国民学校

Japanese

Kanji in this term
国	民	学	校
こく Grade: 2	みん Grade: 4	がく > がっ Grade: 1	こう Grade: 1
on’yomi

Etymology

Compound of 国民 (こくみん) (kokumin, “nationals, citizens”) + 学 (がっ)校 (こう) (gakkō, “school”). Calque of German Volksschule (“primary school”, literally “people-school”).

Noun

国民学校 (hiragana こくみんがっこう, rōmaji kokumin gakkō)

(historical) elementary school, national elementary school
- 2018 December 8 (last accessed) “Kokumin gakko”, in Kodomo-tachi no mita sensō [The war children saw]‎, Hiroshima Virtual Museum:
  国民学校 (こくみんがっこう)は国民 (こくみん)の基 (き)礎 (そ)的 (てき)錬 (れん)成 (せい)をなす学 (がっ)校 (こう)とされ、心 (しん)身 (しん)を鍛 (きた)え、国 (くに)のため天 (てん)皇 (のう)のために身 (み)を捧 (ささ)げることが求 (もと)められました。
  Kokumin gakkō wa kokumin no kisoteki rensei o nasu gakkō tosare, shinshin o kitae, kuni no tame tennō no tame ni mi o sasageru koto ga motomeraremashita.
  Kokumin gakko was considered as a school to provide basic training for all citizens, to discipline mind and body, to seek to sacrifice one's body for the country and for the Emperor.

Usage notes

The term was used officially from 1941-1947, later replaced by the term 小 (しょう)学 (がっ)校 (こう) (shōgakkō, “primary school”).

Descendants

→ Indonesian: sekolah rakyat (calque)
→ Korean: 국민학교 (gungminhakgyo)

References

Gibney, Frank (ed.). 2014. Buritanika kokusai dai hyakka jiten. Tokyo: TBS Britannica.