Mr. and Mrs. Yoshiro Wada

2019/06/27

Image: Yoshiro Wada and his wife Kisa

Keio Yochisha Elementary School will celebrate its 150th anniversary in 2024, and the origin of this school is Wada Juku. Yoshiro Wada opened Wada Juku and, together with his wife Kisa, was the person who took in and educated the youngest children within Keio University.

Yoshiro Wada was born in 1840 as the eldest son of a lower-ranking samurai family in the Wakayama Domain. In 1863, when Yoshiro was 24 years old by the traditional age-counting system, he married Kisa, the daughter of the Egawa family from the same domain.

In 1866, at the age of 27, Wada entered the Fukuzawa Juku in Teppozu as a government-sponsored student from the Kishu Domain along with Nobukichi Koizumi and others, where he studied for about one year and two months. However, amidst the turbulent situation leading to the Restoration of Imperial Rule and the Meiji Restoration, many Keio students from various domains left the Juku. Wada similarly returned to Wakayama, but he came to Tokyo again in 1869, studied at Keio University, completed his studies in 1871, and became an English teacher. In 1873, he translated Edwards' work "A Brief History of England" and published it in two volumes.

As the turmoil of the Restoration settled, the number of Keio students increased, and Keio University moved to Mita in 1871, solidifying the foundation for further development.

Most Keio students at the time lived in dormitories, but Fukuzawa did not believe that an environment where children and adult Keio students lived together was ideal. Therefore, even before moving to Mita, the Juku had already established a separate room called the Doji-kyoku (Children's Bureau/Dormitory), and the 1871 "Keio Gijuku Shachu no Yakusoku" (Regulations for the Keio Gijuku Shachu) also established rules for the Doji-kyoku. Specifically, it set the age for entering the children's dormitory at between 12 and 16 years old, and also established rules for their daily life, such as room entry and exit and curfews. In reality, there were a significant number of students under the age of 12, such as seven or eight-year-olds. According to the 1872 "Private School Detailed Table," nearly 10% of all Keio students were 13 years old or younger.

Meanwhile, domestically, the school system was established in 1872, and new elementary schools began to appear in Tokyo Prefecture. However, these new elementary schools were still not much different from the traditional Terakoya (temple schools) and did not necessarily align with Fukuzawa's ideals. Additionally, as his own children reached school age, Fukuzawa began to think seriously about their education.

Fukuzawa must have been wondering if there was someone he could trust with the education of his own children and young Keio students—that is, the field of primary education. The person he entrusted this to was Yoshiro Wada.

It is said that Mr. and Mrs. Yoshiro Wada had been taking in and caring for several young Keio students at their home (near the current fire station next to the main gate) since around 1872, but they officially began educating several students by having them board at their home in January 1874. The location moved to the Mita Hilltop Square, near the Old University Library; this was the start of Wada's private school, "Wada Juku," and the founding of the Yochisha. Until Wada's death, it was a boarding school economically independent from Keio University, where Wada cared for the children as a family along with his wife Kisa and his younger sister Hide. The Wadas had no biological children but loved children, making it the perfect role for them. Incidentally, it is said that the name "Yochisha" was attached to Wada Juku around 1879 or 1880.

Why did Fukuzawa entrust primary education to Wada? He speaks about Wada in "The Autobiography of Yukichi Fukuzawa."

"I believe it was around the time we moved from Shinsenza to the current Mita in 1871. One day, a man named Yoshiro Wada (who has since passed away) performed a daring feat that surprised the young warriors. This man later became the head of Keio Yochisha Elementary School; he was extremely gentle in nature, treating the many young students as kindly as if they were his own children, and the students in turn regarded the headmaster and his wife as their own parents. However, he was originally a samurai of the Wakayama Domain who had aspired to martial arts since his youth, possessed a sturdy physique, was particularly skilled in jujutsu, and was a warrior who feared nothing."

Fukuzawa said, "First develop the animal body, then nourish the human heart," believing it was best to gradually transition from "physical development" to "spiritual education" and then to intellectual education during childhood. Regarding "spiritual education," he valued a peaceful and pure atmosphere like a spring breeze. In that respect, Wada, with his skill in jujutsu and gentle personality, was the ideal fit.

Regarding Wada's appearance and atmosphere, the "Memorandum" of Sadanoshin Wada, who later became Yoshiro Wada's adopted son, states the following:

"The master was of a stout and grand physique, appearing to be five shaku five or six sun tall (about 167-170 cm), with full cheeks and a thin reddish beard; his appearance was such that one might mistake him for a Westerner, and he was more of a samurai type than a scholar type."

"During the master's lifetime, I never once saw a fight or scuffle between students, nor was there any need for combative mediation or discipline. If a student behaved unseemly, the master would bring the student before him and, without saying a word of scolding, would smile, hold out his large index finger against his palm, and say, 'Now, hold out your hand. I shall give you one shippe (a flick on the wrist).' At the gesture of the shippe, even the most mischievous student would shrink back instantly and become a truly gentle student thereafter. It was a truly strange punishment. However, not a single person ever actually received the master's shippe."

One of the features often cited in the education of the Yochisha at that time, along with jujutsu, was the practice of public speaking. It is said that on the nights of the first and third Saturdays, after dinner, all the boarders were gathered in the large hall for a public speaking meeting to practice their skills. Kazuyoshi Nakayama, who was a Yochisha student, recalled the following:

"For children around twelve years old and younger, it was extremely simple, such as 'I will speak on the utility of steam trains' or 'I will speak on the utility of water,' but as they gradually reached higher grades and grew older, there were some impressive speeches worth listening to. Also, since each student was always paying attention to what topic and how they would speak at the next meeting, it had the effect of cultivating the students' powers of observation and critical eye."

How, then, did Wada appear to the Yochisha students? Many describe the Wada couple as being "like a merciful father and mother" and the environment as "familial."

For example, Ichizaemon Morimura wrote about Wada under the title "An Uncle Like a Merciful Father":

"The Mr. Wada I remember is someone I still feel was a truly kind uncle like a merciful father, who did not give the students the impression of being a 'teacher' at all. I suspect everyone feels the same way."

Kazuyoshi Nakayama recalled their daily life in detail. For instance, younger students ate in the first dining hall diagonally across from Wada's living room, and it is said that "the mistress and Miss Hide would personally serve rice to the young ones and new students." Also, bedtime was at 9:00 p.m., but "an hour later, Mr. Wada would carry a lantern and patrol each room, and again around 2:00 a.m., and if there was a student who had kicked off their bedding, he would carefully cover them back up." Many also mentioned being cared for by Miss Hide after wetting the bed.

Sanji Muto, in his book "My Life Story," spoke of the familial atmosphere of Wada Juku, saying, "In this Wada Juku, there was no concept of discrimination between upperclassmen and underclassmen; we were treated exactly like family." He also wrote the following:

"The relationship between Mr. Wada and the students at the Yochisha was entirely familial, and everyone called him 'Wada-san' instead of 'Wada-sensei.' (Omitted) Also, when Mr. Wada took the attendance of the group, he never called anyone by their surname alone, but always called them 'So-and-so-san.' In short, he did not create a hierarchical concept between teacher and student, and it was overflowing with intimate affection."

Furthermore, Muto stated, "Thinking about it lately, I imagine that Fukuzawa-sensei founded the Yochisha because he had heard that in England there were small Juku-like schools where teachers of high character took in a limited number of students to care for them in a familial way and refine their character, and he specifically entrusted that work to the mild-mannered Mr. Wada, who possessed such high character."

In January 1892, Wada suddenly fell ill and passed away from encephalitis. The content of a speech Fukuzawa himself gave to the Yochisha students upon the resumption of classes after a temporary closure remains. It is a speech that clearly shows Fukuzawa's grief and discouragement, conveying a sentiment like a grandfather speaking to children who have lost their father.

Fukuzawa also wrote Wada's epitaph himself. It says:

"He not only taught the curriculum but also, together with his wife, spared no attention even to the matters of daily sleeping and eating. His nature was gentle and stout-hearted, he disliked conflict, and he preserved the pure etiquette of the Japanese samurai style. The students in the dormitory never heard a shouting voice yet followed his instructions well, and they adored him like a parent, to the point that some were not even happy to return home on holidays." It concluded with, "Recorded with tears by close friend Yukichi Fukuzawa."

Wada was buried at Shirokane Hongan-ji Temple (now Joko-ji Temple) in Kami-Osaki, and nine years later, Fukuzawa was buried directly across from Wada's grave. Today, although both Wada's and Fukuzawa's graves have been moved, a monument to Wada stands alongside a monument to Fukuzawa at Joko-ji Temple, where this epitaph can still be seen.