Meiji Era wall charts for teaching botany disclosed online by the Nature and Science Museum, Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology

The Nature and Science Museum, Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology (Director: Professor Keiichi Kaneko, Graduate School for Engineering), disclosed some of the digital archives including the eight research materials from "Wall Charts for Teaching Botany" in accordance with International Image Interoperability Framework (IIIF) on May 10, commemorating the 150th anniversary of the foundation of the university in 2024 (https://archives.tuat‐museum.org/s/da/page/welcome). With this online disclosure, an original from the wall‐chart materials was shown in the museum (Nakacho, Koganei City, Tokyo) until June 14.

The original—a wall chart for educational purposes at the Tokyo Sericultural Institute (1899‐1913), which was the predecessor of the university—was posted on the blackboard during classes and used as a teaching resource. The actual size of the original is approximately 130 x 90 centimeters.

Botany, a new study embracing Western morphology and ecology, was introduced in the Meiji Era. The textbooks from overseas—the guidebooks of this era—included the drawings of Western plants. On the other hand, all of the drawings in the research materials are of domestic plants. This further deepened the understanding of people in Japan. It is understood that these were the earliest teaching materials about plants in Japan.

The materials, issued by Tokyo Kaiseikan in 1902, comprised eight pieces originally. The publisher, established by Torakichi Nishino in 1901, published a lot of textbooks.

The Nature and Science Museum, Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology, is closed on Sundays, Mondays, and national holidays. Admission is free. The museum is open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. (entry is restricted beyond 4 p.m.).

Assistant Professor Yurika Saito commented, "The Nature and Science Museum, Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology, has been currently advancing the digitalization of our educational wall charts. The research material disclosed this time was the first from those digitalized ones. This is an academic teaching resource that shows us how modern‐day botany was taught in a classroom in the Meiji era. They didn't have slide shows or anything similar in that era. I would be glad if you could see the research material and feel something regarding what they were doing in their classrooms. The material has been preserved in a good condition. You can enjoy its beautiful printing in multiple colors, which consists of fine slate printing."