terakoya

Terakoya were temple schools that emerged in Japan during the Tokugawa era (1603–1867). These schools were representative of the commoner's culture that developed during this period of peace. As time passed, some terakoya began using parts of private homes as classrooms. By the latter half of the Tokugawa era, terakoya flourished in most towns and villages, developing characteristics similar to modern primary schools. Their curriculum focused on reading, writing, and arithmetic.1

After the Meiji Restoration in 1868, Japan established a national education system. The Ministry of Education was created in 1871, and the Education System Order (Gakusei) was promulgated in 1872. This plan aimed for a unified, egalitarian system of modern national education. Many terakoya were reorganized into modern schools to support this new system, though challenges with funding and resources meant the enrollment rate was initially low.2