The Early Textbook Authorization System and the Textbooks of Mathematics

초기의 교과서검정제도와 수학교과서

At present, Japanese textbooks of mathematics for elementary and secondary schools are thorized by the Ministry of Education. In former days, this system was also in effect for mentary schools until 1905 and for secondary schools until 1944. this article we discuss the start and the change of this system until 1905 and its influences the textbooks of mathematics. The main interest of the system was originally to prevent the textbooks from having the pressions which have the fear of breaking laws, disturbing the public morals or mistaking real facts. The interest changed to assure that the textbooks might comply with the ional standards of teaching syllabuses. And the standards such as the ones of the sizes of ers in the textbooks were made public one after another. The comments attached to the textbooks which applied for the authorization often pointed out use of unsuitable concrete numbers. The comments were often concerned with the difficulty words or sentenses for elementary schools and with the incorrectness of mathematical contents secondary schools. We conclude that the system encouraged the rapid modernization and regularization of Japanese tbooks during this period. We may note that there was a tendency not to adopt an extremely usual trial into the textbooks.