ABSTRACT
THE ASSERTION THAT JUKU PLAYED A KEY ROLE for several years after 1872 is partly based on numbers. They may be hard to establish and to interpret, but they clearly show the general trends. They also show considerable variation from prefecture to prefecture and even within prefectures (this is hardly surprising, since the prefectures cut across the older administrative boundaries and could include fairly diverse districts). Juku attendance is even more difficult to measure, but the evidence suggests that there were different attendance patterns, which shed light on the different functions a juku could have within the emerging modern system.
