Susumu Misawa

2018/12/13

Image: Susumu Misawa (From the exhibition catalog "Fukuzawa Yukichi and Kanagawa")

When people speak of "Y-ko," they are referring to Yokohama Municipal Yokohama Commercial High School, which boasts a history of over 135 years. Its origin lies in the Yokohama Commercial School, established in 1882. Its first principal was Susumu Misawa, who fulfilled his duties as principal for 41 years until his death after the Great Kanto Earthquake. Misawa's character and educational views, which Shinzo Koizumi described as having the "appearance of being a teacher to all of Yokohama," share something in common with Fukuzawa.

Before discussing Susumu Misawa, I will first touch upon the history of the opening of the Port of Yokohama.

In 1853, Commodore Perry arrived at Uraga. The following year, the Treaty of Peace and Amity between the United States and the Empire of Japan was signed, followed by the Treaty of Amity and Commerce in 1858. Yokohama opened its port the following year, in 1859. Since then, foreign settlements were established in Yokohama, opening the doors wide to foreign countries. Merchants dealing in raw silk, lacquerware, and green tea gathered there, and it became a stage for trade.

However, trade at that time was what might be called "trading house commerce" or "settlement commerce." In other words, Japanese merchants did not participate in direct trade; they were limited to visiting foreign trading houses in the settlements to sell or buy goods. Not only did they not understand the language, but they also lacked information about products and had no knowledge or experience in trading with foreign merchants.

To reform trade practices that favored foreign trading houses, it was urgent to cultivate human resources who not only spoke English but also possessed sufficient knowledge of commerce and could conduct international business transactions on equal footing with foreigners.

Members of the Yokohama Trade Association became the initiators of a plan to establish the sixth commercial school in the country, and a resolution to establish the school was passed by the association in December 1881. Seven representatives of influential merchants (Mitsukage Ogawa, Riemon Kimura, Sentaro Totsuka, Matashichi Asada, Sobee Mogi, Kyohei Magoshi, and Sobee Kurusu) became the founding committee members, and preparations for the establishment proceeded.

The "Y-ko 80th Anniversary Commemorative Publication" describes how Misawa was chosen as principal as follows:

"On February 7, 1882, Kyohei Magoshi, one of the founding committee members, spoke to Aritoki Hayashi (founder of Maruzen—who named the Yokohama Commercial School), a fellow alumnus from Mita, saying, 'I want Susumu Misawa to come.' Hayashi immediately conveyed this to Tokujirō Obata of Keio University. Upon hearing this from Obata, Fukuzawa Yukichi replied instantly, 'That is good. Misawa is the holiest of the holy,' and thus the appointment of Susumu Misawa as principal was decided."

Susumu Misawa, who became the first principal, was 32 years old at the time. For the next 41 years, he served as principal, pouring his entire life into Y-ko.

Susumu Misawa was born on November 10, 1849, as the eldest son of six siblings to father Hachiro Mimura and mother Mitsu, in a wealthy family in Misawa, Tesō Village, Kawakami District, Bitchu (Okayama Prefecture). His family had brewed sake for generations and served as village headmen, and as wealthy warriors outside the Nariwa Domain, they were permitted to use a surname and wear swords. However, his father failed in business and the family fell into ruin. It is said that while spending a difficult youth different from his early childhood, Misawa began to think of restoring the family through scholarship.

As a boy, Misawa was sickly, but his desire for learning was twice that of others. At the age of 12, he entered Kojokan to study Confucianism and learned Chinese classics from Roro Sakatani. Later, Sakatani described Misawa as a person who knew his own weaknesses and put in twice the effort of others. In 1872, he went to Tokyo and encountered Western learning at Mitsukuri Shuhei's Sansha Gakusha, where he held an English book for the first time. For Misawa, who had studied Chinese classics, it was initially difficult to become familiar with English written horizontally. However, here too, through several times the effort of others, he was able to improve his English proficiency. On the other hand, as a result of striving in his studies beyond his limits without regard for his own health, he fell ill. Through advice from a doctor, he realized the importance of being healthy, and this would later connect to Misawa's educational views after he became principal. Misawa's subsequent life became one of eliminating waste, being more regular, and striving to balance scholarship and health.

In January 1875, he entered Keio University, where he met Fukuzawa and became acquainted with Eikichi Kamada, Tsuyoshi Inukai, and others. He met Kamada, who was one grade above him, at the morning exercise field. This was because both had the habit of exercising on the field before breakfast. Every morning at the exercise field, the 25-year-old Misawa would listen to the 18-year-old Kamada talk about books he had read, ranging from hygiene theory to economics and ethics, and they reportedly became close while engaging in discussions. Tsuyoshi Inukai was from the same Bitchu region and was even a relative, but because Misawa's hometown was a remote area, they reportedly only met after Inukai entered the Juku in 1876.

In 1878, after graduating from Keio University, Misawa became an English teacher at the newly established Mitsubishi Commercial School upon Fukuzawa's recommendation.

Incidentally, while it is famous that Fukuzawa Yukichi published "Bookkeeping" (Chogai no Ho) and introduced Western bookkeeping to Japan, he also devoted himself to the development of commercial education. He wrote the prospectus for the Commercial Training Institute (now Hitotsubashi University) opened in 1875. Furthermore, Fukuzawa supported the Mitsubishi Commercial School and Kobe Commercial Training Institute (now Hyogo Prefectural Commercial High School) opened in 1878, the Osaka Commercial Training Institute (now Osaka City University) opened in 1880, and the Okayama Commercial Training Institute, dispatching graduates of the Juku as teachers to all of them.

The Yokohama Commercial School, with Misawa as its principal, opened on March 20, 1882. At this time, there were five teachers including Misawa, and only four students enrolled. There were not yet many young people willing to receive specialized commercial education at a school that required five years to graduate. Therefore, a two-year accelerated course was hastily opened in the evening, and 14 students enrolled.

Incidentally, the "Y" emblem of "Y-ko" was established around 1891 or 1892, and this was also Misawa's idea. At that time, since no other higher-level schools existed in Yokohama to attend after elementary school, it gradually became a school representing Yokohama, attended not only by the children of merchant families but also by those who wished to study further after finishing elementary school.

The curriculum featured English and arithmetic, but its primary characteristic lay in education for "perfection in both morals and hygiene." Misawa clearly stated a balanced education of "academics," "morals," and "hygiene" in the curriculum, and further valued "practicalism" in each. He also emphasized sports, but it was a health-first approach based on lecturing on the basic knowledge of hygiene, and not an overemphasis on exercise, which is very much in the style of Keio University.

In memories of Misawa's classes, the one that appears most often is the class on "Self-Help" by Smiles. Misawa read this aloud in the original language and then discussed its content. It is the original book of the early Meiji bestseller "Saigoku Risshi-hen," translated by Masanao Nakamura.

One of those who left a written record of those memories is Kyuta Kojima. Kojima is Usui Kojima, who later worked at the Yokohama Specie Bank while vigorously continuing mountain climbing, mainly in the Japan Alps, and leaving behind many travelogues.

In "Record of My Upbringing: From Y-ko Student Days to the Publication of 'Nihon Sansui-ron'," Kojima recalled the following:

"Mr. Misawa lectured on Smiles' Self-Help. (...) Misawa's lecturing on the book seemed to pull the past era back into Meiji, making Westerners appear before our eyes as if they were Japanese; through the teacher, we were stimulated to 'Japanese, be independent! Create!' For us, this was the new scripture of morality for the current age. To be honest, although I later attended lectures on profound academic theories from many great scholars, I was never endowed with youthful life as I was by Mr. Misawa's lectures on 'Self-Help.' It is a famous lecture that remains in my mind even now."

Furthermore, looking at the recollections of graduates and teachers, one notices that many people sensed the spirit of Fukuzawa in Misawa's teachings. Usui Kojima also said the following:

"Every era has its ideals. Even if the Yokohama Commercial School was an immature school, it was naturally influenced by the ideals of the era. Mr. Misawa, the leader, also possessed a lyricism. What was it? Yokohama's trade, starting with raw silk, could not be exported without going through foreign trading houses (...). Direct export by the Japanese themselves—this was desirable. (...) Furthermore, as a larger issue, it was an era when the countries of the Orient were being conquered and enslaved by the powerful nations of the West, and even the independence of our fatherland was a concern. Japan must grow. It must repel the heavy pressure overhead. Independence and self-respect was the slogan of Mr. Fukuzawa Yukichi, and it was the conviction held by Mr. Misawa—the foremost faithful apostle of that slogan and a man who possessed much of the spirit of an old samurai—even at the cost of his own life."

On September 1, 1923, most of the school buildings were destroyed in the Great Kanto Earthquake. Day after day, Misawa took up his position in a tent on the school grounds until late at night, taking command with the belief that Yokohama's reconstruction would begin with the earliest possible resumption of classes. He encouraged the faculty and students, saying, 'Yokohama was nothing more than a tiny fishing village in the old days of the Ansei era, but human power led it to the prosperity it enjoys today. It is human power that will once again reconstruct this Yokohama which has been turned into scorched earth.' However, he passed away from a cerebral hemorrhage on September 16, without seeing the first resumption of classes in all of Yokohama.

Years later, on the 33rd anniversary of Misawa's death, Shinzo Koizumi gave a lecture before the students of the school. Misawa's wife was the daughter of the elder sister of Shinzo's father, Nobukichi, and their son Yoshio was the same age. Shinzo, who lost his father early, often spent his summers at Misawa's house during his boyhood. Mr. and Mrs. Misawa also served as the matchmakers for Shinzo's wedding.

Koizumi said that the reason why Misawa, who was "not a genius but an extremely ordinary person" and moreover a late bloomer in his studies, held personal bonds with his students and exerted much influence was "simply in the word 'sincerity' of the teacher." Furthermore, he spoke to the Y-ko students, saying that "practice makes the impossible possible" applies not only to physical skills but also to the enhancement of mental abilities and moral character.

"Even an ordinary person can become a fine human being if they have a heart of 'sincerity' and put in 'effort.' Both ability and character can be enhanced. Look at Mr. Misawa. This is a great encouragement for us."

For Koizumi as well, Misawa was a nostalgic and unforgettable person. He recalled, "In later years, when I myself came to be in a position to guide students, there were many times when I decided in my heart, 'What would Mr. Misawa do in a case like this?'"