E・S・ブースのキリスト教女子教育理念

The Rev. Eugene S. Booth (1850-1931), Doctor of Divinity, was the second principal of Ferris Seminary who had established systems, facilities and also spirit of the school, which was still very small with only 18 pupils when he was placed in charge of it. He dedicated more than 40 years of his life, 1881-1922, for bringing up the tender plants of education for women in Japan with devoted and constructive service. In speaking of his policy in the development of Ferris Seminary, Booth pointed out that it had been his policy to study the needs and conditions of Japanese society, making frequent changes necessary due to the rapid development of social conditions. In fact, he was so sensitive to and his ideas of managing school and teaching students were always so open to the needs and conditions of Japanese society, that he could fruitfully realize his vision in difficult situations. It may be said that there were three important elements in Booth\u27s educational work: 1. education based on the Gospel of Christ, 2, advanced education for women, 3. education corresponding with the social and cultural ethos of Japanese society. As a missionary, it being his main concern to introduce Christianity to the Japanese, he pursued it in the process of education, especially in the education for women who were not yet independent members of the society bound in the feudal order. So it was the efforts to make them free and equal with men as persons, responsive members of society, and also important instruments to realize the glory of God, through activities at their respective position in the community such as family and nation. In the efforts of putting those fundamentally new ideas of education into practice, Booth thought much of the positive values in traditional Japanese society, but at the same time sharply denied the negative and wicked elements of the culture which are against the truth of Christ. Therefore he could overcome theoretically those narrow-minded ideas of national education in his period, which enhanced patriotism, maintained Confucian feudal ideas, and implied modern utilitarian egoism