This study intended to examine the process of development and intensification of martial arts education in schools of Chosun as courses of health, hygiene, and physical education implemented by the Japanese colonial government that ruled Chosun during the period of ‘Second Sino-Japanese War’ from 1937 to 1945. During this period, the Japanese colonial government established the ‘Imperial Subjects’ Gymnastics,’ elaborated on the education of health and hygiene in order to lay the foundations for the strengthening of war potential, and intensified the theoretical education and practice of martial arts as an effective means therefore. The education of health, hygiene, and martial arts, implemented by the Japanese colonial power with the catchphrase of constructing robust body, was nothing but a means to construct and control the body of colonial people at its discretion. The thoughts of health, hygiene, and martial arts, which were presented to students, were rather intended for the cultivation of the subjects devoted to Japanese Empire than for the promotion of health and psychosomatic development of individuals. In particular, along with contemporary society fell into the turmoil of war, the amusable aspects of martial arts were lost in the education of martial arts and were replaced with the spirit of Japanese Samurai.
This study intended to examine the process of development and intensification of martial arts education in schools of Chosun established as courses of health, hygiene and physical education implemented by the Japanese colonial government that ruled Chosun during the period of war, initiated by the ‘Second Sino-Japanese War’ occurred in 1937 and lasted to 1945 (Since the Japanese colonial government used the term, Chosun, to call its contemporary colony for the 36 years of its reign, this paper uses the term accordingly).
With the coercive annexation of Chosun in 1910, the Japanese colonial power transplanted its experiences of the implementation of education in Japan into the educational system in schools of Chosun. The morning session in schools, gymnastics, athletic meet, excursion, school trip, physical examinations relevant to health and hygiene, and examination of individual bearing, which are still remaining in current school, are typical aspects of modern educational system introduced into Chosun through Japanese colonial power (
In this context, it is necessary to study the relevance of the education of martial arts to colonialism based on the education of health and hygiene in schools implemented by Japanese colonial government, if the history of education in modern schools, imported from Europe and then propagated with the foundation of the Great Korean Empire, is to be examined.
Since the early days of the colony Chosun, the Japanese colonial government implemented educational policies established for the cultivation of people in colony Chosun as compliant subjects faithful to Japanese Empire. On entering into the war period in 1937, the Japanese colonial government turned its policies of education to the way of the cultivation of colonial people as a means of strengthening robust military power preparing for the upcoming total war. Thereby, the educational courses, focused on the cultivation of robust body and strong military sprit, were prepared in the educational courses from elementary schools to universities (
That is, on finding the gradual deterioration of the physique of people in Japan as well as in Chosun, the colonial government concentrated on the cultivation of people required for the war times with the recognition of the necessity of prompt improvement of the physique of people as an objective of school education related with public health (
The issues relevant to war and health of people have been closely connected in every age. Among them, the cultivation of soldiers of robust bodies with strong psychological, mental, and physical strength would be an essential element. The educational policies established and implemented by the Japanese colonial government seem comprised of such elements selected according to political intentions.
Since 1937, the importance of national education was emphasized as a means to realize the system of total war thereby, the group gymnastics, referred to as the ‘Imperial Subjects’ Gymnastics (Kokokushimmintaiso),’ was introduced and implemented in the educational courses of schools. Even for the female students, the courses of education were revised by employing the courses of swordsmanship, judo, archery, and Naginata for the physical drills.
These were laid according to the intention of exploiting colonial people as a means of military mobilization through the courses of education in schools equipped with the courses of martial arts. The Japanese colonial government presented the purpose of physical education as the promotion of health of the students of colony Chosun. However, it was actually revised in a way to be focusing on military exercises comprising physical and mental trainings aiming for an attainment of skills and actions necessary for soldiers as Japanese subjects (
Thus, what kinds of curricula in the educational courses of health and physical exercises in schools were emphasized, and how the courses were implemented in 1930s, need to be examined and analyzed, to clarify all aspects of the actual introduction of educational courses of martial arts and the Japanese colonialism.
Besides, the formation of hygiene police as an implementation of social policies relevant to hygiene promoted by Japanese colonial government for the ordinary people in colony Chosun, and the effects thereof, were reported (
In this study, the ‘Education of Chosun,’ published by the ‘Society of Education in Chosun’ (the society was based on the Bureau of Educational Affairs in the Japanese colonial government and was comprised of teachers in middle schools or beyond), and the ‘Researches in the Education of Chosun,’ published by the ‘Society for the Research in Elementary Education of Chosun’ (the society was comprised of teachers in contemporary elementary schools), were taken as main materials for the study conducted to examine the materials of physical education relevant to the education of health and hygiene in schools.
The term of study set for this study starts from 1937, the year of outbreak of the Second Sino-Japanese War, to 1945; the examination conducted in this study was focused on changes in the contents of education, prepared to cope with situations of contemporary times.
In particular, the purposes of this study were focused on what contents of martial arts were employed in the revised educational courses and on how the contents were emphasized in the implementation of educational courses in schools, to identify and analyze actual realities thereof, in the context of the strengthening of war potential in response to the acceleration of war phases.
The Japanese colonial power put its efforts on the amendment of educational system, prepared for the situation on a war footing, before the outbreak of the Second Sino-Japanese War in July 1937. By taking the way following the amendment of educational policies in its mainland of Japan, the Japanese colonial government set forth the system of total war and started to reorganize the contents in courses of physical education in schools.
In the contemporary society of Japan, the policies of social health were emphasized to cope with the forthcoming war times; many people promoted and participated in the group gymnastics.
However, he insisted to import the advantages of group gymnastics already implemented in contemporary European countries to cultivate robust Japanese people by referring to the special effects of the practice of group gymnastics incomparable to those of other exercises.
In accordance with such socially recognized aftereffects, the Japanese colonial government of Chosun developed the new group gymnastics called ‘Imperial Subjects’ Gymnastics’ that took a hint from traditional Japanese swordsmanship and propagated in Chosun. The group gymnastics was implemented solely in Chosun; it was comprised of basic techniques borrowed from judo and swordsmanship (
Further, the Japanese colonial government put additional efforts on the education of individual hygienic practices to prevent the students from epidemics frequently found from battle fields. The Department of Hygiene in the Japanese colonial government started the ‘Movement of National Mobilization of the Spirit of People (Kokuminseishinsodoinundo)’ since 1937 and presented the new ‘Code of Hygienic Guidance’ for the improvement of the physique of people in Chosun (
Further, the head of Department of Hygiene in the Japanese colonial government berated teachers in elementary schools of their easygoing education therein by pointing out the widespread of epidemics including the growing propagation of pulmonary tuberculosis. The myopia, dental caries, and increasing stomach diseases were also included in the scolding to point out them as causes of the deterioration of the physique of people. He requested the teachers in elementary schools, “…the physical strength of adolescents is deteriorating consequently together with the decreasing birthrate and resulting decrease of population growth rate. The higher infant mortality rate is also attributable to the poor hygienic statues of people in Chosun. Radical measures to solve the high incidence rate of pulmonary tuberculosis and widespread of parasite in the classes of adolescent and adult shall be devised…” (
Regarding this issue, the Society for the Research in Elementary Education of Chosun (1938) commented: “…the generally found diseases such as pulmonary tuberculosis myopia, dental caries, and parasites are widespread among students causing the deterioration of physical strength of people. Thus, the means of human resource management including the promotion of increasing population growth rate shall be devised. Besides, the measures to prevent students from pulmonary tuberculosis shall be implemented in schools with an active encouragement of the activities of physical exercises to improve current situations relevant to health and hygiene in schools. The protective measures against various diseases owing to urbanized lives and for the students of weak physical strength shall also be secured with the amendment of the courses of physical education in schools to prevent the deterioration of physical strength of students...”. The society also emphasized, “…the promotion of physical education in schools shall be continued further to spur the militarization of colonial people by elaborating on the implementation of policies established by the Japanese colonial government.”
In July 1937, with the initiation of the Second Sino-Japanese War, the Japanese colonial government of Chosun started the physical examination of students in schools. The police of Japanese colonial government also participated in the implementation of coercive education of health and hygiene for people of Chosun in the society (
In schools, the standards to measure physical fitness of students which were established by the Ministry of Education in Japan in 1937 were introduced as they were wherein the aspects of physical fitness were classified into physique, physical strength, nutrition, capability of doing activities, and illness situation. For the measurement of physical strength of students, the grasping power, running power, jumping power, throwing power, and lifting power (of barbells) were finalized (
In January, 1938, the Ministry of Public Welfare (Koseisho) of Japan was established and the promulgation of the ‘Act of National Mobilization (Kokkasodoinho)’ was followed by in April (
The course of physical training consisted of following four curricula: martial arts, gymnastics (including plays and competitive games), military exercises, and hygiene. However, the contents of these curricula were deviated from the purpose of actual activities.
Teachers were encouraged to teach martial arts, gymnastics, plays, and competitive games on the ground of teaching rules of etiquette, and the students were obliged to put what they learned therefrom into daily practice (
Among them, the course of hygiene was regarded as an essential one to protect lives of students from epidemics; the argument, put heaviest weight to the hygienic practices in daily lives, was thus presented thereby.
Since 1939, the Japanese colonial government announced the Three Principles of Education: Clarification of National Identity (Kokutaimeicho), Unified Identities of Imperial Subjects (Naisenittai), and Training with Endurance (Ninkutanren). Thereby, new ways of education in schools were presented to realize the announced principles (
Contemporarily, there were doctors employed in schools in Japan for the thorough implementation of practical principles aiming for complete accomplishment of students’ health and physical enhancement however, on the contrary, medical care for students in schools of Chosun were rarely found despite the legal provisions and educational principles stipulated therefor. The educational principles presented for students in Japan and Chosun were almost identical however, the discriminations in actual practices thereof against students of Chosun can be inferred to. That is, in colony Chosun, the physical education was emphasized with the educational objective of the strengthening of war potential as the collaboration oriented to the construction of new order in East Asia. Thus, instead of the physical education to be implemented in peaceful times, it was requested that the physical education focused on the attainment of best war potential should be established (
In short, the focus of physical education in schools gradually proceeded to the planning and implementation of the accomplishment of military physical strength of students.
As the education of martial arts in schools became intensified, the training of swordsmanship based on military discipline became introduced into elementary schools to cultivate the students as strong adults preparing for the upcoming world war (
The Japanese colonial government introduced the physical examination into the entrance examination to higher schools in the 1940s. The contents of the ‘Act of Physical Examination,’ amended in October 1938 then were changed quite differently from those of previous one with the method of scoring each examinational items. The examination of the body of student was distinguished into the ones of physique, physical constitution, and physical fitness for the strict and exact screening of students. The screening of physique and physical constitution were employed even for the entrance examination of higher schools (
The Japanese colonial government renamed the ‘Ordinary School’ as ‘Elementary School’ since 1942 with the change of the name of physical exercises to ‘physical training.’ Besides, the ‘Third Educational Decree of Chosun’ was implemented by which, the system of school education was changed into the system of training and cultivation. Here, the training and cultivation refers to the military training and physical enhancement including health of students through the coercive nationalistic education that took schools as military subsidiaries of an army under the conscription system enabled by the enactment of the ‘Act of National Mobilization.’ The plans of physical enhancement of female students were also established.
In 1941, the ‘Education of Chosun,’ published by the ‘Society of Education in Chosun,’ and the ‘Researches in the Education of Chosun,’ published by the ‘Society for the Research in Elementary Education of Chosun,’ inserted pictures of the group of male and female students practicing Naginata together with the intention of publicizing the activities. And, in the articles of ‘The Spirit of Japanese Samurai’ and ‘Women in Imperial Country’ (
As mentioned before, the Bureau of Public Welfare, comprising the sections of health, hygiene, social affairs, and labors, was newly established. These sections were previously belonged to the Bureau of Internal Affairs and Bureau of Police, and were rearranged in the new born Bureau of Public Welfare according to the reorganization of Japanese colonial government intended for the integration and intensification of administrative works for the management of human resources and their lives in November 1941, 2 years later from the establishment of the Ministry of Public Welfare (Koseisho) in Japan (
The Bureau of Public Welfare announced the implementation of conscription system in Chosun from June 1942. From September 10 to 11, 1942, the ‘first physical fitness badge test’ for the subjects of approximately 60,000 students aged from 15 years to 25 years (male students) (~22 years for female students) in middle schools, high schools, or over, was carried out for the implementation of conscription system. The running, saltation, throwing, carrying (heavy) loads, and suspending on horizontal bar, were taken for the examination by which, the subjects were distinguished into the ones of top grade, middle grade, elementary grade, and others. The subjects, attained certain level of standard records, were certified with the physical strength badge (
Besides, the Japanese colonial government contributed an article (
Thereafter, the principles of physical exercises for ordinary people (
Besides, the mock cavalry battle, snatching flags of opposite parties, carrying heavy loads, swimming, bayonet drill, marine training, aviation training, and snow and ice sports (skiing and skating) were recommended for the male students. Whereas, the gymnastics, marching, athletic sports, swimming, and snow and ice sports (skiing and skating) were recommended for the female students (
In 1944, when the situation of war turned into the stage disadvantageous to Japanese colonial power, even 3 hr of military training per week in schools was not available by the priority of the production of military supplies through the mobilization of students. As the situation of war became desperate, the education of martial arts became unavailable. And on reaching the final defeat in 1945, the education of martial arts of Japanese style started to fade away.
The Japanese colonial power broadly revised the educational policies and objectives in schools of Chosun by mobilizing scholars of pedagogy as she was participating in the way of the war of 15 years initiated by the Manchurian Incident occurred in September 1931. In particular, the purposes of the education of health and martial arts in schools were put on the enhancement of physique and physical fitness of students. Thereby, the new policies of the education of physical exercises comprising courses of health and hygiene appeared and propagated into contemporary society with an emphasis of the social connection of physical education to ordinary people. In 1937, the Japanese colonial power engaged in the war with China and thereby, reorganized and put its national system on a war footing. Such effects of political and social changes transmitted to Chosun and caused the establishment of the ‘Imperial Subjects’ Gymnastics’ propagated in the entire country by which, the educational policies of physical exercises in the national system on a war footing became visualized.
In particular, the practices of gymnastics were implemented only in Chosun wherein, the art of self-defense, devised from traditional Japanese swordsmanship and judo, was included in connection with the faithfulness to Japanese Emperor, to turn its educational policy in schools of Chosun toward the cultivation of ‘The Spirit of Japanese Samurai’ of students.
Besides, the physical examination of students was introduced in schools in order to manage the human resources of colonial people. Along with the engagement in the war with America, the Japanese imperialists established the Ministry of Public Welfare in Japan and developed and implemented the strong health policies for the enhancement of national physique. Thereby, the Bureau of Public Welfare was established in the Japanese colonial government in Chosun and the policies, intended for the enhancement of health education for the training and cultivation of physical fitness and the education of martial arts, was implemented. However, the Bureau of Public Welfare was abolished in a year.
On entering into the stage of the finalization of war with America, the importance of mental education in schools was emphasized and various systems were introduced to manage the physical fitness training of people. In particular, the courses of martial arts, mock cavalry battle, bayonet drill, and individual health and hygiene which were all necessary for the soldiers who must cultivate techniques of martial arts for the strengthening of war potential, were emphasized instead of the courses of physical exercises exhibiting characteristics of amusement or competition with others such as soccer and baseball. Further, the efforts were put on the mental education and enhancement of physical fitness of female students with the political intention aimed at the production of more population. Thus, the educations of martial arts, health, and hygiene which were implemented by the Japanese colonial power, that ruled colony Chosun during the contemporary period of war, with the educational objective of the cultivation of robust body, were nothing but the means to construct and control the bodies of colonial people. The thoughts of martial arts, health, and hygiene, presented to students by the Japanese colonial power, were rather for the cultivation of faithful and obedient subjects to Japanese Empire than for the cultivation of individual body and mind or health promotion.
In particular, as the contemporary political situation fell into the turmoil of war, the characteristics of amusement in physical exercises were disregarded but instead, the education intended for the cultivation of the ‘Spirit of Japanese Samurai’ took its shape. In this context, the educational theories and logics for the education of martial arts, health, and hygiene in schools, prepared and presented by the Japanese government and scholars of education mobilized therefor, were strongly embedded with the factors that discriminated the students of Chosun in the process of actual practices, despite they were based on the scientific knowledge identical to those constituted the foundation thereof in Japan. Thereby, during the long period from 1937 to 1945, the education of health, hygiene, and martial arts implemented in schools of Chosun by the Japanese colonial government lacked the original significance of physical exercises such as amusement, competition with others, or playful characteristics thereof, except for the educational elements of militarism intended for the cultivation of faithful and obedient imperial soldiers of Japanese Empire.
That is, despite the presentation of educational theories and logics for the education of martial arts in schools that advocated the health promotion of people in Chosun, the education of martial arts in schools was actually introduced into schools of Chosun as a means of military training intended for the ‘enhancement of fighting power’ of future soldiers to cope with the forthcoming war.
No potential conflict of interest relevant to this article was reported.
This work was supported by the National Research Foundation of Korea Grant funded by the Korean Government (NRF-2017-S1A5B4055939) and by Hankuk University of Foreign Studies research fund of 2018.