ヴァイマール期ハイデルベルク大学への日本からの留学状況とその歴史的背景

Résumé

In this paper the circumstances of Japanese students studying at Heidelberg University in the first half of the twentieth century will be discussed. Heidelberg University had a major impact on the scholarly evolution of Japan, especially from the Taishō period (1912-1926) onwards. It is therefore important to get an idea of the modes and concrete circumstances of academic exchange with this university for understanding the process of formation of scholarship in modern Japan. This preliminary investigation seeks to introduce the facts, that is the concrete numbers, names and the major of regularly enrolled students from Japan at the given time, and statistically discloses the scale of study abroad and trends of its evolution. By comparing these numbers with those of other universities and those of Heidelberg University during the period of the Second Empire, the rapid increase of the number of Japanese students at Heidelberg University during the Weimar Republic becomes clear and a change in the characteristics of study abroad can be observed. An explanation for these circumstances is provided through a closer look at the historical background in both countries. Four primary factors can be detected here:  the spread of higher education in Japan, the expansion of the inflation in post First World War Germany, the reception of the play “Alt Heidelberg” by Japan's intellectual class, and the flourishing of Neo-Kantianism in the academic world. The fourth factor seems especially significant, as the “Südwestdeutsche Schule”, being based in Heidelberg, had a major influence not only on Japan's modern philosophy but also on the formation of social sciences. As a conclusion, the paper confirms the far-reaching influence and historical significance of academic exchange with Heidelberg University, especially in the field of social sciences and Neo-Kantianism, while also addressing some important issues that are left for further examination.