Abstract
This article explores how Tokyo Imperial University, the oldest Japanese state university, came to be perceived as the top school in meritocratic Japan. Educational sociologists have investigated the institutionally defined hierarchy among universities in modern Japan but have rarely debated why the hierarchy persisted after the abolishment of privileges given exclusively to students of Tokyo Imperial University. This article historicizes the university’s superiority as an idea reshaped through the expansion of higher education and competition among institutions. It reveals a paradox of meritocracy: the idea of merit was discursively eclipsed as more aspirants competed for educational credentials in modern Japan.
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