明治期における青年団の生成と展開

Youth Groups (Seinendan) played very large roles in youth education before World War II. Despite this, research on the history of Youth Groups has not done empirical verification based on many cases. Considering this point, this paper aims to explain the actual process of creation and development of youth organizations in the Meiji Era. Investigation produced the following findings. First, it was found that Youth Groups were created in two patterns. One pattern was newly established Youth Groups. The other was previous organizations reorganized into Youth Groups. Second, comparing the lineage of Youth Groups, more of them developed from Youth Associations (Seinen Kessha) than from older youth organizations. Third is the formation period, and important roles certain people played in the process of forming Youth Groups. Youth Groups began to form in the late 1880s. They expanded during the First Sino-Japanese War and Russo-Japanese War, and their numbers increased from the late 1910s onwards. One can say that Youth Groups were established through the Meiji Era. Also, Jinjo Elementary School Principals played a main guiding role in the establishment and development of Youth Groups. Fourth, one can say that the Youth Group concept was still not finalized when Exemplary Youth Group awards were given in 1910 and 1911.