The Characteristics of Early Modern Society and its Literate Populace: From the Perspective of the Lettered Society

Abstract

Education in Japan has drawn attention widely from overseas, including a quantity of research pointing out that the context of Japan’s modernization and its present-day advanced science and technology can be found in the high literacy rates and prevalent education of Japanese society. However, there has been insufficient examination of the effect of high literacy rates in early modern so ciety on everyday life. Pointing out that at the beginning of the early modern period, character formats, grammar, writing styles et cetera became used in common throughout the country, while the use of written text became compulsory as well, this paper asserts that the establishment of this lettered society was deeply involved with Japan’s modernization.