2020 Invited Lecture Series
Toward Critical, Historical and Transnational Dialogues on Japanese “Model” of Education

Before the Pacific War, Japanese Brazilian society assumed dual characteristics; one as an outpost of the Japanese Empire and the other as an integral part of nation-state Brazil. Reflecting on this duality, education for the children of Japanese immigrants evolved under the influence of the Japanese educational practices and the Brazilian public education system.
This lecture begins by reviewing elementary school education for Japanese Brazilian children that reached its golden age in the late 1930s, introducing the Japanese educational practices popular at the time. In particular, my discussion illustrates how the Japanese pedagogical practices, including sports, support for troops, and school excursion, were promoted when the Brazilian government was pursuing the nationalization policy. Situating the Japanese educational culture within the interconnected modernization movements of the two countries, my talk will invite the audience to explore the historical significance of the Japanese educational culture and its important implications for today.