Historical significance of physical education in national normal schools at the dawn of modern Japanese physical education.

2015 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 24500779
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C)
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Section: 一般
• Research Field: Sports science
• Research Institution: National Institute of Fitness and Sports in Kanoya (2014-2015); Nagano Prefectural College (2012-2013)
• Principal Investigator: Fujisaka Yumiko 鹿屋体育大学, スポーツ人文・応用社会科学系, 講師 (20442155)
• Project Period (FY): 2012-04-01 – 2016-03-31
• Keywords: 官立師範学校 / 体操指導 / 遊戯 / 体操教科書 / 天覧体操 / 体育科教育

Outline of Final Research Achievements

This study elucidates the reality of coaching as well as practicing in sports and gymnastics education at 6 national normal schools of the early Meiji era, which have not been previously addressed in the history of physical education, as normal schools only existed for 4 or 5 years.
Although regional differences were noted, this study revealed that 1) Teachers of national normal schools conducted gymnastics coaching exhibitions intended for imperial inspections by Emperor Meiji during imperial tours; 2) Courtyards at national normal schools were equipped with gymnastics apparatus such as horizontal bars and swings; and 3) Textbooks written by national normal school graduates were published, and implementation of their suggested gymnastics coaching practices at the schools was encouraged. Moreover, following the abolition of the national normal schools, pedagogy was rapidly relegated to prefectural normal schools, and that is how physical education is believed to have been passed on.

Free Research Field

体育史