Photo/Illutration The new 5,000-yen banknote features a portrait of Umeko Tsuda, a pioneer in women's education. (Provided by Finance Ministry)

It goes without saying that Umeko Tsuda, who is featured on the new 5,000-yen bill, was the founder of Tsuda University.

When it started in 1900 as an English-language cram school aimed at fostering female English teachers, only 10 students enrolled.

During the opening ceremony, Tsuda talked about the importance of small-group education that respects individuals and encouraged them to become “well-rounded women” whose skills were not limited to English proficiency.

Tsuda, who left Japan at age 6 and studied in the United States for 11 years, thought that Japanese women would need expert skills to become financially independent.

Three years after the school opened, five of the graduates became the first women to obtain an English teacher’s license in Japan.

According to recollections by graduates, Tsuda was very strict when she taught English to her students.

When they mispronounced words, she violently pounded the desk with her fist, shouting, “No, no, once more, once more” and made them repeat the pronunciation dozens of times, Kinuko Kameda writes in her book “Tsuda Umeko: Hitori no Meikyoshi no Kiseki” (Umeko Tsuda: The footsteps of a great teacher).

Students were required to be well-prepared for their classes and express their opinions in discussions.

Meanwhile, Tsuda also organized something like a school show every month, in which students recited poems, played music and performed sketches.

This made students acquire speaking abilities and, at the same time, trained them to stand in front of people with confidence.

What is expected from English education hasn’t changed much in 100 years. That is to say, students still pound grammar, pronunciation and other basics into their heads while they refine their speaking, listening, reading and writing skills in a comprehensive manner through many different means.

Tsuda believed in the power of education and continued to promote the ideal of gender equality.

“I hope there will be a day when Japanese women can receive a better education in the near future,” she said in her last commencement speech to graduating students 107 years ago.

—The Asahi Shimbun, Aug. 2

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Vox Populi, Vox Dei is a popular daily column that takes up a wide range of topics, including culture, arts and social trends and developments. Written by veteran Asahi Shimbun writers, the column provides useful perspectives on and insights into contemporary Japan and its culture.