[Japanese Ministry of Education]:

$350 · Offered by William Reese Company · No longer available

SCHOOL HOUSES IN JAPAN [wrapper title]. A promotional booklet produced for Western audiences by the Japanese Ministry of Education (Monbushou) just a few years after the end of World War II. In fact, the preface is dated September, 1951, the same month as the signing of the San Francisco Peace Treaty, which created the framework for the restoration of Japanese self-sovereignty. Accompanied by numerous statistical infographics and drawn or photographic illustrations, this booklet presents some basic facts about Japan's climate and population, briefly outlines the history of education in Japan including post-war educational reform, and describes the challenges facing schools due to increased population, lack of resources and materials, and destruction caused by the war. Despite the authors' humble postscript which asserts that "it must be admitted, regret to say, that this document leaves much to be desired," it nonetheless provides a wealth of information on the state of Japanese schools in the early 1950s, particularly through its illustrations of classrooms, school buildings, and floorplans and classrooms from various regions of the country. Rare: OCLC records only three copies - at the British Architectural Library at the Royal Institute, the IZUM in Slovenia, and the University of Akron.

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