Hosei University Library Collections
Hosei University began as Tokyo Hogakusha, established in 1880 (Meiji 13), and became the former Hosei University through Tokyo Law School, Japanese-French Law School, and Japanese-French Law School Hosei University. Of these, several volumes of "lecture notes" from the period of Tokyo Law School, of which Dr. Boissonade was the vice principal, remain in the university's library.
At the Tokyo Law School, top-notch lecturers such as Masaaki Tomii, Michi Matsumuro, and Saburo Yoshiwara taught at the school, and the lecture notes are dictations of their lectures by a student, Katsuzo Yageta.
It was quite common for students at that time to dictate lectures. It was expensive to buy textbooks and printed copies of lecture transcripts. Since they could listen to the latest lectures at school, they decided to write them down in order to absorb them all. In the March 1940 issue of "Hosei Daigaku Hoho" (Hosei University News), an article titled "Brass ink pot" by Toyoshichiro Ishii, an alumnus who studied at the Japanese-French Law School in the late 1887-1988 period, the following description is found.
In an article titled "Brass ink pot" in the March 1940 issue of "Hosei Daigaku Hoho," Hoshichiro Ishii wrote: "To write down (lectures) by oneself is to bequeath several times more notes than to read books. ...... (omission)...... If I say law students in private schools, they generally wrote on a half sheet of paper with a calligraphy brush. The young men with inkpots and furoshiki (wrapping cloth), with brushes clamped between their ears and hemp-lined slippers, were generally students at the Wabutsu Law School.
What is noteworthy about Yashimoda's lecture notes is that each lecture is dated, which is an important resource for those studying the history of the university and its faculty. Furthermore, the lectures by Masaaki Tomii in the notebooks were given shortly after Tomii's return from his studies in France, and the lectures incorporate new information he gained while studying abroad. They are an extremely valuable resource for Tomii research. This was one of the reasons Tomii's classes were so popular.
Yashimoda Katsuzo, who took these notes, was born in Tanuma-cho, Aso-gun (now Sano City), Tochigi Prefecture. He took an early interest in politics, and after graduating from Tokyo Law School (1888), he served as mayor of Tanuma Town and as a member of the Tochigi Prefectural Assembly. As an alumnus, he participated in TUFS events and made donations during this period, and had a close relationship with the university. He originally aspired to become a politician, and his enthusiasm for study during his student days is evident in his notebooks.
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Lecture notes of Katsuzo Yashimoda. From right to left: Lecture notes on contract law by MATSUMURO Michi, contract law by TOMII Masaaki, associate contract law by YOSHIHARA Saburo, and agency law by TERAO Toru.
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The lecture notes are written in both brush and pencil, and some of the notes are clean. Some of the notes have a lot of writing in red letters that appear to be review, and it is apparent that the students have studied a great deal.
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The fact that each lecture is dated makes it a valuable resource.
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A postcard commemorating the 30th anniversary of the founding of the institute in 1909. The upper right is a scene from a lecture at that time (private collection).
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Faculty, students, and alumni of the Tokyo Law School surrounding Dr. Boissonade at the farewell banquet for his temporary return to Japan (1889); the third tall person from the right in the second row is Katsuzo Yashimoda (courtesy of Jinyuki Tako), who participated as a graduate.
The following links will take you to previous "HOSEI MUSEUM" articles.