Higher Schools

Three-year institutions of learning that existed before the educational reforms of 1947; they prepared students for imperial universities. Five higher schools were set up at the same time of the establishment of the imperial university system in 1886. Students had to pass an arduous examination to enter the higher schools, but once there they were virtually assured of entrance into imperial or other government universities. Foreign languages dominated the curriculum. All higher schools were abolished in 1947. (adapted from Japan: An Illustrated Encyclopedia. Tokyo: Kodansha, 1993)