le ;hem to simultaneously paid to their physical development." 14 Clearly, the experience no hindrance in using the language m daily life, spe- Japanese colonial administration was well aware that the League was . 211 cial stress being laid on practice ... watching their progress and they intended to show their serious- . ness for the mandate's health by civilizing the next generation of : By 1922 the Nan'yo-cho established seventeen public schools that Micronesians. . enrolled '1 432 males and 784 females taught by thirty-eight Japa- From April1 to March 31, 1923, "Children not habitually using .· nese teachers (twenty-three male and fifteen female) and eighteen the Japanese language" 15 (Nan'yo natives) were educated in public .·· · assistants. By the outbreak ofJapan's war on mainland China schools that began to appear in the most populated cities of a par- · in 1937, twenty-four public schools existed within the_ mandate that ticular region (kogakko, which differed . from Japanese "elementary employed sixty Japanese teachers and ｴｷ･ｾｹＧＭｦｯｵｲ＠ ｮｾｵ［＠ translator/ schools," which were set aside for "children habitually using the .. 'assistants who taught 3,097 pupils {2,448 m lower-dJV1SlOD and 649 Japanese language"). Ｑ ｾ＠ Kogakko offered a standardized curriculum ' in upper-division courses ).21 At that time, some 21.8 percent of the approved by the Japanese Bureau of Education. Racially Japanese . Nan'yo's male and 18.7 percent of its females had reportedly been 22 teachers-who were ostensibly required to have the same qualifi- educated within the systern. cations as an elementary schoolteacher in Japan-were aided by In addition to their language studies, first graders supposedly native-speaking assistants who acted as translators. 17 Assistants were ｾ､･ｲｷｮｴ＠ one hour of "morals" training per week. four hours of chosen after they were given a character assessment and a test that . ··•· arithmetic, one hour of drawing, two hours of singing, two hours of gauged their proficiency in eight fundamental academic subjects, . ·•·. physical exercise, and an hour each of"manual work," ｡ｧｲｩ｣ｵｬｾＬ＠ and including Japanese. 1s Initially, the Japanese established some ｴｨｲ･ｾ＠ ··.· housekeeping.23ln the second and third grades, lesson plans stipulated year schools (honka), relying on a quota system to select regional · that students learn to count up to 1,000 and subtract, add, multiply, and males, eight years or older, to receive instruction. Months later, girls . divide any numbers within this range. ｊ｡ｰｾｳ･＠ ｬ｡ｮ ｾ｡ｧ･＠ instruction were encouraged to enroll and the system became co,:-educational. continued to promote and advance ｣ｯｭｰｳＱｴｾ Ｌ＠ calligraphy, conver- Soon thereafter, the Nan'yo-cho added two years of tipper-division sation, and reading comprehension through third grade. If a student courses (hoshuka) for a minority of students who showed promise went on to the upper division, instructors were supposed to empha- at the lower division. A small number of students who were fifth . ·. size practical skills such as agriculture, ｨｯｵ ｳ･ｫｾ ｰｩｮ ｧＬ＠ and handicrafts, grade graduates were then selected to travel to one of two carpentry · · which changed the course structure somewhat. . The one hour each of 86 ｔｈｾ＠ TUFTS HUTORICAL Ｎｍｾｖｬｅｗ＠ . . omfticted Childhoods in the South &as morals, drawing, singing, and physical education along with the four ber of eligible students available at any one time. On Saipan, which hours of arithmetic (using numbers up to 10,000) would remain, but i;;·..• ,ro.rdt:CI one of the best attendance records, approximately 68% of language instruction dropped to ten hours, and manual work, agricui- .·•.. Saipanese children were in ｳ｣ｨｯ ｬｾ＠ 1923; ｾｳ＠ figure had risen ture, and housekeeping were changed to four hours apiece. Through- 87.55% by 1935.30 Students, except m rare. ｯｲ｣ｵｭｳｴ｡ｮ･ ｾＬ＠ were out the course, the only textbooks students received were Japanese . · 'l>..exot:cu:a to provide their own food and lodgmg, further d1scour- readers, and teachers could choose to omit subjects, at their discre- . 'aging some from attending. When a student was ｣｡ ･ｾｴ､ Ｎ＠ he or tion, if they believed that they were not necessary.2; In addition to the . · she stayed at home, but if a student was from an outer 1sland ｾ､＠ standard school curriculum, Nan'yo, students celebrated Kigensetsu · located to a district school, he or she would generally lodge Wlth Day (the date ofJapan's founding), the birthdays of the both emper- ｲｾ＠ rives If a relative was not available, the local chief was often · :a;ped ｾｳ＠ the de-focto guardian for un-sponsored children. And if 31 ors Meiji and Hirohito, and New Year's Day. The staff and students assembled ｾｯ＠ sing the national anthem and other songs appropriate ·.· these conditions were not enough, nearly all of the ｾｬ｡ｳｲｯ＠ were to that holiday and to receive a lecture from the principal about the . crowded, often with upwards of eighty ｳｴｵｾ･ｮ ｴ ｳＬ＠ ｷｾＱ｣ｨ＠ was m ｳ ｴｾｲｫ＠ significance of the day. 26 · ontrast to many of the places where the children hailed from, wh1ch ｾ＠ . u may not have even had e1ghty people. The Realities ofNan'yo Public Schools . - On Truk, the Japanese opened the region's first ｰｾ｢ｬｩ｣＠ school on Although the Nan'yo's schools were certainly organized on paper, the island ofDubon in 1922. Upper grades ofthe publtc schools were their reality differed wildly in concept and execution. Pedagogy · to emphasize agricultural subjects, but ｴｾ･＠ ｲ ｾ｡ｬｩｴｹ＠ for the students on focused on drill and rote memory, which was common throughout . Truk was that this "meant mostly working m a vegetable ｧ｡ｲ､ ｾｮ＠ ｦｾ＠ the Japanese empire. The use of corporal punishment and harsh the teachers and was not regarded by the students as educatiOn.. discipline were also brought to the islrui.ds from Japan's coritinen- ·• For the most part, islanders quickly despised their agricultural dut1es tal possessions. Oral history from the island is rife with children's because the most common Japanese fertilizer, human excrement, was 34 complaints of frequent beatings, slaps, and strikes upon the head .· considered foul and disgusting to the native population. Although with objects such as sticks.27 In one instance, a student was "slapped taught for four hours a week, mathematics never advanced beyond until his face was 'covered in blood'." for making ·an unauthorized simple arithmetic; those who graduated from the ｦｩｾ＠ ｾｲ｡､ ･＠ were visit to his home island and was later forced to stand out in the sun. supposed to know how to use ｦｲ｡ｾｯｮｳＬ＠ but research mdicated that as punishment on several occasions.28 One Palauan boy summarized · few did.35 One researcher was surpnsed to find that a Trukese gradu- his experience within the education system succinctly: ate had difficulties using fractions to "to figure out how much [a] 36 trader owed them for their bag of dried coconut meat." Vernacular was completely eliminated from the curriculum. . Although Japanese language instruction constituted Ｎｯｶｾｲ＠ half ｾｦ＠ Students were punished if they spoke their native tongue. Most a lower-division student's course load on paper, there 1s little eVI- subjects were taught by rote-memorizing. Group reading was a dence to demonstrate that that natives were able to master it. The common way of teaching reading. Corporal punishment was the Japanese reported to the League that they expected students who u sual way of discipline and school children were slapped or hit went through both the lower and ｵｰ･ｲＭ､ｾｳｯｮ＠ w?uld have a firm on the h ead with the fist or bamboo if they misbehaved.29 grasp of the Japanese language, but the realines of life on ｾｨ･＠ man- 3 · The native teaching assistants could not intervene, since they were date did lit de to promote its proper usage of the language. ' Trukese under the supervision of the primary Japanese instructor. children were generally poor speakers of the language as few could In theory, schooling was supposed to become universal, but ｰｵ｢ｾ＠ distinguish between voiced and Ｂｵｾｶｯｩ｣･､＠ ｾｯ ｮ ｳ＿ｮ｡ ｴ ｳＬ＠ and ｷｯｵｬｾ＠ lie schools could not meet demand and never accepted the full num- characteristically mispronounce h by leavtng 1t out altogether. 88 ｔｕｾ＠ TU FT S JIJ S TO R I CAl. RE VI tW Cotifiicted Childhf)f){/s in the South &as T hus, the word for "bee," hachi, would be pronounced by a Trukese · ontrol exerted by the Japanese, the administration generally stayed child identically to the word for "taste," aji. Additionally, it was ｾｬ ･ ｡ｲ＠ and allowed the mission schools t o educate the natives as they found that most of the Trukese students who had graduated from . saW fit. By 1936, a total of fourteen missionary schools throughout the system could barely read a newspaper, much less any directives ·.·· · ,- the mandate'--six Roman Catholic, seven Protestant, and one Bud- issued by the N an'yo- cho. 39 ｾ ｲＭｷ ｲ･ ･ Ｎ＠ educating 1,523 pupils using a combination ofJapanese Som e Japanese admin istrators expressed sympathy for the . , foreign (26), and native (seven) instructors.., Some of ｾ･＠ natives' plight. Their reports, which often contrasted with official schools, such as a Catholic institution on Palau, only ｯｾ･ ｲ･､＠ reli- L eague reports, demonstrated that the natives had more poten- gious instruction after hours, but others were comprehens1ve scil?ols tial than the Nan'yo-cho credited them. Yanaihara Tadao, a colonial . offering fundamental academic skills as well as courses on the B1ble, scholar sent to observe the m andate as a member of the Permanent ·geography, ｾｲｩｴｨｭ ･ ｴｩ ｣Ｌ＠ ｾ ｨ ｹｳ ｩ｟ ｯ ｬ ｯｧｹＬ＠ and language instruction for Jap- Mandate Commission, opined that the consensus belief that the . ·.. anese, English, and native ､ｩ ｡ｬ･｣ ｴ ｳＮ ｾ Ｖ＠ Some of the Protestant schools native islanders could not be educated was unfounded. Yanaihara ·. ·. offered advanced theology courses and produced a fair share of believed that the islands' natives only appeared backward because . ·· · the region's evangelizerS.47 "their lack of cultural background, [their lack] of opportunities for mental development, their poor and insufficient nourishment, and · · Comparisons to Continental Schooling their low resistance to diseases."40 H e further stated that "the natives ..• 'fhe goals for the compulsory ･ ､ｵ ｾ｡ ｴ ｩ ｯ ｮ｡ｬ＠ ,systerr: in the ｾ ｡ ｾ＠ 'yo were of the south seas . . . are despised as inactive and averse to hard . essentially the same as they were m Japan s prev10usly-eXIstmg con- work," to which he replied "these failings . . . are not necessarily . ·rinental colonies. In Korea and T aiwan, as in the Nan'yo, schools t o be regarded as their intrinsic racial characteristics, but as merely ... · were established for native children that taught Japanese language, reflective of the political and social conditions under which they live : •morals" and civic duty, and fundamental academic subjects. I n T ai- and of the stage of their cultural development."41 Yanaihara opined . wan, students could choose between Japanese public schools or T ai- that the great natural resources afforded by the verdant tropical wanese private schools, which were usually C onfucian-based, so as · · long as the school taught Japanese language as well as Chinese.ｾ _By Ｘ＠ region provided the islanders with little motivation to labor as hard as they did once "the western powers . . . set their yoke of slavery 1920, nearly forty percent of the eligible Taiwanese males and rune upon" them.42 H e further went on to assess that the school system, · .· percent of the females were attending public schools, which far out- in general, graduated students who had few opportunities t o use stripped traditional C hinese school attendance! 9 Similarly, Koreans their acquired skills within the colonial substructure, and that the were initially given the option to attend native schools so as long as educational system then in place did not "take into consideration . •• the native school instructed students in Japanese. the practical side of native life and [was] likely t o make the student . · • · · The biggest differences between continental and overseas schools a mere highbrow among his people."43 He assessed that "the average were the opportunities available to a native student after graduat- intelligence of native children is by no means low; some even equal ing. Hist orian Mark Peattie summarized that th.e overseas ｳｹ ｴ ｾ ｭ＠ the Japanese children" and that the fa ilings of the educational system "placed emphasis on honest, hard ｾ ｷｯｲ Ｌ＠ and ｯ ｢ｾ､ｩ ･ｮ ｣･＠ to .aut.h?nty, resided in the fact that "the text books used in p ublic schools h ave but did so without raising the students expectatlon about mdlVldual little relation to their daily life and that native dialects are seldom advancement or self-fulfillment.'.so In his example, the public school used at school," and as such, any lowered estimate ()f native intel- at Koror had outside of it a "concrete pillar that b ore four Japanese ligence was "ill-founded ."4 4 ideographs in gold-plated brass, admonishing all who entered to be What stood as an enigma to this formal system were the ｰ ｲ ｩ ｾ＠ diligent, honest, obedient, and m indful of their obligations," whereas vate missionary schools that existed within the N an'yo. For all the ·at the Japanese elementary school across town stood a statue of a 'J'liE 'ruy·rs HJ STOillCAL REVJ}!)'V Conflicted ChildhoodJ in the South Seas schoolboy, Ninomiya Sontoku, carrying a bundle of firewood on his .•• aDd disorderly until, finally, Japan had graciously assumed the role back while "reading from an open book as he strode forward." In .•. of their protector and benefactor. "s9 By 1919, ｾＸＲ＠ public schools for that example, "diligence and hard work were symbolized ... but also children existed, in contrast to five m1ddle schools and two the joy of reading and independent study, which promised advance- girls' high schools. Like everywhere else,Jap_ane:e ｬ｡ｮｾ ｡ｧ･＠ instruc- ment. "5 ' Except in rare circumstances when an islander was adopted tion became primarily important, and movmg mto h1gher schools into a Japanese family or if he or she attended one of the missionary was difficult, particularly ones run for· the benefit of Japanese stu- schools within the Nan'ya, there was little hope for a native inhabit- dents. Japan's ingress into mainland China also greatly affected the ant of the mandate to advance on to higher education or an admin- lives of daily students; they were no longer allowed to use Korean or istrative post, even within the mandate government itsel£ . learn Korean literature at any level in the public school system. In contrast, from the outset of Japan's colonization of Taiwan Many were siphoned off to work in ＧＺ｡ｲＭ･ｬｾ､＠ ｩｮ､ｵ ｾｴ ｲｩ ･ｳＭ ｭｾ･ｳ＠ in the last years of the nineteenth century, Japanese public schools · · working in units under Japanese sold1ers or m factones, and g1rls for natives were only established in the rich areas of the island and sewed uniforms or prepared gift packages for Japanese troops. By higher educational institutions were created to train teachers and t939,just 5.52 percent of Koreans were attending ｰｲｩｾ｡ｹ＠ sch.ools, doctors (who could only practice in Taiwan) as the colonial admin- 0.13 percent in secondary schools, and 0.12 percent m ｶｯ｣｡ｴｬｾ＠ istration thought those professionals were in short supply.s2 In addi- schools. Fewer than three natives in ten-thousand were attending tion to the standard public school curriculum, teachers often taught vocational schools or colleges and only one in one-hundred-thou- classical Chinese in order to' attract wealthier students from the sand was attending a university.60 island's gentry.53 H a native student's parents were wealthy, a Taiwan- ese student could study at higher educational institutions (including middle school, higher school, and university) in Japan. 54 Beginning · Because the people of the Nan'ya were marginalized, Japanese ｯｦｩｾ＠ in 1919, the colonial administration created agriculture and ｣ｯｭｾ＠ cials did not place great emphasis on native education, and island- mercia! colleges, which were far iri advance of anything seen in the ers, unlike continental subjects, were never expected to become an mandates.55 During the 1920s, further modifications to the system integral part of the Japanese empire, which was happy to export were made to allow a small number of well-qualified Taiwanese stu- its own (often marginalized) labor force. By 1936, there were o:er dents who were fluent in Japanese to enter the Japanese elementary . 56,000 Japanese living on the islands ｷｨｩｬｾ＠ the native ｲ＾ｐ ｾ｡ｴｬｯｮ＠ school system and all post-elementary school systems were open to was estimated at just over 50,000. The natiVeS and therr children Japanese and Taiwanese alike.56 were viewed as backwards and crude-views that were part of a In Korea, the state promoted the study of Confucianism, osten- racial stereotype that had been developed long before the Japanese sibly to promote "traditional" values, but the elements of philosophy ever inherited the mandate as a partial spoil of war. From the very that were stressed were the ones designed to promote ideals such as beginning, natives were criticized as being uncivilized and brutish, filial piety, which developed a sense of respect for those in author- and human development was "in its infancy."61 This attitude greatly ity. 57 In 1911, the Japanese government promulgated the Chosen affected natives' lives while living under the mandate. Educational Ordinance to ensure that the Korean school system Because the Japanese public school system did not offer native created "loyal and good subjects" for the emperor. Textbooks were children a chance to advance onto further schooling as it did in rewritten to place the H ermit Kingdom in a historiCally and cul- · .· • Japan's continental colonies, the assimilation of ｭ｡ｮ､ ｡ｾ･＠ islanders turally subordinate position to Japan "to root out so far as possible · •. into the Japanese cultural sphere was greatly reduced, which allowed Korean culture and patriotism.'>S8 A thirty-one volume history pub- the mandate islands to retain a great deal of their culture when com- lished in 1913 stressed "the theme that Koreans had been hapless . pared to other Japanese colonies. In Taiwan, for instance, the pull TRE 'f'Ul?'TS HIS'l'ORI CAL REV l £'V Conflicted Childhoods in the South Seas 93 of Japanese post-elementary and higher education opportunities . . rive was asked if they were training the natives for .admini.strat ive created a sub-class of marginalized natives who were neither truly ·. posts, and, when asked ｡ｧｩｾ＠ in 1936, the ｲ ･ ｾｲ ･ｳ ｮｴ｡ｶｾ＠ replied that Taiwanese nor Japanese. Urban Taiwanese who had successfully · the tribal structure of the Islands made natives ｵ ｮｦｩｾ＠ for th: ｳ ｰｾﾭ competed alongside Japanese students often felt they "Were more . cial duties inherent in administrative work."65 There IS tru.th m . this likely than t heir rural counterparts to accept Japanese values as well . statement, as the indigenous structure had been deeply mgramed as Japanese modern conveniences."62 Mter the war, Taiwanese who for hundreds of years in the Nan'yo. Islands within the mandate had were educated in the Japanese system were often the island's bright- governed themselves socially and politically for centuries using well- est, but could not well survive in post-war China. These students established local laws, rules, customs, and social mores, and operated had an excellent grasp of]ap anese, but knew little of classical Chi- ·· . in relative efficiency thanks to their stable, traditional environment. nese or M andarin, the latter ofwhich became the post-war "national ｹｾ ｡ｩｨｲ＠ even went so far as to promote the instruction ofJapanese language." It was particularly difficult for teachers and other pro- . language to the natives so as not to promote one ｯｦＮｴｾ･＠ islands' Ia! - fessionals educated in the colonial system, because Japanese was . guages over another, which would have created a pnVlleged class. banned in post-war Taiwan. 63 In the long run, the greatest failure of the Nan'y6-ch6's educa- Micronesians were not subjected to the official rewriting of their tional system was not its inability to assimilate the children of the entire histories t o serve the needs of their colonizers as happened Nan'y6 into the Japanese empire, but its inability to marginalize . in Japan's continental possessions. Children were allowed to learn them. Although the schools introduced by the Japanese were not about their culture from natiye teachers and those with whom they ' particularly rigorous or expansive and ｯ ｾ ･ ｾ ｡ｴ･､＠ unde.r the assump- lived. If the Japanese had valued the youth ofMicronesia as they did .. tion that the islanders were unable, unwilling, and wtthout need of Korean and Taiwanese children, then their subjects would have been .. ' a comprehensive and progressive institutional .system, ｾ･ｹ＠ ＧＺＢ･ｾＬ＠ culturally subjugated. Korean textbooks and cultural practices were indeed schools, and began an educational tradmon that Is snll m forcibly changed so that Koreans could be molded to the Japanese place today. Most of the islands of the mandate were transferred "national character" and conform to J apanese "national morals}'64 . to the United States after the Second World War, and schools on Because natives in the Nan'yo relied primarily on oral histories to , those islands are now regionally accredited as are schools in Amer- pass information down from one generation to the next, their his- ica. Islanders now have the opportunity to complete schooling to the torical and cultural legacies remained relatively intact. Also, since high school level, and can continue on to one of the .region's several the islands were not suited towards heavy industry, the children, for tw·o-year colleges or nearby institutions of higher education such as the most part, were spared the onerous duty of having to work in · . the University of Guam or the University ofHawai'i. Thus, through factories producing war material. By the end of the war, Koreans · ·. their own inefficiency and inability to see the islanders as capable of were torn between insufficient schooling, which hindered their abil- assimilation into their society, the Japanese provided them with the ity to learn Japanese, and the order to cease speaking Korean. Near impetus to expand and promote the best of their own. war's end, seventy percent of Koreans were illiterate in Korean while. eighty percent were illiterate in Japanese. The islanders in the Nan'yo freely spoke their native tongues both in the classroom and at home and with relatives or the village chief, allowing their na,tive languages to stay intact throughout colonization and the war. . It is obvious from the Japanese reports to the ｌ ･ｾｧｵ＠ of Nations that the Nan'yo-cho and their "civilizing" efforts were a failure. In 1932, the Japanese responded in the negative when their representa- 1 Mark R. Peattie, Nan'yō: The Rise and Fall of the Japanese in Micronesia, 1885- 1945 (Honolulu: University of Hawai'i Press, 1988), 90. 2 Paul H. Clyde, Japan's Pacific Mandate (New York: The MacMillan Company, 1935), 1. 3 The structure of the mandates is covered in Peattie, 69-71. 4 League of Nations, “Mandate for the German Possession in the Pacific Ocean Lying North of the Equator,” June 28, 1919. 5 Louise Young, Japan's Total Empire: Manchuria and the Culture of Wartime Imperialism (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1998), 364. 6 Young, 365. 7 Ibid. 8 Laurel Heath, “Education for Confusion: A Study of Education in the Mariana Islands, 1688-1941,” Journal of Pacific History 10, no. 1 (1975), 31. 9 Japanese Government (South Seas Division), Second Annual Report to the League of Nations on the Administration of the Territory Under Japanese Mandate, 1921, 17. 10 Ibid. 11 League of Nations Permanent Mandates Commission, “Minutes of the Twenty- Fourth Session,” July 10, 1933, 90. 12 Abe Goh, “An Ethnohistory of Palau Under the Japanese Colonial Administration” (PhD diss., University of Kansas, 1985), 147. 13 Japanese Government, Second Annual Report, 35. 14 Japanese Government (South Seas Division), “Article I, South Seas Bureau Ordinance No. 32, 4 January 1922,” in Annual Report to the League of Nations on the Administration of the South Sea Islands Under Japanese Mandate for the Year 1925. 15 Japanese Government (South Seas Division) Annual Report to the League of Nations on the Administration of the South Sea Islands Under Japanese Mandate for the Year 1934, 16. 16 Ibid., 15. 17 Japanese Government (South Seas Division) Annual Report to the League of Nations on the Administration of the South Sea Islands Under Japanese Mandate for the Year 1926, 44; there were no stated requirements for interpreters, however. 18 Heath, 29 and Japanese Government, Annual Report...1921, 21 and Annual Report 1925, 104. 19 Breakdowns of the educational structure can be found in J. L. Fischer, “The Japanese Schools for the Natives of Truk,” Human Organization 20, no. 2 (Summer 1961), 84-5 and Tadao Yanaihara, Pacific Islands Under Japanese Mandate (Shanghai: Kelly and Walsh, LTD, 1939), 240-2. 20 Japanese Government, Annual Report...1934, 54. 21 Yanaihara, 241. 22 Ibid., 244. 23 Japanese Government (South Seas Division) Annual Report to the League of Nations on the Administration of the South Sea Islands Under Japanese Mandate for the Year 1924, 25-28. 24 Francis X. Hezel, “Schools in Micronesia Prior to American Administration,” Pacific Studies 8, no. 1 (Fall 1984), 105 and Japanese Government (South Seas Division) Annual Report to the League of Nations on the Administration of the South Sea Islands Under Japanese Mandate for the Year 1932, 70-72. 25 Elizabeth Kelley Anttila, “A History of the People of the Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands and Their Education” (PhD diss., University of Texas at Austin, 1965), 232. 26 Japanese Government, Annual Report...1934, 48-49. 27 Fischer, 85; Fischer's article is based on primary sources from field surveys conducted in the Nan'yō. 28 Ibid. 29 David Ramarui, “Education in Micronesia: Its Past, Present, and Future.” Micronesian Reporter 14, no. 1 (1976), 7. 30 Heath, 29. 31 Fischer, 85. 32 Hezel, 106 and Ramarui, 10; Although Ramarui is a secondary source, Ramarui was alive and attended public schools during the Nan'yō-chō's administration. 33 Fischer, 85. 34 Anttila, 204. 35 Fischer, 85. 36 Ibid. 37 Heath, 31, and Japanese Government, Annual Report...1925, 52. 38 Fischer, 85. 39 Ibid., 84-5 and Yanaihara, 246. 40 Yanaihara, 7. 41 Ibid. 42 Ibid. 43 Ibid., 247. 44 Ibid., 246. 45 Anttila, 233-4. 46 Ibid., 233. 47 Ibid., 234. 48 W.G. Beasley, Japanese Imperialism, 1894-1945 (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1987), 147. 49 E. Patricia Tsurumi, “Education and Assimilation in Taiwan under Japanese Rule, 1895-1945,” Modern Asian Studies 13, no. 4 (1979), 620-1. 50 Peattie, 93. 51 Ibid. 52 Ibid., 618. 53 Ibid., 619. 54 Ibid., 623. 55 Beasley, 147. 56 Tsurumi, 624. 57 Robert T. Oliver, A History of the Korean People in Modern Times: 1800 to the Present (Newark: University of Delaware Press, 1993), 115. 58 Ibid., 116. 59 Ibid. 60 Ibid., 117, 146. 61 Japanese Government (South Seas Division), Second Annual Report, 6. 62 Tsurumi, 628. 63 Huang Chih-Huei, “The Transformation of Taiwanese Attitudes Toward Japan in the Post-colonial Period,” in Imperial Japan and National Identities in Asia, 1895-1945, ed. Li Narangoa and Robert Cribb (London: Routledge Curzon, 2003), 302. 64 Oliver, 116. 65 League of Nations Permanent Mandates Commission, “Minutes of the Twenty- Second Session,” (1932), 112 and League of Nations Permanent Mandates Commission, “Minutes of the Thirtieth Session,” (1936), 178. 66 Anttila, 229. BIBLIOGRAPHY Primary Sources Japanese Government (South Seas Division). Second Annual Report to the League of Nations on the Administration of the Territory Under Japanese Mandate, 1921. ___________________________________. Annual Report to the League of Nations on the Administration of the South Sea Islands Under Japanese Mandate for the Year 1924. ___________________________________. Annual Report to the League of Nations on the Administration of the South Sea Islands Under Japanese Mandate for the Year 1925. ___________________________________. 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