UC Santa Cruz UC Santa Cruz Electronic Theses and Dissertations Title Taiwanese Homes, Japanese Schools: Han Taiwanese Girls' Primary Education Under Japanese Rule, 1895–1945 Permalink https://escholarship.org/uc/item/89v7x5m7 Author Hu, Fang Yu Publication Date 2015 Peer reviewed|Thesis/dissertation eScholarship.org Powered by the California Digital Library University of California UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA SANTA CRUZ TAIWANESE HOMES, JAPANESE SCHOOLS: HAN TAIWANESE GIRLS’ PRIMARY EDUCATION UNDER JAPANESE RULE, 1895-1945 A dissertation submitted in partial satisfaction of the requirements for the degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY in HISTORY by Fang Yu Hu June 2015 The Dissertation of Fang Yu Hu is approved: _________________________________ Professor Gail Hershatter, chair _________________________________ Professor Emily Honig _________________________________ Professor Alan S. Christy _________________________________ Professor Noriko Aso ____________________________________ Tyrus Miller Vice Provost and Dean of Graduate Studies Copyright © by Fang Yu Hu 2015 TABLE OF CONTENTS Table of Contents..........................................................................................................iii List of Tables................................................................................................................iv Abstract..........................................................................................................................v Dedication and Acknowledgments..............................................................................vii Introduction....................................................................................................................1 Chapter 1: Ideal of Womanhood in East Asia and Colonial Taiwan: “Good Wife, Wise Mother” and Education for Girls......................................................14 Chapter 2: Schoolgirls in Training: Gendered Curriculum..........................................55 Chapter 3: Mobilizing Labor on the Home Front: The Experiences of Han Taiwanese Schoolgirls during the World War II Period, 1937-1945........................112 Chapter 4: Life after Primary School Education.......................................................175 Chapter 5: Colonial Memory and Nostalgia..............................................................218 Appendices.................................................................................................................299 Bibliography..............................................................................................................323 ! iii! LIST OF TABLES Table 1. Number of Primary Schools and Schoolchildren..........................................65 Table 2. Fully Certified Primary School Teachers, 1903-1943...................................76 Table 3. Temporary Primary School Teachers, 1903-1943.........................................77 Table 4. The Numbers of Traditional Chinese Academies and Students.....................92 Table 5. Hours Instruction per week according to the Revised Taiwan Educational Ordinance of 1922........................................................................................102 Table 6. Number of Fully Certified Teachers by Nationality and Gender.................136 Table 7. Number of Temporary Teachers by Nationality and Gender.......................136 Table 8. Taiwanese Girl Primary School Graduates and Their Subsequent Educational History..........................................................................................................200 ! iv! ABSTRACT TAIWANESE HOMES, JAPANESE SCHOOLS: HAN TAIWANESE GIRLS' PRIMARY EDUCATION UNDER JAPANESE RULE, 1895–1945 Fang Yu Hu In 1897, the Japanese government began its effort to make modern Japanese citizens out of Han Taiwanese schoolgirls in its first overseas colony, Taiwan (1895– 1945). As a latecomer and the only non-Western empire, Japanese leaders showcased educational efforts in Taiwan to cast Japan as a benevolent colonizer. Educational efforts in Taiwan targeted the masses, including girls, in contrast to most European colonies in Africa and Asia where only elites received education. Through the public education of girls, the Japanese leadership implemented its version of modern female citizenship – “good wives, wise mothers” who were essential for producing loyal and healthy male citizens necessary for building a strong empire. The education of girls was a national and colonial project as Japanese leaders embarked on nation-building and empire-building efforts. Using a combination of archival research and interviews, this project investigates how Japanese colonial education of girls shaped the daily lives, self- perceptions, and memories of Taiwanese girls. My research suggests three patterns. First, a discrepancy existed between the intentions of the colonists and the impact on the colonized: while the colonial government intended to train Taiwanese girls to become loyal wives and mothers of the Japanese empire, the colonized sought education as a way to increase family income or enhance their daughters’ ! v! marriageability. Second, experiences in colonial schools and the impact of public education depended on one’s nationality, gender, and socioeconomic status as Japanese colonial policy restructured and redefined communities and divisions. Finally, the colonial legacy lingers on as Taiwanese women and men used their Japanese educational experiences to construct colonial nostalgia and critique the postwar Chinese Nationalist government. Compared to Chinese and Koreans who suffered from Japanese imperialistic aggression, Taiwanese are known as the most pro-Japan people in East Asia. An examination of schoolgirls’ memories helps explain this phenomenon and furthers our understanding of the current geopolitics in East Asia. ! vi! DEDICATION AND ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I dedicate my dissertation to my grandparents and the people of Taiwan, past, present, and future. This dissertation is the fruit of all the support and guidance I received during my academic training at the University of California, Santa Cruz. I am most grateful to Gail Hershatter, my main advisor, whose close guidance, enduring support, and boundless patience made this dissertation possible. Her careful and insightful comments have inspired me to become a better thinker and writer. I am forever changed by her wisdom and expertise. I could not have completed my dissertation without the amazing support from my other advisors and professors at UC Santa Cruz. Emily Honig has encouraged me to think about gender in the global context and to become a more succinct writer. Alan Christy has provided superb advice on my research. Noriko Aso has provided comprehensive suggestions that were absolutely necessary for my dissertation. Matt O'Hara and Megan Thomas have read my dissertation proposal and encouraged me to think about my project in regional and global contexts. Edmund (Terry) Burke has provoked me to think about my project in the context of world history. This dissertation began with my master's thesis, which came to fruition with unwavering support and thoughtful suggestions under the direction of Alice Yang—faculty instructor for the master's thesis course—and my cohort: Michele Henrey, Martin Rizzo, Nikki Severson, Jeremy Tai, and Polly Zavadivker. Minghui Hu encouraged ! vii! me to continue pursuing my research interest in Taiwan under Japanese colonialism in my master's thesis. I am indebted to Dr. Yu Chien-ming from the Institute of Modern History, Academia Sinica, and Dr. Ko Ikujo (Hung Yu-ru) of Hitotsubashi University for their expertise in women's history of modern Taiwan and their support for my project over the years. Their research formed the foundation of this dissertation. I am grateful to Dr. Jungwon Jin and Dr. Hsu Hsueh-chi at the Institute of Taiwan History, Academia Sinica, for their support and guidance during my two years of research in Taiwan. Dr. Jin's kindness and support have made my research effort at Academia Sinica a comfortable and successful one. My participation in Dr. Hsu Hsueh-chi's reading group on primary sources has equipped me with research tools and primary sources in Taiwan. The graduate seminar under the direction of Dr. Hsu Peih-sien at National Taiwan Normal University has increased my understanding of Taiwanese history. Dr. Wu Wen-hsing, Dr. Chou Wan-yao, other faculty members, and graduate students at the Society of the History of Education in Taiwan (Taiwan jiaoyu yanjiu hui) have provided helpful comments for my research. A special thank you to Tseng Lin-yi at National Taiwan Normal University and Li Kai-yang at National Taiwan University for sharing sources. I am indebted to everyone who helped me secure interviews in Taiwan. I am most grateful to my grandmother, Hsing, who introduced her former classmates and neighbors to me. She accompanied me to many interviews and helped facilitate the conversations. Her strength and smile continue to inspire me. I am indebted to Yang ! viii! Chao-chieh from National Chengchi University, Tseng Lin-yi at National Taiwan Normal University, and my uncle, Cheng-ho Hu, for introducing interviewees and accompanying me to interviews. I am indebted to all my Taiwanese-American and Taiwanese friends who introduced their grandparents as interviewees. This research was supported by the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, Academia Sinica in Taiwan, and the University of California Pacific Rim Research Program. I am grateful to the Academia Sinica library, the