Following Japan's victory in the First Sino-Japanese War, Taiwan and the Penghu Islands were ceded to Japan by the Qing dynasty in the Treaty of Shimonoseki in 1895, making them a Japanese dependency. The Japanese colonial government aimed to suppress anti-Japanese sentiment, and one of the ways they did this was through public education, which played a crucial role in promoting both control and intercultural exchange. Although most secondary education institutions were only available to Japanese nationals, compulsory primary education significantly impacted the Taiwanese population, contributing to their cultural assimilation under Japanese rule.
The postcard titled "Kappan-Zan Taiwan", subtitled "Actual situation in Kappan-Zan Education Centre", depicts an educational center in Taiwan during the Japanese colonial period. The photo was taken between 1 March 1918 to 14 February 1933 in Japan, likely by a Japanese photographer.
The image provides us with some critical information about the classroom and the educational system in Taiwan during the time of Japanese occupation.
Firstly, the classroom is made of wood, reflecting the construction style of the period. There are around 30 students in the classroom, with seven girls and the rest boys. The students are dressed in Japanese clothing, indicating the Japanese influence the indigenous society.
The teacher is positioned at the back of the classroom, overseeing the students. Behind the teacher, there is a world map and a poster. The students in the front row are barefoot, indicating a cultural difference between the indigenous Taiwanese and the Japanese.
Moreover, we can see that the students on the left and middle columns are engaged in calligraphy practice, using the hiragana script instead of the traditional Chinese characters. This highlights the significant impact of the Japanese language and culture on the Taiwanese education system during the period of colonial rule.
The fact that primary education was made compulsory for Taiwanese children by the Japanese colonial government is significant. The government saw education as a way to control and assimilate the Taiwanese population, as well as to promote the Japanese language and culture. As a result, the impact of the Japanese education system on Taiwanese society was huge, with many Taiwanese children learning the Japanese language and adopting aspects of Japanese culture.
The use of photography by colonial powers has been a topic of debate in anthropology and history. Colonial powers often used photography as a tool for documentation and control, with images of colonized people and cultures being used to reinforce the colonial narrative and justify colonial rule. In the case of the postcard depicting the educational centre in Taiwan, it is possible that the photograph was taken as part of the Japanese colonial government's efforts to showcase the supposed benefits of Japanese education and assimilation. As such, this postcard can be viewed as a representation of the power dynamics of colonialism and the role of photography in the colonial project.
This postcard provides a glimpse into the educational system in Taiwan during the Japanese colonial period, highlighting the Japanese influence on Taiwanese culture and society and the importance of education as a tool for cultural assimilation and control.