Tsubono Heitaro (坪野平太郎)
Heitaro TSUBONO (1859-1925) was an educator and a statesman in Japan. He was the second mayor of Kobe City (service: May 27, 1901-March 17, 1905). His go (pen name) was Nanyo.
Summary
He graduated from the law school of Tokyo University in 1886. He stayed in Hojo, Awa County (present-day Tateyama City, Chiba Prefecture) for medical treatment of his illness. While in Hojo, he opened an English school there, taught English and tennis, etc., and is said to have introduced Hojo throughout the country as a perfect place to aestivate, hibernate, and to swim in sea. Later, after having served as a diplomat, secretary of a minister, director of a bank, and headmaster of Hyogo Prefectural Commercial School (present-day Hyogo Prefectural Kobe Higher Commercial School), he assumed the post of the mayor of Kobe City in 1901.
While serving as a mayor, he especially focused on the issue of education. At the time, due to a sharp increase in the number of school children in Kobe City and revision of Shogakko Rei (Primary School Order), they had a shortage of classrooms. Under these circumstances, Tsubono planned building more schools and in 1901, built seven more schools. However, it still did not resolve the issue of absolute shortfall of classrooms; on the other hand, education spending was being cut back due to the inflation of military spending which was needed to be prepared against the Russian Empire, which kept expanding southward at the time. As a way out of the situation, he introduced the system of "nibu-kyoju" (or "nibu-jugyo", both meaning "double teaching). More specifically, it was a system in which each class in each grade was divided into the morning class and the afternoon class, which were taught by the same teacher, respectively; since this was a unique system in Japan at the time, it drew attention. Some teachers argued against the system because it increased their physical strain, but Tsubono pacified the opposition by trying various measures in terms of allowance, etc.
Other than the above, he actively increased female teachers, in the midst of the strong trend to keep out and disfavor female teachers, from the belief that "as long as an elementary school is an extension of home, maternal love is essential for cultivation of children". He also changed the names of night schools, which were privately organized by volunteers and which provided educational opportunities to working children, to private night schools and aided such schools. Furthermore, he established a post called "Shishigaku" for inspecting each school, and every day at dinner time, Tsubono received a condition report of school inspection by Shishigaku. This system was based on Tsubono's idea that "a good teacher is needed to raise a good person", and Tsubono had ordered Shishigaku to evaluate by five levels the degree of "goodness" of all 400 teachers in the city and to secretly report the result.
From such measures taken, Tsubono came to be called "Education Mayor"; however, he was the subject to bitter criticism over the municipal government by people like Fusajiro KAJIMA (later the fourth mayor of Kobe City) of Kobe City Assembly. In 1905, Tsubono took responsibility over the buyout of premises of Higashiyama Isolation Hospital by resigning with the assistant mayor.
After resignation from the mayor, he served as the headmaster of Yamaguchi Higher Commercial School (present-day Yamaguchi University) and then in 1911 assumed the post of the sixteenth headmaster of Tokyo College of Commerce (present-day Hitotsubashi University). At the time, the ordinance to abolish Senko-bu of Tokyo Higher Commercial School in 1909 had led to an extension of Senko-bu for four years, as the result of "Hitotsubashi University Shinyu-Jiken" in 1908 and 1909, and the deadline was getting close. Tsubono kept struggling, along with Eiichi SHIBUSAWEA and others, and in 1912 succeeded in repealing the ordinance of abolition. In August of 1914, Tsubono once again resigned from his post as the headmaster due to his illness.
After resignation from the post of the headmaster, he stayed in Hojo-machi, Awa Province, Chiba Prefecture again and re-opened the English school of the old days. In 1919 he established "Awa Ikueikai" in Koishikawa, Tokyo, and aided those who were natives of Awa Province and who had come to Tokyo. After the Great Kanto Earthquake in 1923, he moved to Kobe City, and in 1925, died at the age of sixty-five. Tsubono left a wise saying: "Happy is one who falls in love with the land, his wife, and furthermore with his work". His grave is in Jion-in Temple in Tateyama City.
1859
Birth
1886
He graduated from the law school of Tokyo University
1901
He assumed the post of the second mayor of Kobe City
1908
He assumed the post of the third headmaster of Yamaguchi Higher Commercial School (present-day Yamaguchi University)
1911
He assumed the post of the sixteenth headmaster of Tokyo College of Commerce (present-day Hitotsubashi University)
1925
He died in Kobe City.
Books
"Kaiba Ichiben" (1914)
"Shiggyu Roku" (1925)