A chrysanthemum in the garden: a Christian kindergarten in the Empire of Japan

Abstract

This is a study of the contribution of Christian missionaries to kindergarten education in the Empire of Japan. The study concerns an American Missionary woman, Annie L. Howe (1852–1943) and her kindergarten in Kobe, Japan. Annie L. Howe had a great impact on the history of early childhood education and is still remembered as the “Mother of Christian Kindergartens” in Japan. The study examines the practical difficulties and barriers to the dissemination of the ideas of kindergarten education and the development of a Christian kindergarten in the period 1887–1927. The themes highlighted include education and modernisation; Christian kindergartens and kindergarten education; Christianity and the Imperial Rescript on Education; and Froebelian theory and the education of young children in the Empire of Japan. Annie L. Howe’s personal experience of 40 years of struggles and successes in her kindergarten yielded powerful messages regarding how teaching, learning and pedagogic discourse were developed in the Empire of Japan not just by the decisions of a Christian and kindergartner, but also by local and national pressures, education policy, the balance of political control, and culture and history.