Nobukichi Koizumi

2019/05/28

Image: Nobukichi Koizumi (Around 1876, in London)

In her book "Talking about my Father, Shinzo Koizumi," Tae, the granddaughter of Nobukichi Koizumi and second daughter of Shinzo Koizumi, stated: "Nobukichi Koizumi was apparently not good at martial arts, but he was bright from childhood. There is a story that he read the Analects of Confucius before the Lord at the age of two, then returned to his mother to be breastfed. Then, at the age of 18, he came to Edo from Kishu as a student and entered the school of Yukichi Fukuzawa." Additionally, Koizumi's son Shinzo wrote in "Teacher and Disciple: Yukichi Fukuzawa and My Father" (included in "Selected Essays of Shinzo Koizumi Vol. 2"): "It might be strange for me, his son, to say this, but I believe my father was one of the disciples whom Yukichi Fukuzawa trusted particularly deeply."

Nobukichi Koizumi was born in 1849 into a family of samurai in the Wakayama Domain of Kii Province. In November 1866, he entered Fukuzawa's Dutch studies Juku in Tsukiji Teppozu as a student funded by his domain (Yoshiro Wada, the first head of the Yochisha, also entered the Juku from the same Kishu domain on the same day).

In 1868, due to the chaos of the Boshin War, the number of Keio students temporarily dropped to only 18. On May 15, even amidst the battle between the Shogitai and the New Government forces in Ueno, Fukuzawa continued his Saturday routine of lecturing on Wayland's book on economics, encouraging the Keio students by saying, "No matter what changes occur in the world, as long as Keio University exists, the lifeblood of scholarship in our country will never be severed."

Every year on January 10, at the beginning of the Yukichi Fukuzawa Birthday Commemoration, Yochisha students sing the lyrics of "Here Stands Yukichi Fukuzawa," which include: "Do not let the light of Western learning go out / If it fades, the nation falls into darkness / Do not forget our duty / Encouraging the 18 / Here stands Yukichi Fukuzawa." Nobukichi Koizumi was among those 18. Koizumi was so trusted by Fukuzawa that he even served as a teacher.

The song "Here Stands Yukichi Fukuzawa" was first performed in 1964 at the 90th anniversary ceremony of the Yochisha. Haruo Sato, who was commissioned to write the lyrics, consulted a certain person about which event from Fukuzawa's life should be chosen as the theme. When asked, "Which part do you intend to sing about?" Sato replied, "How about the teacher giving a lecture while ignoring the war in Ueno?" and the person explained the details to him. That person Sato consulted was Koizumi's eldest son, Shinzo. The anniversary ceremony held on May 15 was the very day of the "Yukichi Fukuzawa-Francis Wayland Memorial Lecture." Haruo Sato died suddenly just nine days before the ceremony. Shinzo Koizumi, who was invited to the ceremony, likely thought of the late Sato and his own late father, who was immortalized in the poem, while on the stage.

Koizumi went to study in England with Hikojiro Nakamigawa in 1874 to learn about social systems in general. To improve skills in public speaking and debate, the Mita Public Speaking Event was launched that same year. Fourteen people, including Fukuzawa, Tokujirō Obata, and Nakamigawa, were involved in the preparations, and Koizumi was one of them. It is well known that Fukuzawa translated the English word "speech" as "public speaking," but it was Koizumi who convinced Fukuzawa of the necessity of speeches. After returning to Japan in 1878, he worked for the Ministry of Finance at the recommendation of Kaoru Inoue. In 1880, during the preparations for the founding of the Yokohama Specie Bank, he served as the first Vice President upon Fukuzawa's recommendation. He traveled to England to establish the London branch but returned to the Ministry of Finance in 1882 to become a tax official.

Then, in 1887, at the strong request of Fukuzawa, he assumed the position of President of Keio University (initially titled Chancellor) to prepare for the establishment of the college (1890). As a Ministry of Finance official skilled in finance, Koizumi was expected to reform and stabilize the financial situation of the Juku, which Fukuzawa had been supporting with his own funds. It is said that Fukuzawa had been considering having Koizumi involved in the management of the Juku for more than two years before he became President.

Koizumi moved forward with fundraising, academic improvements, and preparations for the establishment of the college. He also spared no effort at the Kojunsha, serving as a founding member and the first chairman of the Board of Councilors. His conviction was that separating Keio University from the Fukuzawa family and making it a corporation of a public nature would strengthen the Juku's existence. In January 1889, the "Keio University Capital Fundraising" was conducted under the names of Fukuzawa, Obata, and Koizumi, calling for donations to launch the college. However, there were differences in the way Fukuzawa and Koizumi thought about securing funds, and it is said that the request for him to take office was not necessarily a form of entrusting everything to Koizumi.

Fukuzawa trusted Koizumi, and Koizumi admired Fukuzawa. Shinzo wrote, "They were teacher and disciple who trusted each other from the bottom of their hearts, and it can be said that my father's happiness was meeting this teacher in his life ('My Daily Life')." However, due to temporary misunderstandings, they did not necessarily understand each other deeply or remain on good terms throughout their lives. In particular, there were many instances where they disagreed regarding the management of the Juku.

In 1888, there was a student boycott incident known as the Strike Incident. Regarding the passing or failing of exams, Ikinoshin Kadono proposed a revision to strict conditions where a score of 60 or higher in all subjects was required to pass, which the Keio students revolted against. The boycott of classes lasted for over ten days, with more than 280 students participating. When the situation escalated to the point of expelling opposing students, they did not respond to Koizumi's persuasion, and students began requesting to withdraw one after another. Fukuzawa then stepped in to persuade them and worked to resolve the situation. "This is a misfortune for Koizumi," Fukuzawa wrote in a letter to Nakamigawa.

Fukuzawa began to feel some unease toward Koizumi, thinking it was a clumsy turn of events after Koizumi had gone so far as to resign from the Ministry of Finance to join. Conversely, Koizumi likely felt dissatisfied with Fukuzawa, who interfered in the management of the Juku and showed understanding toward the Keio students. Even when criticism arose against Kadono, who had planned the reform of the examination system, Koizumi supported his former student Kadono. However, despite the disagreement of Koizumi, who was the President, Fukuzawa advised Kadono to take a leave of absence. These factors served as triggers, creating a subtle gap in perception between the two.

Fukuzawa likely intended to leave all management of the Juku to Koizumi and step back from the front lines, but in 1889, he continued to exert influence, such as demanding an explanation regarding the compensation amount Koizumi had decided for hiring foreign teachers. Even if Fukuzawa himself had no intention of owning the Juku privately, as long as the Juku had been maintained by Fukuzawa, it was difficult to "render Fukuzawa powerless." For Koizumi, this did not feel like being "entrusted with management." If what the President decided did not stand as a decision, then such a President was unnecessary. Koizumi was clearly dissatisfied with Fukuzawa's actions and, in May of that year, returned to his hometown of Wakayama, citing illness. When Koizumi's wife, Chika, went to the Fukuzawa residence to say goodbye, Fukuzawa asked, "O-Chika-san, why won't you stop Nobu-san?" She replied, "Isn't it all because you are in the wrong, Teacher?" and wept before him.

Fukuzawa sent Nakamigawa to Wakayama, wrote letters himself, and met with Koizumi directly in Osaka, repeatedly asking him to return. Koizumi, who returned to Tokyo in October, was re-elected as President at the first Keio University Board of Councilors meeting, but he did not return to work (Obata acted as President), and he finally officially resigned as President in March of the following year, 1890. The duties of the President he was supposed to have been entrusted with thus ended in resignation.

Considering the relationship since Koizumi entered Fukuzawa's Juku and the kindness Fukuzawa showed to Koizumi and his family, it can be inferred that this event was the most painful incident of Koizumi's life. Even if there were sufficient reasons for leaving the Juku and not accepting the pleas to return, it must have been unbearable when thinking of Fukuzawa's kindness and his own true respect for his teacher. And presumably, for Fukuzawa as well, it must have been distressing to fall into such a relationship with one of the disciples he trusted.

The young Shinzo, aged six, remembered that Koizumi simply called Fukuzawa "Teacher" at home. This is an episode showing that Koizumi continued to respect his teacher long after.

After resigning as President, Koizumi served as an executive at the Bank of Japan before returning to the Yokohama Specie Bank in 1891, where he lived a life of intense work as the manager of the head office. The busyness that continued day and night damaged his health; his appendicitis worsened, and he died of peritonitis. This was in December 1894. Fukuzawa had visited Koizumi's house in Sakuragicho many times before then. Mourning Koizumi's death, he delivered the following eulogy the day after his passing.

"Your natural literary talent was profound and your reasoning precise. Reading Western books five lines at a time was your special strength, and there was almost no field of learning you did not master. In particular, you reached a high level in mathematics without a teacher, which was your greatest joy. Not only were you a great figure in the world of learning, but your spirit was resolute and free of greed. Your conduct was upright, you were capable of accepting others, and your gentle words and actions naturally commanded respect. This is truly the true character of the Japanese samurai class, likely instilled by your family precepts since childhood. Among modern Western scholars, you are the only one in whom the spirit of a Genroku samurai can be seen. Among the nearly ten thousand students who have entered Keio University, there are very few others besides you who can so well represent the spirit of this school and serve as a general model. Therefore, your service at the Ministry of Finance and your work at the bank mentioned in your biography were merely using a butcher's knife to kill a chicken; they are not enough to discuss your true worth. Now, our party loses a great hero in the academic world. This is not only a misfortune for Keio University, but something to be lamented for the sake of the civilization of the world. Recorded by Yukichi Fukuzawa, wiping away tears."

How much must this poignant eulogy by Fukuzawa have encouraged the bereaved family? "I can say nothing but that I am simply grateful," Shinzo wrote. At the same time, he imagined, "Perhaps the fact that my father and the teacher were estranged for even a short while made the teacher grieve the death of his disciple all the more." Shinzo also wrote that if Fukuzawa had died first, Koizumi would likely have "thought of the teacher's kindness during his lifetime and his own inadequacy in having turned against it even for a moment, and would have been unable to bear the regret and sorrow."

In the Koizumi family thereafter, this eulogy was always hung in the alcove on the anniversary of Nobukichi's death. The young Shinzo, who lost his father at age six, felt close to his father by continuing to see this every year, and at the same time felt grateful for Fukuzawa's deep affection. He continued to pass on his grandfather's character to his own children. It is a treasure of the Koizumi family.

The youngest daughter, born one week after Koizumi's death, was named "Nobu," taking one character from "Nobukichi." The naming was done by none other than Fukuzawa himself.