The Yōsan Kyōshi Educators
The most talented Takayama-sha graduates were asked to be sericulture teachers (yōsan kyōshi) and they were dispatched across Japan to spread sericulture techniques and technology. Most requests for education came from sericulture unions, but local government officials also requested assistance.
The company would sometimes dispatch more than one instructor to cover a large area or to serve a number of sericulture unions at the same time. Takayama-sha’s clients were required to sign a contract with the company to cover the transportation costs of the teachers and pay a percentage of their profits after completing the Takayama-sha curriculum.
The company’s rulebook states that the president would confer licenses on graduates who passed additional examinations after at least three years of in-company experience and demonstrated strong business acumen. Technical ability alone was not enough, the president awarded certificates only to those whom he judged to possess high moral standards and could be trusted to uphold the Takayama-sha name.
According to the rulebook, teachers and their assistants also had to take regular annual examinations, and continuing appointment was dependent upon their grades. In this way, sustained workmanship, quality, and expertise could be guaranteed. The traveling teachers were required to closely observe their students and record their progress. At the end of each day they gave lectures on sericulture to the local silkworm farmers. Their clients often sent letters of appreciation, thanking the instructors for helping them to improve the quality and quantity of their silkworm cocoons.
