Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- Acknowledgements
- Editors’ Notes on Translation
- Introduction: Books, Craftsmen, and Engineers: The Emergence of a Formalized Technical Education in a Modern Science-based Education System
- 1 The Translation of Technical Manuals from Western Languages in Nineteenth-century Japan: A Visual Tour
- 2 The Translation of Western Books on Natural Science and Technology in China and Japan: Early Conceptions of Electricity 19
- 3 Creating Intellectual Space for West-East and East-East Knowledge Transfer: Global Mining Literacy and the Evolution of Textbooks on Mining in Late Qing China, 1860–1911
- 4 François Léonce Verny and the Beginning of the ‘Modern’ Technical Education in Japan
- 5 The Role of the Ministry of Public Works in Designing Engineering Education in Meiji Japan: Reconsidering the Foundation of the Imperial College of Engineering(Kōbu-dai-gakkō)
- 6 From Student of Confucianism to Hands-on Engineer: The Case of Ōhara Junnosuke, Mining Engineer 114
- 7 The Fall of the Imperial College of Engineering: From the Imperial College of Engineering (Kōbu-dai-gakkō) to the Faculty of Engineering at Imperial University, 1886 161
- Miscellaneous Frontmatter
- Miscellaneous Frontmatter
- 8 Kikuchi Kyōzō and the Implementation of Cottonspinning Technology: The Career of a Graduate of the Imperial College of Engineering
- 9 The Training School for Railway Engineers: An Early Example of an Intra-firm Vocational School in Japan
- 10 The Training and Education of Female Silk-reeling Instructors in Meiji Japan
- 11 The Establishment and Curriculum of the Tōkyō Shokkō-gakkō (Tōkyō Vocational School) in Meiji Japan
- 12 The Development of Mining Schools in Japan
- 13 Science Education in Japanese Schools in the Late 1880s as Reflected in Students’ Notes
- 14 Education in Mechanical Engineering in Early Universities and the Role of Their Graduates in Japan’s Industrial Revolution: The University of Tōkyō, the Imperial College of Engineering and the Imperial University
- List of Contributors
- Index
7 - The Fall of the Imperial College of Engineering: From the Imperial College of Engineering (Kōbu-dai-gakkō) to the Faculty of Engineering at Imperial University, 1886 161
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 26 May 2022
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- Acknowledgements
- Editors’ Notes on Translation
- Introduction: Books, Craftsmen, and Engineers: The Emergence of a Formalized Technical Education in a Modern Science-based Education System
- 1 The Translation of Technical Manuals from Western Languages in Nineteenth-century Japan: A Visual Tour
- 2 The Translation of Western Books on Natural Science and Technology in China and Japan: Early Conceptions of Electricity 19
- 3 Creating Intellectual Space for West-East and East-East Knowledge Transfer: Global Mining Literacy and the Evolution of Textbooks on Mining in Late Qing China, 1860–1911
- 4 François Léonce Verny and the Beginning of the ‘Modern’ Technical Education in Japan
- 5 The Role of the Ministry of Public Works in Designing Engineering Education in Meiji Japan: Reconsidering the Foundation of the Imperial College of Engineering(Kōbu-dai-gakkō)
- 6 From Student of Confucianism to Hands-on Engineer: The Case of Ōhara Junnosuke, Mining Engineer 114
- 7 The Fall of the Imperial College of Engineering: From the Imperial College of Engineering (Kōbu-dai-gakkō) to the Faculty of Engineering at Imperial University, 1886 161
- Miscellaneous Frontmatter
- Miscellaneous Frontmatter
- 8 Kikuchi Kyōzō and the Implementation of Cottonspinning Technology: The Career of a Graduate of the Imperial College of Engineering
- 9 The Training School for Railway Engineers: An Early Example of an Intra-firm Vocational School in Japan
- 10 The Training and Education of Female Silk-reeling Instructors in Meiji Japan
- 11 The Establishment and Curriculum of the Tōkyō Shokkō-gakkō (Tōkyō Vocational School) in Meiji Japan
- 12 The Development of Mining Schools in Japan
- 13 Science Education in Japanese Schools in the Late 1880s as Reflected in Students’ Notes
- 14 Education in Mechanical Engineering in Early Universities and the Role of Their Graduates in Japan’s Industrial Revolution: The University of Tōkyō, the Imperial College of Engineering and the Imperial University
- List of Contributors
- Index
Summary
INTRODUCTION
IN 1886, THE Kōbu-dai-gakkō (Imperial College of Engineering, ICE) became part of the newly established Imperial University. ICE began as Kōgaku-ryō (as already described in Chapter 5 of this volume). It was established under the Ministry of Public Works in 1871 and accepted its first students in 1873. It changed its name to Kōbu-dai-gakkō in January 1877 following the reform of the government system. In December 1885, together with the abolition of the Ministry of Public Works, the operation of ICE was transferred to the Ministry of Education. Then, as part of the Imperial University Ordinance in March 1886, ICE was merged with the Faculty of Engineering and Design (Kōgei-gakubu) at the University of Tōkyō, and was transformed into the College of Engineering (Kōka Daigaku) of the Imperial University.
By investigating the developments surrounding the closure in more detail, this chapter reconsiders the significance of ICE in technical education in Japan.
ICE lies at a prehistoric crossroads of the Imperial University. As the starting point for the introduction of engineering into Japan, the college was critical in the history of higher education and technology in the country. The fact that ICE has been examined by many researchers underscores its significance. Some studies not only describe the historical facts about the college, but also emphasize that its education has traditionally been seen as sophisticated, and consider the college as having been highly successful.
On the other hand, the college has as yet scarcely been analysed from a critical standpoint, and its historical significance has not been fairly assessed. This chapter revises the conventional view of the college by discussing the Ministry of Public Works’ role in its foundation and the educational situation, which greatly differs depending on the ‘branches’ involved. This chapter re-evaluates the meaning of the college's closure by scrutinizing its original purpose and achievements.
Many researchers have covered ICE's closure and its transition to the College of Engineering at the Imperial University. Regarding the establishment of the Imperial University, some scholars have taken a positive view of the founding of the College of Engineering from the beginning of a university. Since Tachi Akira's paper in 1976, the negative view that it represented the end of ICE's original education has become a popular view in the history of higher education.
- Type
- Chapter
- Information
- Accessing Technical Education in Modern Japan , pp. 161 - 188Publisher: Amsterdam University PressPrint publication year: 2022