Editing Imperial Rescript on Education (section)

==Background==
Following the [[Meiji Restoration]], the leadership of the [[government of Meiji Japan|Meiji government]] felt the need to emphasize the common goals of rapid modernization (westernization) with support and legitimization of the political system centered on the imperial institution. In the 1870s and 1880s, [[Motoda Nagazane]] and other conservatives pushed for a revival of the principles of [[Confucianism]] as a guide for education and [[public morality]]; however, [[Inoue Kowashi]] and other proponents of the 'modernization' of Japan felt that this would encourage a return to the old feudal order, and pushed for an "emperor-centered" philosophy. [[Prime Minister of Japan|Prime Minister]] [[Yamagata Aritomo]] authorized the drafting of the Rescript, which was a compromise written largely by Inoue Kowashi with input from Motoda Nagazane and others.

After it was issued, the Rescript was distributed to all schools in the country, together with a [[portrait#Politics|portrait]] of [[Emperor Meiji]].