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[Article] Expositions and Local Communities in the Early Meiji Era : Aspects of “Civilization” at the Exposition in Chikuma Prefecture
Get PDF一九世紀後半は、「博覧会時代」ともいわれる。ヨーロッパで始まった万国博覧会を契機として、博覧会ブームが世界に広がっていく。その波を受け、明治維新後の日本でも各地で博覧会が催されていった。
本稿では、明治初年における地方博覧会の諸相について、筑摩県（現在の長野県中南部および岐阜県北東部）の事例から検討を加えた。筑摩県の特徴は、中心地である松本だけでなく、県下各地で博覧会が催されていた点にある。その数は、わずか五年に満たない存続期間で、現在確認できるだけで全二七回に及ぶ。
筑摩県では、県下各地で博覧会が盛んに催されていた。その背景について、担い手となった博覧会社の動向や会の趣旨文を手がかりに検討した。第一に、博覧会の運営に携わることは、その担い手たちに卓越した立場をもたらしたと考えられる。担い手たちは、文部省博覧会事務局などとの交渉により地域の外から知・情報を取り次いだり、展示するに相応しいモノやコトを選別したりすることを通じ、「開化」の主導権を獲得していった。第二に筑摩県下各地の趣意書では、地元の名所・旧跡と関連づけて開催経緯が語られていた。博覧会は、地域意識を喚起する契機となっていた。また松本など先行する地域を模倣しようとする意識も、繰り返し表明されていた。「開化」の趨勢に乗り遅れまいと、各地で競い合うように博覧会が開かれていく様子が窺えた。
明治初年の博覧会は、「開化」を象徴する事業として、地域社会における諸関係の再編成を促していた。しかし地方博覧会で模索されていた「開化」は、明治新政府が意図とした勧業の趣旨と重なるものでは必ずしもなかった。筑摩県下博覧会では、「品評」や「農議所」といった試みがみられたものの、それらは実効性をともなうには至らなかった。博覧会の趣旨が「開化」から勧業へと本格的に移行するのは、内国勧業博覧会が始まる明治一〇年代に入ってからと見通される。The latter half of the 19th century is also called the “era of expositions”. With the World Expo that started in Europe, the exposition boom spread around the world. In response to that wave, expositions were held in various places in Japan after the Meiji Restoration.
In this paper, various aspects of the local expositions in the early Meiji era were examined from the case of Chikuma Prefecture (currently central and southern Nagano Prefecture and northeastern Gifu Prefecture). The characteristic of the case of Chikuma Prefecture was that expositions were held not only in Matsumoto, which was the center of the prefecture, but also in various parts of the prefecture. Despite the lifetime of Chikuma Prefecture, which was less than five years, the number of related events of the expositions was only confirmed, reaching a total of 27 times.
Regarding the background of this situation, the author examined the trends of the expo companies that were responsible for it and the documents of the purpose of the meeting as clues. First, being involved in the operation of the exposition was believed to have given its bearers an outstanding position. The bearers had gained the initiative of “civilization” by bringing knowledge and information from outside the region through negotiations with Expo Secretariat at the Ministry of Education and selecting items and things suitable for exhibition. Secondly, in the memorandums of various parts of Chikuma Prefecture, the history of the event was described in relation to local attractions and historic sites. The exposition was an opportunity to arouse their regional pride. In addition, the consciousness of trying to imitate the preceding areas such as Matsumoto was repeatedly expressed. From here, it can be seen that the events of the exposition were held as if to compete in various places so as not to miss the trend of “civilization”.
The expositions in the early Meiji era promoted the reorganization of relations in the local communities as a project symbolizing “civilization”. However, the “civilization” sought at the local expositions did not necessarily overlap with the purpose of industrial promotion intended by the new Meiji government. At the expositions in Chikuma Prefecture, attempts such as “evaluation” and “agricultural council” were seen, but they were not effective. It is thought that the purpose of the exposition will shift from “civilization” to industrial promotion in earnest after the start of the National Industrial Exhibition in the 10's of Meiji era.departmental bulletin pape
[Articles] Examination of the Transition Process from the Middle to Late Yayoi Period in the Southern Part of the Kinki Region
Get PDFapplication/pdf弥生時代中期から後期への社会的・文化的変化は，弥生時代における最大の画期と目され，その主因を巡って，政治・経済・環境などさまざまな観点に基づく仮説が提示されてきたが，諸説の総合にはいまだ至っていない。そこで，近畿地方南部地域を中心とした広域的範囲において，共通する基準に基づく基礎的検討を加えて当該期の社会変化の鮮明化を図るとともに，その内容や背景について，地域間交流や近年急速に進展した古気候研究の成果を含む環境変化等の広域的視野を加えて総合的に考察することを試みた。
具体的な検討対象として，土器と集落を取り上げた。土器については，編年や併行関係の検討とともに，系統的な視点に基づく様式構造の把握を試みた。それによって，遠隔地間交流の活発化や地域間関係の変化，生駒西麓系土器の広域的な伝播などを明らかにした。これらを踏まえて，後期前葉の土器様式の展開は広域的な連動性を有し，かつ多元的，多核的なものであったと考えた。集落の検討では，中期と後期の移行期における集落の断絶や，後期前葉の集落数減少と集落分布密度の低下，集落の高所立地傾向を広く確認できたが，集落差の存在も明らかになった。こうした点は，中期から後期への移行期の社会変化が広域的な連動性とともに地域性を有したことと，社会変化の諸要因に対して地域ごとに柔軟な適応行動がなされたことを示唆する。
以上の検討結果を基に，当該期の考古資料の変化は，地域間交流の活発化と集団間関係の再編および社会的緊張の高まりといった事象を反映したものであり，当該期に生じた広汎な人口減少がその要因となった可能性を指摘した。さらに，これを踏まえた試論として，暦年代や木材年輪セルロース酸素同位体比にかかる研究成果との対比を行い，弥生時代中期後葉の湿潤化によって生じた食糧生産量の変化と人口変動を契機として，長期的・継続的に社会変化が進行したという見通しを示した。The social and cultural changes from the middle to the late Yayoi period are considered to be the most significant milestone in the Yayoi period. Hypotheses based on various perspectives such as politics, economy, and environment have been presented as to the cause of the change. However, a leading hypothesis has not yet been put forward. Therefore, we conducted a basic study with common standards in multiple regions in the southern part of the Kinki region and tried to clarify the social changes during the period. Then, the content and background of the change were comprehensively considered by elucidating interregional exchanges and environmental changes.
The main objects to be examined are pottery and villages. Regarding pottery, we examined the chronology and the parallel relationship and tried to systematically grasp the stylistic structure. In doing so, it was clarified that the exchange between remote areas became active, the relationship between regions changed, and the widespread transmission of pottery from the west foot area of Mt. Ikoma. From these facts, it was considered that the change of the pottery style in the initial phase of the late Yayoi period was linked to a wide area and had multiple centres. In the investigation of the settlements, it was confirmed in a wide area that the settlements were disrupted during the transition period from the middle to the late Yayoi period, the number and the distribution density of the settlements decreased in the latest phase of the late Yayoi period, and the settlements tended to be located in high places. On the other hand, there were differences in these trends between settlements. These points indicate that social changes during the transition period from the middle to the late Yayoi period were widely linked besides regional differences and that multiple factors which change society were flexibly adapted in each region.
Based on the above investigation results, we clarified that the changes in pottery and settlements during the transition period from the middle to the late Yayoi period reflect the activation of interregional exchanges and the reorganization of intergroup relations, and the rise of social tension. Also, we pointed out that the population decline during that period may be the cause. Then, based on the comparison with the research results on the chronology and paleoclimatic reconstruction using tree-ring oxygen isotopic ratios, we considered that long-term and continuous social transformation was triggered by fluctuation in food production and population changes due to increasing rainfall in the latter half of the middle Yayoi period.departmental bulletin pape
[Articles] A Proposal of the Pre-Bronze Age of the Yayoi Period : The Yayoi Period Before the Appearance of Iron Tools
Get PDFapplication/pdf本稿は，二次利用された青銅器片が石器にわずかに伴う九州北部の弥生早期〜弥生前期後半段階が，森岡秀人のいう「新石器弥生時代」に相当するのかどうかについて考えたものである。
弥生時代は始まった当初から石器に鉄器が伴う金石併用段階にあり，初期鉄器時代から鉄器時代に相当すると認識されてきた。しかし2004年に，鉄器は水田稲作が始まってから約600年後の弥生前期末になって出現することが明らかになると，森岡秀人は金属器がなく石器だけの弥生早・前期が新石器時代に相当すると考え，弥生早・前期を「新石器弥生時代」と規定した。
しかし弥生早・前期の灌漑式水田稲作は選択的生業構造のもとで行われているので，網羅的な生業構造のもとでアワ・キビ栽培が行われた韓半島南部新石器時代と同じ新石器段階にあるとみることは難しい。韓半島南部において弥生早・前期と生業構造が同じ段階にあるのは青銅器時代以降だが，弥生早・前期には遼寧式銅剣の破片を再利用して作った矢じりなどがわずかに存在する程度で，青銅器の副葬も始まっていないので，これまで青銅器時代にはあたらないと考えられてきた。もともと日本の水田稲作は，遼寧式青銅器文化圏にあった韓半島南部に隣接する九州北部玄界灘沿岸地域において始まった。まだ遼寧式銅剣は出土していないが，私たちはこの地域に青銅器を象徴としていた人びとが存在したことを示す複数の考古学的証拠を見ることができる。
検討の結果，ヨーロッパでは石器と青銅器を併用する段階を新石器時代末期，あるいはまだ冶金技術が知られていない銅石時代とよんでいるので，弥生早・前期を「初期青銅器」段階と捉えることにした。
したがって弥生時代は，遼寧式青銅器文化圏にあった韓半島南部に隣接する九州北部において初期青銅器段階として始まり，前期末に初期鉄器段階，中期後半以降に本格的な鉄器段階へ移行する。The purpose of this paper is to think whether from the initial Yayoi to the latter half Yayoi consisting of the stone tools and secondary product of a slight bronze tools corresponds in the Neolithic Yayoi period defined by Hideto Morioka.
We have thought that the Yayoi period is in the metal stone combination stage from the time of the start, and develops to the pre irontool stage and the irontool stage afterwards.
However, in 2004, when it became clear that irontools appeared at the end of the early Yayoi period, 600 years after wet rice cultivation began, Hideto Morioka thought that from the initial yayoi to the second half of the early Yayoi, when only stone tools were used, corresponded to the Neolithic period, and named it the Neolithic Yayoi period.
I think Morioka’s theory is not appropriate for the following reasons. That is, the wet rice cultivation with the irrigation system done under the selective subsistence industry structure is not the same as the foxtail millet and millet cultivation in the southern part of the Korean peninsula Neolithic age done under an comprehensive subsistence structure.
It was the Bronze Age that wet rice cultivation with the irrigation system was carried out under selective subsistence structures in the southern part of the Korean Peninsula. Since the Bronze Age in Japan is thought to begin in the middle Yayoi, the initial and early Yayoi period was never considered the Bronze Age.
Then, what age does the initial and early Yayoi where the bronze tools used secondarily is slightly accompanied by the stone tools, and rice cultivation is done in the selective subsistence structure correspond to what age?
In Europe, stone tools and bronze tools were used together at the end of the Neolithic period. Or, because it is known to be called the copper stone age which means that metallurgy technology is not known yet, I came to think that the initial and early Yayoi corresponded to the pre bronze tools stage.
Wet Rice cultivation in Japan began in northern Kyushu, adjacent to the southern part of the Korean Peninsula, which belonged to the Liaoning bronze tools culture. We can see a number of archaeological evidence showing that there were people who worshiped bronze tools in the coastal area of the Genkai Sea, where the Liaoning bronze sword had not yet been found.
Therefore, the Yayoi period began as an pre bronze tools stage in northern Kyushu, adjacent to the southern part of the Korean Peninsula, which belonged to the Liaoning bronze tools cultural sphere. And it was thought that it shifted to the pre iron tools stage at the end of the early Yayoi and the iron tools stage in the latter half of the middle Yayoi period.departmental bulletin pape
[Article] “Heike Monogatari” and Satsuma-tō : Chinese Merchant Ships and South Kyushu
Get PDFapplication/pdfかつて通説的位置を占めた平安期の「荘園内密貿易盛行説」が否定されて以降、文献史学では、平安・鎌倉期における南九州以南の国際交易は、国際交易港たる博多を結節点に国内商人などを介して行われたとする見方が有力となった。考古学も概ねこれを支持するが、その一方で、古代末・中世前期に宋海商が南九州に到達していた可能性をうかがわせる資料もいくつか提示され、これらを薩摩硫黄島産硫黄の交易と関連するものとする見解も示されている。本稿の目的は、こうした考古学などの指摘を踏まえ、あらためて文献史学の立場から、古代末・中世前期において宋海商が九州西海岸伝いに南九州、南島へと向かった可能性について考察するものである。そのために本稿では、南九州における硫黄交易のあり方を記した軍記物語として近年注目されている『平家物語』の諸本の、「鬼界が島」(薩摩硫黄島)と外部との交通に関する記述について検討した。さらに、『平家物語』の成立期と時代的に重なり、中国との関連性も指摘されている九州西部の薩摩塔と、その周辺の遺跡についても検討を加えた。その結果、次の諸点が明らかとなった。（一）古代末・中世前期において、博多に来航した宋海商船のなかに、南九州に寄港し、そこから南島を目指すために九州西岸海域を往還する船があった可能性が高い。（二）彼ら宋海商の中心は日本に拠点を築いた人々であったと考えられる。（三）宋海商の交易活動を支援する日本の権門のなかに、博多や薩摩に寄港し南島へ向う彼らの船を物資や人の運搬船として利用するものもあったとみられる。以上の背景には、薩摩と南島を結ぶ航路が、一般国内航路とは比較にならぬ困難さを伴っており、外洋航海に長けた渡来海商の船が求められていたこと、また宋海商にとっても硫黄を含む南島交易は対日交易の大きな関心事となっていたことがあったと考えられる。In The ancient and medival Japanese history studies, international trade in South Kyushu during the Heian–Kamakura period was thought to have been conducted by Japanese merchants who traded at Hakata’s trading port. However, in recent years, archeology has presented some evidence that The Sung merchants (Chinese merchants) have visited South Kyushu. It is also pointed out that the Chinese trade ships that visited South Kyushu traded sulfur produced here. Therefore, this paper examined the “Heike Monogatari” (The tale of the Heike) in the Kamakura period and the 13th century Satsuma-tō (薩摩塔). “Heike Monogatari” is a war chronicle between the Taira clan and Minamoto clan for control of Japan at the end of the 12th century in the Genpei War. In the “Heike Monogatari”, there is a description of sulfur trade in South Kyushu. The Satsuma-tō is a stone monument of the same period as the “Heike Monogatari”, and is distributed in the northwestern and southwestern parts of Kyushu. These stone monuments are said to have been brought to Japan from China. As a result of the analysis, the following points; (1) Among the Sung merchant ships that visited Hakata during the Heian-Kamakura period, there were ships headed to South Kyushu for trade. (2) Many of the Sung merchants who traded in Southern Kyushu are considered to be the people who lived in Japan. (3) Some of Japanese rulers who support the trade activities of Sung merchants used Chinese trade ships calling at Hakata and Satsuma as cargo carriers for goods and people. It is probable that the above had the following background. One is that the route connecting Satsuma and the South Island is incomparably more difficult than the general domestic route, and there was a need for a ship of a migrant sea merchandiser who was good at ocean voyages. Second, it is believed that the sulfur-containing South Island trade had been an important concern for trade with Japan for Chinese merchants as well.departmental bulletin pape
[Research Materials] SASAKI Shūsuke’s Correspondence with a Tokugawa Senior Councilor about the Defense of Edo Bay
Get PDFdepartmental bulletin pape
[Article] Does the Kanaizawa Stela's Inscription Really Mean “the Wife of the Household?” : Challenging the “Wife” Theory through Analysis of Residence Unit Register Formats, Genealogy Styles, and Rural Elite Familial Bonds
Get PDF上野三碑の一つである金井沢碑文には、戸籍書式、古い系譜様式、新たに流入した仏教的祖先観、供養願文書式等の複合的影響がみられる。金井沢碑および山上碑の建立地は多胡郡（旧片岡郡）山部郷であり、そこが広義（異姓の双系血縁者を含む）の「ミヤケ」一族の本拠地だった。「現在侍家刀自他田君目頬刀自」は、「三家子□」（願主）の「妻」ではなく、「仏説盂蘭盆経」にいう「現在父母」の一人として、「三家子□」の現存する「母」の可能性をも含む母世代の近親老女であり、「ミヤケ」一族長老女性だった、と推定される。「加那刀自」は「目頬刀自」の児ではなく、「三家子□」の「児」であり、「物部午足」キョウダイも「三家子□」の「孫」（加那刀自またはその姉妹の子）である。
七世紀末までの豪族層は、伝承的始祖と子孫を直結する氏族の系譜意識と、双系的父母につらなる身近な血縁意識の並存の中で生きていた。仏教用語「七世父母現在父母」はそこに新たな祖先観をもたらしたが、それはまず、旧来の系譜語りと重ね合わせる形で受容された。七世紀後半公定な｢三家｣姓（父系）の枠組みと、現実の双系的一族結合（異姓者を含む）とのズレに、国家的諸制度と仏教的祖先観の浸透が重なり、地域社会における祖先観は変容していった。七世紀後半から八世紀前半のこうした実相を考える上で、金井沢碑と山上碑は好個の資料である。The inscription of the Kanaizama Stela, one of the three stelae of Kōzuke Province, shows combined influences from residence unit register formats, Buddhist dedicational text formats, old genealogy styles, and newly introduced Buddhist views towards ancestors. The two stelae discussed in this article—the Kanaizama Stela and the Yamanoue Stela—were located in the Yamabe Locality of the Tago District, which was used to be in the Kataoka District. The Yamabe Locality was the home of the rural elite familial group with the surname, Miyake (miyake in a broad sense), but this group also included other surname members.
I argue that “Osada no Kimi Metsura Toji,” which was inscribed in the Kanaizama Stela, refers to one of the “current parents” from the Ullambana Sutra, instead of the wife of “Miyake no ko [missing text]” who offered the dedicational text. In other words, Osada no Kimi Metsura Toji, who was the elder woman of the aforementioned Miyake rural elite group, was the dedicator's close relative from his mother's generation, or possibly his alive mother. This finding reveals the identities of other people listed in the inscription. “Kana Toji” was not the child of “Metsura Toji,” but the child of the dedicator. “Mononobe no Umatari” and his sisters were the dedicator's grandchildren who were children of either Kana Toji or Kana Toji's sister.
Until the end of the 7th century, central and rural elite group members had a sense of genealogy which directly connected legendary ancestors and descendants, while having a sense of bilateral kinship of close relatives. Then the Buddhist term, “[praying for] parents of seven generations and my own parents,” introduced to them a new view towards their ancestors. They accepted this concept by superimposing it on their old genealogy narrative.
There was a gap between the mechanism of official patrilineal miyake surname groups and that of actual bilateral groups including other surname members. This gap, being intertwined with the ritsuryō polity system and Buddhist ancestral ideas, transformed the elite group's view towards ancestors in the rural community. Kanaizawa Stela and Yamanoue Stela are excellent examples that illustrate this transformation during the late 7th and early 8th centuries.departmental bulletin pape
[Article] On the Status of Women in the Late Medieval and Early Modern Periods in Japan : From the Images of Widow Nuns and Their Families, and Documents on the Disposal of Property
Get PDF日本の風俗画には、家族関係が窺える描写も多い。本稿では、「後家尼」と呼ばれる、夫の死後に尼となって家にとどまった女性に注目した。中世末期、一六世紀ころの絵画では、家族の中の女性グループや、あるいは一家全体を率いるような描き方をされていることが多い。しかし、近世すなわち一七世紀に入るころから、後家尼の地位は低下し、描かれなくなっていく。一方で、夫婦の外出場面や単婚小家族の図像が多く描かれるようになる。
その意味を別の資料から考察するために、国立歴史民俗博物館の所蔵する古文書から、女性が当事者としてよく現われる土地売券などの財産処分文書について、定量的な分析を試みた。これによれば、一五世紀後半には、女性が処分や取得の主体として見られなくなっており、おそらく、嫁入婚や家父長的な家の確立と共に、男性が家を代表する形になったものと思われる。それにも関わらず一六世紀ころの絵画で後家尼が家長のように描かれるのは、この段階ではまだ実質的に権限を保持しているだけでなく、むしろ家父長権の強化と共に、夫の死後にそれを受け継ぐ妻の地位も高いものとなっていたからではないだろうか。There are many depictions of family relationships in Japanese genre paintings. In this paper, I focus on the widow nuns (Gokeama). Paintings from the late Middle Ages, around the 16th century, often depict widow nun as leading a group of women in a family, or even an entire family. However, from the beginning of the early modern period, the 17th century, the status of the Gokeama nuns declined and they were no longer depicted. On the other hand, there appear depictions of married couples and single-marriage small families.
In order to examine the meaning of this trend from other sources, I attempted to make a quantitative analysis of documents of property disposal, such as land sales documents, from the collection of the National Museum of Japanese History. According to this analysis, in the latter half of the 15th century, women were no longer seen as the subject of disposal or acquisition, and men probably came to represent the family with the establishment of patriarchy. Nevertheless, the fact that the Gokeama nuns are depicted as patriarchs in paintings of the 16th century may be because at this stage they not only still retained substantial authority in early Medieval Age, but rather, with the strengthening of hasband's patriarchal authority, the status of the wife, who inherit it after the death of her husband as co-owner of the family, was also became high.departmental bulletin pape
[Article] Onzaburō KUSUMI’s Background and Contribution to Music Education : As a Member of the Committee of Primary School Songs
Get PDF尋常小学唱歌楽曲委員として活動した楠美恩三郎は、現在各地の校歌に名前を残す程度で、ほぼ無名に近い。しかし彼は、弘前藩要職にありながら平曲伝承に誇りを持つ家系に生まれ、幼い頃に宣教師夫人の弾くオルガンや賛美歌に接し、和洋双方の音楽を習得する環境に育った。成人してからは、音楽家として身を立てることを志し、東京音楽学校の師範部を卒業したのち、香川県尋常師範学校、京都府尋常師範学校、京都府師範学校と経験を積む中で、学校の音楽教育に適した作曲技術を磨き、唱歌やオルガン・ピアノなどの練習教本を多々作曲・編集した。晩年に差し掛かる頃には、日本人の心の故郷と言われる名曲が揃った「尋常小学唱歌」作曲に取り組む一方、平曲伝承のための五線譜作成にも尽力した。
本稿は、明治期日本で和洋双方の音楽に関わった人物としての楠美恩三郎に注目し、彼の出自である楠美家が弘前藩政で果たした役割の重要性、およびその一族が音楽伝承を家是とした背景を述べるとともに、香川県尋常師範学校や京都府師範学校などでの恩三郎自身の活動を示す記録を掘り起こし、彼がそれぞれの府県の教育に残した軌跡を明らかにした。特に京都府尋常師範学校在職中に著した『学校必要唱歌集』に掲載された序文を検討することで、恩三郎が持つ音楽への認識を考察し、彼が音楽教育上の音の扱いについてきわめて配慮していた点を指摘した。
また上記に加え、洋楽における活動に加えて邦楽調査活動も併せて見ていくことで、明治時代に地方出身の音楽家として生きた恩三郎の生き方に、武士としての出自の影響、優れた教育者としての姿勢、和洋の音楽が拮抗した近代移行期を体現するような生き方であったこと、の3点を指摘した。Jinjō shōgaku shōka (the anthologies of primary school songs), published by Monbushō (the Ministry of Education), are representative anthologies during the Meiji Era. These anthologies contained popular songs like “Furusato” and “Oborotsukiyo,” which are still published in today's elementary school music textbooks. These songs are often taken as “the hometown of the Japanese mind.” Despite their popularity, there is no much information about the songs' lyricists and composers because the original manuscripts and records are either lost or unfound yet.
Onsaburō KUSUMI was a member of the committee of Jinjō shōgaku shōka and composed many school songs. However, he is rather unknown, not only as a composer, but also as a music educator during the Meiji Era. This paper shall clarify the background of Onsaburō's life and his contribution to music education from newly discovered material, such as, his music composition anthology and documents of his family history in the Hirosaki domain, Aomori Prefecture.
Onsaburō was born in 1868 to the KUSUMI family, belonging to a senior samurai class who occupied important positions and carried on the tradition of Heike Biwa playing for generations. As the Hirosaki domain eagerly introduced Western learning in the early Meiji period, a protestant missionary Rev. John Ing was invited to the domain school as a teacher in 1874. Soon after his arrival, Rev. Ing started his missionary work in Hirosaki and Mrs. Ing taught students to sing hymns accompanied by her organ playing. It seems that Onsaburō had opportunities to learn the organ tunes and Western scales in his early age, despite growing up in a peripheral region.
After graduating from his music training at the Tokyo Ongaku Gakkō, today's Tokyo University of Arts in 1889, he began his teaching career at the Kagawa Prefecture Normal School. As a trained music teacher, he introduced the Western music education system to Kagawa. In 1893, he was transferred to the Kyoto Normal School, where he composed many songs for different purposes of school life around the 1890s. In 1902, he returned to the Tokyo Ongaku Gakkō and taught as an Associate Professor at its Organ Department. He also participated in several national music projects which include compiling the Jinjō shōgaku shōka and preserving Japanese traditional music by transcribing the Heike Biwa melody into Western scores.
In his life, Onsaburō played the organ, composed school songs, and transcribed the Heike Biwa melody. His wide-ranging activities symbolize the musical scene of the Meiji Era when different music styles conflicted and integrated.departmental bulletin pape