Shogun's Ghost: The Dark Side of Japanese Education [Hardcover]

Ken Schoolland (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 21, 1990 | ISBN-10: 0897892186 | ISBN-13: 978-0897892186 | Edition: First Printing

In most accounts of the struggle for economic supremacy between the United States and Japan, the inferiority of the United States' education system is continually pointed out. Here, Ken Schoolland, who taught in Japan at the college level, tells a different story about Japanese education. Schoolland gives a first person account of a side of Japanese education rarely seen in the West. Having spent five years teaching in a Japanese university, he writes of pervasive problems with the system of lower level colleges; unruly classrooms where discipline is a myth and cheating is a fact of daily life. Schoolland uses this new knowledge to redefine what he terms "the new cold war" between United States and Japanese systems of education. Schoolland begins by sharing his experiences as a professor at a Japanese university. He then explores some of the attitudes on education that are typical of publications that seem to be fueling a race between the economic superpowers. He describes some of the changing, relevant characteristics of Japanese society and how these shape the education system. Turning up the dark side of Japanese educaion, Schoolland elaborates on punishments in the schools and reveals the challenge that has come forth against physical punishment, the debate over students rights, court battles, and models of leadership. Finally, Schoolland shows the extent of student violence in the schools, he dissects the myth of Japan as unified, harmonious, homogeneous society, and reaches into Japanese history to show the roots of group responsibility in Japanese society.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

The superiority of Japan's education system is a myth credibly exploded in this first-person account by an American who taught in colleges there for five years. In contrast to the American perception of a monolithic structure of excellence in Japanese schools, the author's classrooms were comprised of students in general disarray and uninterested in education, given to cheating and influence peddling. Schoolland buttresses his observation of an "educational system under attack from all corners of Japanese society" with critiques from parents whose children have suffered from teachers who use physical punishment, and reports of student deaths from abuse of power. The author, who now teaches in Hawaii, sounds a warning to U.S. educators who would establish a school system based on the Japanese model.
Copyright 1990 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

In reaction to the widespread enthusiasm over the past two decades for Japanese corporate and educational systems, Schoolland (Japanese business studies, Chaminade Univ., Honolulu) cautions Americans to curb their ardor. Emphasizing the questions of discipline and individual rights, he draws his material largely from criticism by the Japanese of their own system. Stories, editorials, and letters in the nation's newspapers, as well as the author's own experience as a teacher in Japan, provide numerous examples (perhaps too numerous) of cruel punishment, brutality, and suicide. The author sees hope in the changing perspectives within Japan: violence and bullying are now being challenged by teachers and parents in light of their drastic psychological effects on Japanese youth. The book makes for interesting and informative reading, especially since it reflects Japanese concerns about their society. Recommended for informed general readers as well as specialists.
- Charles E. Perry, Idaho State Univ. Lib., Pocatello
Copyright 1990 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 207 pages
• Publisher: Bergin & Garvey; First Printing edition (September 21, 1990)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0897892186
• ISBN-13: 978-0897892186
• Product Dimensions: 8.6 x 5.8 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,645,295 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

23 of 25 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars An eye-opening -- if somewhat negative -- account, April 23, 1998

By 

LANCE R LINDLEY "hagakure" (Yokosuka, Japan) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Shogun's Ghost: The Dark Side of Japanese Education (Hardcover)

Ken Schoolland's book, "Shogun's Ghost" offers a compelling picture of Japanese schools that is likely to surprise those who may have formed their opinions of Japan based on sterotypes. In particular, Schoolland does a masterful job of portraying the pressure that Japanese schoolchildren face in a society that values education as almost its sole means of determining status.

Where Schoolland falters, it could be argued, is in not presenting anything to balance the dark picture he paints of Japanese schools. They are either too strict or too lax; the students are either victims or bullies. He seems to imply that every day is sheer nightmare. It's possible that this was his intent; that he feels everyone already KNOWS all the good stuff, he wants to shine light on the bad. He does a fine job of that, and the book is quite an eye-opener. One has to question, however, whether a more balanced approach might not have been more valuable, especially in terms of longevity. Iijime (bullying) still goes on in Japanese schools, and there is a new, violent "knife culture" among even junior high children, but as the problems get fixed, the book will fall by the wayside except as a history text. The inclusion of more general information about the schools might have been a wise choice.

24 of 29 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Book is too vague, September 15, 2005

By 

Yoko Duo - See all my reviews

This review is from: Shogun's Ghost: The Dark Side of Japanese Education (Hardcover)

This book is just too vague in bashing Japanese society. I walk away from it not knowing much more about teaching in Japan other than the author did not enjoy his experiences. I'm sorry to hear that, but respect is a two way street. Are there problems? Are there jerks. Sure, just like in any other country.

When people come to the United States from another land they should consider the basic tenets of being a good guest, and vice versa. And people should review the book, not make their own political statements.

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Wished I'd read it when I was there, December 28, 2005

By 

Negombo "Lo" (Earth) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Shogun's Ghost: The Dark Side of Japanese Education (Hardcover)

worked 8 years in Japan teaching first business classes and then graduating to college level. If you want an idea of what I had to put up with, just read my review of Japanese Higher Education as Myth. It's too long to post here.

It never ceases to amaze me how some people seem to "know it all" about places they've never been and feel obliged to comment. Since I did ACTUALLY spend 8 years of my life teaching in Japan, I'll submit my two cents and clear up a couple of issues:

1. Extreme discipline vs. no discipline

Japanese are disciplined with an extremely heavy hand for the 3 years of middle school - and hardly at all at any other time in their careers.

Middle school is where the horror stories abound - when I was there, some students were taken by a teacher down to the beach at night and buried up to their necks in sand close to the surf as a punishment. God knows, considering the behavior of some of my Japanese students, I felt like doing similar things a number of times.

2. "As the problems get fixed..."

No, I don't think so. In the time since I left, I have kept up with news from Japan and the behavior of students seems to be getting worse, considering the plight of the economy. As the economy worsens, sociopathic behavior becomes more widespread, with more young people committing murders, rapes, theft, burgalaries, and so on. It's not getting any better.

Meth, hash and glue sniffing, along with more socially acceptable alcoholism, are common forms of entertainment. Most of the Japanese Mafia's income is from meth and has been for a long while.

Keiji Oda, founder of the Guardian Angels in Japan, estimates there are 100 dealers in Shibuya, and meth accounts for about 80 per cent of sales.

Now, consider that one hardly notices this drug epidemic (except for excessive drinking) while one is living in Japan as a foreigner. When one observes a country from far away, the view gets even more myopic. Or as the Japanese like to say - Japan is like Fuji - beautiful at a distance and uglier the closer one gets.


3. News

If you've ever been a long term expat, you begin to realize that there are a lot of things happening in foreign countries that never, ever get reported in the US. You cannot find out about other countries by reading about them in your own press, by living in them via the US military, by having a cushy job with a firm in a foreign country that gives you a huge salary and chaffeur and all the amenities you ever wanted, or by being a tourist, which is famously useless for understanding anything.

You have to live "on the economy" with a standard equal to the natives, and even then it's difficult to figure the place out if you don't take the time to study it, don't know the language, and don't get intimately involved in some way.

The author did a good job of substantiating his own experience with clippings from the local press, and yet somehow this isn't good enough for some people. Did he hallucinate everything? I don't think so.

Overall, the book attemps to give a picture of what the Japanese school system is really like. In spite of some of the better aspects of it (grade school is probably the best of the bunch) it comes up seriously lacking. I'd just wished I'd read it when I was there instead of finding the book just recently - for a long time I blamed the apathy and rude behavior of the students on myself.

The PC crowd and defenders of Japan will call this bashing - that's a typical reaction to a good dose of reality for those who are reality challenged - or as Dr. Phil says, you can't fix a problem that you won't recognize.

The book serves as a much needed balance to the immense amount of puffery lauding the Japanese education system.