Building the Educational Museum—Japan’s encounter with Canada at the
1876 EXPO
MIZOUE Chieko, University of Tsukuba
The 11th Educational Museum in the World
“The Educational Museum in Toronto” was selected as a model when the
Japanese Department of Education planned a new museum in Tokyo in 1877.
This “new” museum in Tokyo, named the 11th Educational Museum in the
World,1 was the predecessor of the present National Science Museum and
“The Educational Museum in Toronto” was the predecessor of the present
Royal Ontario Museum (ROM).
However, what the Educational Museum in Toronto was, and why the
Japanese Government was interested in Canada at that time, has not been
discussed in Japan. Tanaka Fujimaro, in charge of education administration in
the 1870’s, decided on “The Educational Museum in Toronto”. He attended
the International Exhibition at Philadelphia held in 1876 and studied the
American educational system. He later wrote that he happened to meet with
Canadian education administrators in Philadelphia and that they recommended
him to visit The Educational Museum in Toronto 2 which he subsequently chose
as a model for the museum to be created in Japan. In fact, Shiina Sentaku,
who analyzed the early history of the Educational Museum in Tokyo, said that
Tanaka Fujimaro made a final decision after visiting the Educational Museum in
Toronto by quoting from Tanaka’s essay3.
Many Japanese researchers quoted Shiina’s research and the book
A Centennial History of the National Science Museum , which was based on
Shiina’s research, without, however, mentioning Tanaka’s essay. Possibly
because Canadian museums are less familiar to the Japanese than are the
Smithsonian Institution’s museums in the USA and the British Museum in the
UK, Japanese historians have not studied the Educational Museum in Toronto
as it existed in the 1870’s. Few writers even mentioned that “The Educational
Museum in Toronto” was the official name, nor did they address its
management.
This paper discusses the reasons for Tanaka Fujimaro's interest in
Canada’s museum and for his selecting The Educational Museum in Toronto as
a model. First, I will present a brief overview of the history of the educational
museum before its opening in Tokyo as well as an analysis of what led to
Tanaka's interest in the Canadian museum.
1.

２ Museum Planning by the Department of Education in the Early Meiji
1

Era
Modern museums in Japan came into existence after the Meiji
Restoration. At the end of the Tokugawa era, some Japanese visitors of
Western countries considered modern museums as “institutions to spread
knowledge and information” and they introduced these notions upon their return
to Japan.
In Japan, the Department of Education was established in July 1871.
In September 1871 it acquired oversight over the Bureau of Museum whose
name was changed to “The Museum of the Department of Education” on
October 1, 1871, and its designated display site was the Taiseiden of the
Yushima-Seido. As the Japanese government officially decided to attend the
1873 International Exhibition in Vienna, The Department of Education began to
collect many exhibits, some of which were available for public viewing at the
Taiseiden for 20 days after March 10, 1872.4. As this temporary exhibition
proved very popular with the citizens of Tokyo, the closing date was postponed
until the end of April. After close of the exhibit, it was hoped that some of the
deposited materials would remain available for viewing by the public and the
Department of Education decided to open a permanent exhibition at the
Yushima-seido on the 1st, 6th, 11th, 16th, 21st, and 26th day of each month. This
then was the first museum in Japan; it later became the present Tokyo National
Museum.
The first museum plan in Japan was described in the approved
document for building a museum by the Bureau of Museum, Department of
Education in April 1872. It states that 1) a museum studies and displays
zoological, botanical and mineralogical materials, 2) books and articles in these
3 areas are edited, translated, and exhibited to the public, and the history of
artifacts is explained, and 3) the library offers rare books for public perusal.
This plan, however, did not include provisions for the preservation cultural
assets. The roles of a museum, botanical garden, library, and the Bureau of
Museum were also cited in this approved document.5 The first museum plan
for Japan appears to have been influenced by the British Museum.
On March 19, 1873, the Museum, the Library, the Bureau of Museum,
and the Koishikawa Herb Garden under the Department of Education were
merged with the Secretary of the Vienna Exhibition of the Dajoin-Seiin, the
Grand Council. Charge of all materials was also transferred to this Secretary.6
Initially, the Department of Education claimed that the Secretary was
a temporary institution, created to attend the Vienna World Exhibition, and the
artifacts submitted by officials of the Department of Education, the Museum, the
Library, the Bureau of Museum, and the Koishikawa Herb Garden would be
returned to the Department upon closure of the International Exhibition.7 On
2

May 2, 1873, the name was changed from “the Secretary of the Vienna World
Exhibition” to “the Secretary of the Exhibition”,8 and its role was expanded to
include the opening the In-Country Exhibition in Japan to promote Japanese
industries. Members of the Department of Education suspected that the
power and size of the Secretary of the Exhibition would continue to increase
and that the Bureau of Museum might not be returned to the Department.
Therefore, on May 8, 1873, the Department of Education began to submit
requests that the Grand Council cancel the merger of the 2 organizations.
This date was within 50 days of the point at which the Grand Council decided to
proceed with the merger. The stated reason for the cancellation request was
that the Department of Education needed a museum for the education of
children and that the exhibition role of the museum was fundamentally different
from the an educational role, although both types of museum could be open to
the public.9 Tanaka Fujimaro was a central figure in the cancellation
submission.
Following his repeated requests, the Government decided to cancel
the merger on February 9, 1875, and the museum was returned to the
Department of Education without, however, return of the exhibits. These were
incorporated into the collection of the Secretary of Exhibition, making it
necessary for the Department of Education to design a new museum plan.

３ Beginning of the Educational Museum
As a scientific museum, the Tokyo Museum, a new museum of the
Department of Education, began to collect materials throughout Japan. The
collected artifacts were “primarily related to natural science and included
animals, plants, and minerals; ancient art and cultural artifacts were very few.”10
However, the Tokyo Museum had not yet opened to the public because its staff
was dedicated to collecting the exhibit materials.
In March 1876, before his visit to the USA, Tanaka Fujimaro
submitted a proposal for building a new scientific museum in Ueno. The
purpose of the new museum was to facilitate academic studies.l11 However,
after his return to Tokyo, he officially changed the name and purpose of the
museum. It was to be “The Educational Museum to Collect Educational
Materials”.12 Regarding this change, some researchers postulated that, after
visiting the Museum of Education in Toronto, Tanaka considered it more
beneficial for Japan to have an educational museum related to primary and
secondary education than to academics, since Japan had just started its
modern school system.13 They imagined that the displays at the Museum of
Education in Toronto were primarily targeted at school education. However, in
3

fact, the Museum of Education in Toronto primarily exhibited European arts and
constituted an excellent museum. I assume that Tanaka decided to change
his museum from an academic- to an educational museum because he was
interested in the function of the Museum of Education in Toronto and the
Depository. His primary interest was in the function of the Museum of
Education rather than the content of its displays.
Since the new Educational Museum lacked educational materials, on
April 10, 1877, the Department of Education ordered the local government to
acquire educational materials for shipment to the museum. The date of this
order was just 4 months before its scheduled opening to the public.14 About
6,000 items were counted, for example, educational statistics, school
regulations, school house photographs/paintings, textbooks, chairs and tables,
educational apparati, children’s drawings and answer sheets, and children’s
handiwork. In his opening address of August 18, 1877 at the Educational
Museum, Tanaka Fujimaro stated that the purpose of the Educational Museum
was to collect all educational apparati, to compare their merits and demerits,
and to make these items available for inspection to the the public.15
Four years later, this museum was renamed the Tokyo Educational
Museum. It was moved again to Yushima from Ueno as the Normal Higher
School Museum when a new Minister of Education, Mori Arinori, decided to
close the former site for practical reasons. In the Taisho era, after the Great
Kanto Earthquake of 1923, it was rebuilt as a natural science museum and now
it is the National Museum of Science in Ueno.
Next I would like to explore Tanaka’s trip to North America upon which
he chose the Museum of Education in Toronto to be the model for the Japanese
museum.

４ Tanaka ’s Travel to North America
a.
International Exhibition of 1876 and the International Conference
on Education
In 1871 and 1872, Tanaka Fujimaro visited the USA and European
countries as a member of the Iwakura Mission. He became vice minister of
education in 1874, a position that made him the top person at the Department
at that time. A new modern school system, Gakusei, was introduced in 1872
by the Meiji Government; it incorporated a school system modeled on the
French system with the educational content modeled on the American system.
Since the Japanese were not familiar with the modern school system, only a
few students attended school, indicating that the school system and its
educational content required further reform. Tanaka decided to re-visit North
4

America to further study the school system and its educational content when
Japan officially attended the International Exhibition of 1876 and he was put in
charge of the educational section of this exhibition.
The International Exhibition of 1876 in Philadelphia was to celebrate
the earlier Centennial Exposition of May 10, 1876. Over 250 pavilions built at
the site were divided into 7 categories, i.e. country, ceramics and antiques,
education, artifacts created by women, science, machines, and art.16
The large, 1.86 meter-high incense burner and other copper artifacts on
view at the Japan Pavillion were very popular. In its exhibit guide, the New
York Tribune recommended that a visitor with only 3 available days should visit
the Japan Pavilion to view the copper-, porcelain-, and lacquer artifacts and the
needle work. It also recommended viewing the Soroban, a Japanese abacus,
at the education display.17 Interestingly, it claimed that there was nothing of
special interest at the Canada Pavilion, although the educational displays of
Ontario were much applauded.18
Based on the book entitled Educational Report on the Centennial
Exhibition of the United States of America (Educational Report) which Tanaka
published after his travels,19 I would like to present an overview of Tanaka’s
activities. His travel companions, besides his wife Suma, were Hatakeyama
Yoshinari, Abe Taizo, Tejima Seiichi, and Ideura Rikio. They arrived in San
Francisco aboard ship from Yokohama and after a sojourn of several days, they
traveled by train to Philadelphia via New York.20
The Educational Report explained the displays at the exhibition and
the educational features of each country and of some states of the USA that
officially participated in the International Exhibition. The countries included the
UK, France, Italy, Austria, Germany, Switzerland, Belgium, Holland, Denmark,
Sweden, Norway, Russia, and Canada (Ontario and Quebec provinces).
Moreover, the report also discussed individual display items, for example, from
the kindergarten, handicapped education, library, museum, teacher training,
and educational meetings.
The Japanese government published An Outline History of Japanese
21
Education in English; the number of Japanese display items was the
fourth-largest.22 Mekata Tanetaro contended that “we should not display
Western machines copied by the Japanese, nor photographs of school houses
that combine Japanese- and Western styles, but should pay attention to
students' answer sheets.”23 As stated above, the New York Tribune writer
showed an interest in the Soroban and many visitors to the exhibit paid more
attention to original artifacts from Japan than to Japanese imitations of Western
items.
In recalling his visit to Philadelphia, Tanaka recounted that when he
5

attended the International Educational Meeting held in July, 1876, he met the
educational representative of the Canadian government. They talked about
the issue of the educational museum and “the Canadian man strongly
recommended my visiting the museum in Toronto which he managed.”24
Subsequently, Tanaka suddenly changed his schedule and went there.
While the Educational Report failed to mention some museums in the
USA such as the American Museum of National History established in 1869, it
did cite the Metropolitan Museum of Art established in 1870 and the
Smithsonian Institution established in 1846. It introduced an educational
museum in the museum section, but did not address the Museum of Education
in Toronto at all. Most Japanese museum historians believed Tanaka’s
memory to be correct, indicating that he coincidentally met the individual from
the Canadian government who strongly recommended that he visit the
educational museum in Toronto.
According to Canadian and American documents, the Ontario
Educational Exhibit at the International Exhibition at Philadelphia was highly
praised not only by the Committee of the International Exhibition but also by
foreign governments, and Tanaka Fujimaro visited the exhibit many times. In
the above documents I found evidence that he asked representatives of the
Department of Education in Ontario to gift the educational materials contained
in the display to the Japanese government. Tanaka Fujimaro was highly
interested in Ontario’s education even before his visit. Next I would like to
assess his activities during the International Exhibition of 1876 based on my
perusal of Canadian and American documents.
According to Tanaka, the International Educational Meeting held in
July 1876 was a meeting of foreign educators who attended the Centennial
Exhibition; it was held for 8 weeks starting on July 5, 1876.25 Due to hot
weather, attendance was low. However, Tanaka attended each session and
was glad to listened to perspectives offered by other attendees and to offer a
presentation of Japanese culture and educational methods.26
According to the American Report of the Commissioner of Education
for the Year 1876, this International Educational Meeting was hosted by the
Centennial Normal Institute, a temporary organization established in connection
with the International Exhibition. It featured about 70 lectures during a 6rather than an 8-week period starting on July 5. Tanaka Fujimaro gave a
presentation entitled “Education in Japan”; its date is unknown.27
However, this was not an official conference sponsored by the American
government. The official meeting was the International Conference on
Education held by the U.S. Bureau of Education on July 17 and 18, 1876 at the
site of the exhibition. The Ontario government, on the one hand, mentioned
6

International Conference on Education in its official report without mentioning
the International Educational Meeting. On the other hand, Tanaka and the
Educational Report of Japan failed to refer to the International Conference
although Tanaka had been chosen to be its vice chairman and Murray gave an
official talk.
What was the International Conference on Education? Sir
Redmond Barry of Australia was chosen to be its chairman and 9 others,
including Tanaka and Hodgins of Ontario, were selected to be vice chairmen.
Since Sir Barry could not attend this conference, the Honorable William F.
Phelps, President of the National Educational Association, became its chairman
(see Table 1).28
Table 1 Members of the International Conference on Education of 1876
Name
Country/State
Sir Redmond Barry
Australia
Hon. William F. Phelps
President, National Educational Association
Hon. J.P. Wickersham
State superintendent of education for
Pennsylvania
Dr. Philip da Motta
Brazil
Hon. J. George Hodgins
Canada
Hon. Fujimaro Tanaka
Japan
Sir William Thompson
England
Mr. G. Videla Dorna
Argentine Republic
Hon. H.R. Hitchcock
The Hawaii Islands
Prof. C.J.Meyerberg
Sweden
Dr. Charles Warren
Bureau of Education
Prof. C.H. Pluggé
Translator, Bureau of Education
Mr. C.A. Spofford
Bureau of Education
Source：Department of the Interior, Bureau of Education, The International Conference on Education held
at Philadelphia, July 17 and 18, in connection with the International Exhibition of 1876, Government
Printing Office, 1877, p.11.

At 3:00 pm on July 17, 1876, the conference started in the Judges’
Pavilion at the site of the exhibition. The topics of that day's sessions were
“Courses of Study” and “The Teacher in Different Countries; preparation, status,
salary, and tenure of office”. On the following day, the sessions were held at
the Pennsylvania Educational Hall; they started at 10:00 am and the themes
were “Pedagogical museums” and “Industrial education”. Each session was
comprised of a 30-minute-long main presentation, an additional 5-minute short

7

presentation, and time for questions and answers and for an exchange of
opinions. The Conference had 119 participants, 17 attendees came from 12
countries and 102 came from 22 states of the USA and from Washington, DC.29
The Japanese representatives were Tanaka Fujimaro, Mekata Tanetaro, and
David Murray. However, only Murray’s opinions were recognized; those of the
other 2 Japanese participants were not. Murray introduced the present
situation with respect to education in Japan and mentioned his plan in the
courses-of-study- and the teachers-from-different-countries session. However,
his opinion was of an introductory nature and I postulate that he was not talking
at cross-purposes at the session. Upon hearing the opinion of other
participants with respect to religious- and natural science education, the other
Japanese participants may have felt the need for, and importance of, school
education in Japan, since they were unable to participate in an exchange of
opinions with the other attendees.
The Ontario government reported that only George Hodgins,
Deputy-Superintendent, was granted the honor of making a presentation as a
foreigner at the International Conference on Education.30 While he did give
the keynote speech at two sessions, “The teacher in different countries” and
“Pedagogical museums”, other foreign participants gave small talks at each
session except the one on industrial education. It must be noted that the
“pedagogical museum” was one of the key themes at the official conference
held at the International Exhibition of 1876 and that Tanaka was present when
Hodgins presented the keynote speech, indicating that he and the members of
other Japanese delegations actively approached the government of Ontario.
Moreover, Tanaka was highly interested in the educational display offered by
Ontario, of which Hodgins was in charge . Next I would like to explore this point.
b.

Educational Display of the Ontario Government
In November 1875, Egerton Ryerson, Superintendent of Ontario,
decided to attend the International Exhibition of 1876 at Philadelphia ; this was
his last “big” decision.31 By this time, with the Education Act of 1871, the
Ontario government had established the free compulsory education system at
the primary school level. It wanted to display this excellent school system at
the International exhibition to encourage educators to further popularize and
implement this system. George Hodgins and Samuel P. May, Depository of
Department of Education in Ontario, were appointed to be in charge of this
task.32
The educational display of the Ontario Government was located in the
2,750 ft2 main building of the Canada-British Pavilion. It contained more than
2,000 display items and the catalogue describing these was 64 pages. They
8

were educational reports, photographs and models of school buildings, school
furniture, student work, entrance examinations, textbooks, teachers’ books,
library books, language materials, visual educational materials, and educational
materials for the blind.33 While other countries focused on displaying the work
of students, the choice of Hodgins and May to place educational materials at
the center of the exhibition proved highly successful.I34
Both Canadian and American newspapers praised the Ontario
educational display,35 as did French and Australian educators. The
Centennial Commission of the International Exhibition of 1876 awarded the
bronze medal to the Education Department; the Dominion of Canada honored it
with the gold medal.36
Without doubt, Tanaka and Tejima Seiichi, who was in charge of
managing the museum after their return to Japan, had visited such a popular
display. Since the Educational Report in Japan stated that the educational
display had won “the first prize”37, they were aware of its excellence.
Incidentally, Canada has not had a federal ministry of education since 1867, a
fact mentioned by the Japanese delegation in the Educational Report of 1877.38
Therefore, the Canadian education representatives with whom Tanaka
corresponded later were in fact “the educational representatives of the Ontario
government”. Tanaka held discussions with Hodgins, the keynote speaker of
the above conference, and May, the representative who explained the
educational display.39
Tanaka was particularly interested in 79 large (2 ft x 6 in x 2 ft)
photographs of universities, schools, and educational institutes and he
requested that copies be made for the Japanese Department of Education.40
The Ontario record states that while many visitors expressed interest in those
photographs, only the Japanese vice-minister requested copies. This record
further indicates that the majority of approximately 350 books, such as in the
field of teacher guidance, home education, kindergarten education, and object
teaching, were given to the Japanese vice-minister.41
During his stay in Philadelphia, Hodgins occasionally met with the
Japanese delegation and agreed to an exchange of school materials between
the Japanese and Ontario Education Departments. He stated that the result of
this exchange was most satisfactory.42 In a letter dated August 12, 1876,
Tanaka offered to Hodgins books and charts used in Japanese primary schools,
and the book entitled Riji-kotei, based on an investigation Tanaka carried out 4
years earlier on the subject of European and American education.43
In a letter dated August 19, 1876, Tanaka wrote “We intend to come
to Canada in the early part of next month, and it is our desire to visit the Schools
[sic] there, when I hope we shall have the pleasure of seeing you there. We
9

expect to leave here (Philadelphia) on the 25th instant for Toronto, via Niagara
Falls”.44 Hodgins replied with a telegram dated August 24 that he would be
happy to see Tanaka and his party in Canada. After arriving at Queen’s Hotel,
Toronto in September, 1876, Tanaka expressed his gratitude “for the two
packages of the reports, journals, and other educational documents, which I
(Tanaka) received just now”45
Incidentally, Tanaka Fujimaro was listed as one of the distinguished
visitors to the US Bureau of Education in 1876, and the Report of the
Commissioner of Education stated that Tanaka was eager to collect materials
for the Japan Educational Museum during his visit to America and Canada and
that he presented the Bureau of Education most of the Japanese educational
materials displayed at the International Exhibition of 1876.46
Tanaka and Hodgins agreed to exchange school materials between
their two departments.47 The content of subsequent exchanges is not clear;
while Hodgins prepared a record of gifted Japanese items, Japanese
documents apparently do not contain a list of items received from Hodgins.
Table 2 lists the items presented by the Ontario department.
Table 2.

Articles presented to Ontario by the Vice Minister of Japan
Num
Num
Articles
Articles
Picture
of
Old
Japanese
1 Set of printed pictures for
1
school-house
children
Pictures of the interior of old and 10 Compass
1
new school-houses
Pictures in framed, made out of
7 Box of solids
1
silk cloth
Pictures painted in lacquer in
5 Model of steam engine
1
framed
Painted pictures of plants
12 Gyroscope
1
Set of Abacus
1 Glass cutting machine
1
Set of scales, weights and
1 Globes
2
measures
Specimen of Japanese old clock
1 Model of school-house
1
Specimen of certificate paper
1 ?
?

Source：J. George Hodgins, Special Report to the Hon. The Minister of Education on the Ontario
Educational Exhibit and the Educational Features of the International Exhibition at Philadelphia,
1876,1877, pp.284-285

Compared to the above list, the number of items presented by the

10

Education Department of Ontario was enormous (See Table 3 and 4). The
total value of the listed school materials was $1,767.50 in Canadian currency.
Table 3 Articles presented to Japan by the Education Department of
Ontario
Num.
Num
Articles
Articles
Prints of Scripture sites 12 Map stand
1
(large)
Prints of Scripture sites 30 Departmental maps of Europe, Asia,
1
(small)
Africa, and America
Prints of Scripture manners 30 Original model of school house
1
and customs
building in 2 sections
Reynolds’ Chemical Charts
6 Photographs of school buildings in 11
Ontario
Johnston’s
Natural
7 Flementaay [sic] set chemicals
1
Philosophy Charts
Johnston’s
Astronomy
3 Boy’s Own Chemical Wonders
1
Charts
Johnston’s Botany Charts
4 A set each of chemicals (Roscoe),
1
blocks, animals, fishes, anatomical
models
122
Brown’s Geometrical Chart
1 Books
Coloured
lithographed 10
Total
$874.75
zones of the earth
Source：J. George Hodgins, ibid., 1877, pp.285-286

Table 4 Articles presented to Japan by the Education Department in
Ontario (supplement)
Photograph of University of Toronto Alphabet of Animals
Model of Gymnasium
The Birds on coloured blocks
Map Stand
The Fishes on ditto
Blackboard Dividers
Small busts of Homer, Demosthenes,
Aristotle, Cicero and Galen
Allegorical Bust of Europe, Asia, Set of Models of crystals in glass
Africa, and America
Photograph of the Original Magna Reprint of Wait’s Point Primer for the
Charts
blind
All models of flowers from 214 to Dissected Map of the United States
242 inclusive

11

Set of Botanical Plates
Patterson’s Zoological Diagrams

All object Lesson Cards
Johnstone’s illustrated of Natural
History
Set of 24 Plates of Scripture View of nature on ascending mountains
Natural History
The Zones of the Earth
Anatomical Model
Set of Oliver and Boyd’s Object Set of Anatomical Model
Lesson Cards
Cabinet of Vegetable Kingdom
Model of Human Eye
Chemical Chart
Chemical Laboratory
Chemistry of Geology
Total
$892.75
Source：J. George Hodgins, ibid,., 1877, p.287

Later on, Tanaka gifted a pair of bronze vases valued at US$ 408 to
the Department of Education in Ontario,48 apparently in an effort to express his
gratitude to the Ontarians by presenting them with an artifact that had been
highly popular at the International Exhibition of 1876.
With respect to the above items, I was unable to find any records in
the Centennial History of the National Science Museum describing a detailed
history of the Educational Museum in Japan. According to records dated 1877,
however, the museum collected Japanese plants for shipment, together with
zoological and mineral specimens, to the International Exhibition at Paris as
educational materials. The Department of Education commissioned the
museum to collect and ready specimens of fish and shellfish for shipment to the
Minister of Education in Canada. As a result, a total of 199 specimens was
sent to Canada,49 indicating a lively exchange of educational materials.
Where these materials ended up remains an open question. While Ontario
prepared the above list, there is no record of their final destination because for
all practical purposes, the Museum of Education closed soon after the
Centennial Exhibition and it collection became scattered and lost.50
In Japan, on the other hand, I could find some records in the
Classified Catalogue of the Books of the Library of Educational Museum
published in 1881. Some of the 122 books listed in Table 3 are enumerated
in this catalogue. Of the 122 books, 109 in the catalogue bore the same title
as shown in the list, the titles of 10 books were misspelled, and the remaining
3 could not be found. On the other hand, the list of items in Table 3 prepared
by Hodgins was not adequate for a bibliography because it does not provide
the full title of most books and because it contained numerous misspellings.
In this catalogue, there were 25 books in the section on “Self

12

Education and Self-Help”, 13 in “Kindergarten and Object Teaching”, 13 in
“Teachers’ Aid”, 11 in “Physical Education”, 10 in “Aids to Female Teaching and
Household”, 8 in “Educational History and Biography”, and 7 in “Education in
Foreign Countries”. Based on the titles and number of items, “Johnston’s
Natural Philosophy Charts”, “Johnston’s Astronomy Charts” and “Johnston’s
Botany Charts” in Table 3 were found in the section on “School Charts,
Geographical Maps, and Scientific Diagrams” of this catalogue; based on only
the title, “Patterson’s Zoological Diagrams” were also found in the same
section.51
The Educational Museum Guide published in 1881 stated that there
were American and Canadian school house models in the section on Models
and Photographs of Schools in room 2 on the first floor of the museum; this may
be the “Original model of school house building in 2 sections” listed in Table 3.52
The exchange of display materials was very popular at the
International Exhibition. One could consider the International Exhibition as an
early international trade fair of industrial products from each exhibiting country,
held for the promotion and marketing of these products. Not only industrial
products but also educational materials were on the market. At this time, the
Ontario government bought some educational materials for C$ 192.80 from
Russia,53, sold items for C$ 176.57 to New South Wales, Australia, for
C$ 144.53 to Melbourne, Australia, and for C$ 217.00 to the National History
Museum of Japan, possibly the National Museum in Tokyo of today. The total
amount of the sales was C$ 538.10.54 The Ontario Government received
materials valued at C$ 874.75 from Japan and C$ 908.25 from the US; it
presented items valued at C$ 2,000 to Japan and C$ 3,783 to the US.55
These comparisons show that Tanaka and the Japanese Department of
Education were given exceptionally fine treatment by the Department of
Education of Ontario.
After returning from Toronto, Tanaka Fujimaro decided to introduce
some ideas gleaned from the Educational Museum in Toronto to the
Educational Museum in Tokyo.

５ World Expo, Museum and School
The 19th century was called the Century of Exhibition. Many
museums were established and developed to commemorate the International
Exhibition. This exhibition was the place to display the development level of
one's own industry and it played the role later acquired by trade fairs in the
marketing of industrial products.
On the other hand, the 19th century was also a period during which many
13

countries built their compulsory education systems and the educational displays
that appeared at the International Exhibition showed the educational levels.
As industry developed, people began to pay attention to educational objects
such as school-houses, educational installations, and school materials. At the
International Exhibition, exhibitors exchanged items and started to build
educational collections and it can be said that the international exchange at the
International Exhibition led to the building of educational museum and the
establishment of educational collections at the museums of the 19th century.56
Tanaka Fujimaro was typical of individuals to start such a process.
He felt the need to promote the modern school system in Japan and he was in
charge of establishing a new museum concept at the Department of Education.
He acquired the perfect idea for a new museum during his visit of the
International Exhibition of 1876.
However, it is very difficult to examine the precise effect of the
Museum of Education in Toronto on the Educational Museum in Tokyo, since,
for practical purposes, both of these institutions closed in the 1880’s and most
of their collections were scattered and lost. In addition, the Educational
Museum in Tokyo was seriously damaged by the Great Kanto Earthquake of
1923 and few artifacts from its exhibits remain.
This paper examined the educational exchange between Japan and
Canada in the 19th century. Although it represents a small historical facet, the
exchange was very warm. In the future, I plan to study the historical
exchanges that took place in the early 20th century between Canadian and
Japanese museums because to date, insufficient attention has been paid to
these exchanges.

+
国立科学博物館（1977）
『国立科学博物館百年史』国立科学博物館,pp.61-62.
田中不二麿（1907）
「教育瑣談」
『開国五十年史』上巻, p.738.
3
椎名仙卓（1988）
『日本博物館発達史』雄山閣,pp.48-49.
4
椎名仙卓（1989）
『明治博物館事始め』思文閣出版,pp.57-58.
5
東京国立博物館（1973）
「博物局,博物館,博物園,書籍館建設の議決裁」
『東京国立博物館百年史』
『東京国
立博物館百年史：資料編』第一法規出版,pp.3-4.
6
東京国立博物館（1973）
「博物館,書籍館,博物局,小石川薬園を博覧会事務局に合併」
『東京国立博物館百
年史：資料編』第一法規出版,p.4
7
関秀夫（2005）
『博物館の誕生：町田久成と東京帝室博物館』岩波書店,pp.39-41.
8
東京国立博物館（1973）
「博覧会事務局を太政官外史所管とす」
『東京国立博物館百年史：資料編』第一
法規出版,p.5
9
東京国立博物館（1973）
「文部省出仕田中不二麿,博物館,書籍館の合併取止めを正院に上申｣『東京国立
博物館百年史：資料編』第一法規出版,p.6
10
椎名仙卓（1989）ibid., p.125.
11
椎名仙卓（1989）ibid., p.154.
1
2

14

国立科学博物館（1977）,ibid., pp.62-63.
椎名仙卓（1989）ibid., p.157.
14
国立科学博物館（1977）ibid., p.84.
15
田中不二麿（1877）
『教育雑誌』第 45 号,文部省,pp.30-31
16
New York Tribune（1876） Guide to the Exhibition, Extra No.35, 1876, Front page
http://libwww.library.phila.gov/CenCol/exhib itionfax.htm アクセス 2006/10/2
12
13

17
18

and

Ibid., p.39.
Ibid., p.2

田中不二麿（1877）
『米国百年期博覧会教育報告』巻１〜４,文部省
田中薫（1978）
「すばらしい明治の女−田中須磨 自叙口述」
『服装』第 5 巻第 4 号,pp.73-74.
21
Japanese Department of Education（1876） An Outline History of Japanese Education; Prepared for the
19
20

Philadelphia International Exhibition, 1876 , D. Appleton and Company.

田中不二麿（1877）
『米国百年期博覧会教育報告』巻４,文部省, pp.36-37.
23
目賀田種太郎（1877）
『教育雑誌』第 37 号,文部省,p.8。
24
田中不二麿（1907）ibid., p.738.
25
田中不二麿（1877）
『米国百年期博覧会教育報告』巻 3,文部省,pp41-42.
26
田中不二麿（1907）ibid., p.710
22

27

United States Office of Education (1878), Report of the Commissioner of Education for the Year 1876 , Part 1,
Government Printing Office, pp.CCVI-CCVII.
28
Department of the Interior, Bureau of Education (1877), The International Conference on Education held at
Philadelphia, July 17 and 18, in connection with the International Exhibition of 1876, Government Printing
Office, p.11.
29
Ibid., pp.88-92.
30
Robert M. Stamp (1978), “Ontario at Philadelphia: The Centennial Exposition of 1876”, Egerton Ryerson and
His Times, Macmillan of Canada, p.306.
31
Ibid., p.302．
32
Ibid., p.302.
33
Education Department of Ontario (1876), Centennial Exhibition, Philadelphia, 1876, Dominion of Canada,
Province of Ontario Catalogue of Exhibits in Education Department, Hunter, Rose and Company, 64p.
34
J. George Hodgins (1877), Special Report to the Hon. The Minister of Education on the Ontario Educational
Exhibit and the Educational Features of the International Exhibition at Philadelphia, 1876, Hunter, Rose &
Co, pp.14-15.
35
J. George Hodgins(1911), Historical and Other Papers and Documents Illustrative of Educational System of
Ontario, 1858 -1876 , Vol. IV, L.K. Cameron, pp.319-323. New York Tribune(1876), Guide to the Exhibition,
Extra No.35, 1876, p.42.
36
Hodgins (1877) ibid., p.25 and pp.38-39.
37
田中不二麿（1877）
『米国百年期博覧会教育報告』巻 4,文部省,p.29.
38
Ibid., pp.24-34.
39
田中不二麿（1877）
『米国百年期博覧会教育報告』巻１,文部省,p.5. Mekata Tanetaro, Tejima Seiichi and
Ideura Rikio were the exp lainers of the Japanese display.
40
Hodgins (1877) ibid., p.17.
41
Ibid., p.19.
42
Ibid., p.284.
43
Ibid., p.284.
44
Ibid., p.284.
45
Ibid., p.284.
46
United States Office of Education (1878) Report of the Commissioner of Education for the Year 1876 , Part1,
Government Printing Office, p.CCXI.
47
田中不二麿（1907）ibid., p.738 and Hodgins (1877) ibid., p.284.
48
Letter to May from Ideura R iko dated on November 30, 1876. Hodgins (1877) ibid., pp.30-40 and p.285.
49
国立科学博物館（1977）ibid., pp.61-62.
50
Interview with Mr. Mr. Arthur Smith, Head Librarian of the Royal Ontario Museum on August 29, 2005.
51
Hodgins (1877) ibid., pp.284-287 and 教育博物館（1881）
『教育博物館図書目録：洋書之部』教育博物
館,pp.79-85.
52
教育博物館（1881）
『教育博物館案内』教育博物館,pp.16-17.
53
Hodgins (1877) ibid., p.288.
54
Ibid., p.289.
55
Ibid., p.289.
56
石附実（1986）
『教育博物館と明治の子ども』福村出版

15