Matsuyama Toan

2020/04/27

Image: Courtesy of the Keio University Fukuzawa Memorial Center for Modern Japanese Studies

It was on September 26, 1898, that Yukichi Fukuzawa suffered his first cerebral hemorrhage. After escaping a temporary critical condition and recovering, a celebratory reunion was held on December 12. Approximately 400 Keio University alumni gathered at the Koyo-kan, which was located where Tokyo Tower stands today. The doctors who had devoted themselves to his treatment were also invited and received the gratitude of the attendees. Matsuyama Toan, who spoke on behalf of the medical team, stated that the recovery was due to Fukuzawa's own physical strength and not their own merit, and then spoke as follows.

"If there is one merit I have, it is that this face of mine served as a thermometer for the teacher's illness. When the teacher's condition was bad, Matsuyama's face would become triangular, and when it was good, it would become square. It is said that the many disciples who crowded the teacher's entrance every day judged the teacher's condition by Matsuyama's complexion. If I have any merit, it is only for this one moment."

This episode clearly shows how the Keio Gijuku Shachu were concerned about Fukuzawa's condition and experienced alternating joy and sorrow while watching Matsuyama's expressions.

Matsuyama was the family doctor for Fukuzawa and his family, and was also like a school doctor for Keio University.

Matsuyama Toan was born in 1839 into a family of doctors in Momoyama-cho, Kinokawa City, Wakayama Prefecture (then Naka District, Kii Province). In 1854, he went to Kyoto to study Dutch studies under the Dutch-style physician Ryomin Shingu.

Later, he came to Edo, but having no connections, he was at a loss when he met Ryozo Yamaguchi, a close friend of Fukuzawa since their days at Tekijuku. Yamaguchi told him, "You must not go anywhere else; you must go to Fukuzawa, and I will take you there." He met Fukuzawa and entered the Juku. This was in 1866.

Shortly thereafter, Fukuzawa went to the United States on his third overseas trip and returned with a large number of Western books. Matsuyama recalled that time as follows.

"Then the teacher returned and gave me many books, saying I could take whichever I liked. The first one I took was Brinton, which I still have today. I translated and published it. For parts of the text I didn't understand, I asked Mr. Obata."

"Mr. Obata" refers to Tokujirō Obata. Matsuyama had become close to him even while Fukuzawa was in the U.S., saying, "I was still a newcomer, (...) but I gradually entered the school, stayed by Mr. Obata's side, and was constantly receiving his teachings."

This translation was a part of Flint's medical textbook, published as "Chifusu Shinron" (New Theory on Typhus). When he showed the manuscript to Fukuzawa, Fukuzawa said, "This is well done. Publish it immediately. I will lend you the funds," and Fukuzawa lent him the total publication cost of 200 yen. This book is said to have "sold very well because it was the first time an English medical book had been translated, making it a rarity."

Matsuyama continued to translate and publish not only medical books like "Shogaku Jinshin Kyuri" (Elementary Human Physiology) but also "Chigaku Hajime" (Introduction to Geography) and "Kesshi Banpo Shiryaku" (Gezot's Brief History of All Nations).

After the Juku moved to Shinsenza, Shiba in 1868, he was in charge of the "Reading of Mr. Comings' Human Physiology." On the other hand, when he attended Fukuzawa's lectures on Wayland's economic theory, he said, "I would get so sleepy I couldn't help it, (...) it was just too difficult to understand, so I stopped attending those lectures and instead did various translations and such, which led to me meeting the teacher frequently and receiving his teachings directly." Fukuzawa's study was on the second floor, and Matsuyama said he was "able to go up often to talk and listen to him personally."

Fukuzawa seems to have highly valued Matsuyama's efforts, as seen in letters to Ryozo Yamaguchi:

"Matsuyama is studying frequently and has improved considerably, (...) I believe he will become a fine scholar of English studies within a year or two" (September 1867); "Matsuyama's progress is exceptional, and Koizumi and others are also promising fellows" (Intercalary April 1868).

In August 1868, Matsuyama moved to Yokohama, where he directly studied Western medical sciences by observing the treatments of American doctor Hepburn and Dutch doctor Meijer, and serving as an assistant to British doctor Newton at the syphilis hospital established in Yokohama.

He also worked hard to spread Western learning. The following year, in 1869, he returned to his hometown in Wakayama and, together with Goryo Hamaguchi, worked to open a Western-style school, Kyoritsu Gakusha.

In December 1871, he served for one year as one of the first teachers, along with Tokujirō Obata, at the Nakatsu City School, which was opened at Fukuzawa's suggestion.

Then, in 1873, he would found the medical school of Keio University. The catalyst was the following exchange between Masashiro Maeda and Fukuzawa around May 1873.

(Maeda) "I want to study German from now on." / (Fukuzawa) "Why do you want to study German?" / (Maeda) "Because I want to become a doctor." / (Fukuzawa) "To study medical sciences, German is not necessary. I will make it so that medical training can be done at the Juku."

Then, calling Matsuyama, who was living on the premises, Fukuzawa said in the kitchen area:

"I intend to build an English-language medical school at the Juku. I will provide the funds, so would you be willing to give your time?"

Upon receiving Matsuyama's reply, Fukuzawa asked Masashiro Maeda, who was nearby, what he thought, and he agreed. Fukuzawa was delighted, saying, "Now, a teacher and a disciple have been made instantly. We can start as early as tomorrow."

As this episode illustrates, the characteristic of the Keio University medical school was to provide education based on British and American medical sciences rather than German medicine. At that time, Western medical sciences could only be studied at a few public schools, which were biased toward German medicine. This spirit is also evident in the purpose of establishing the medical school.

"We have founded this school based on the principle that by teaching the outlines of new medical sciences daily to the young medical students of the world, relying on the medical books of British and American authors, we may contribute somewhat to the progress of our culture."

In October of the same year, the Keio University medical school was established after submitting an "Application for Medical Practice" to the Tokyo Prefectural Government, and classes were held in a newly built school building on the north side of the Mita Hilltop Square. In addition to the principal, Matsuyama, the main teachers included Matsuyama's nephew Ryoen Shingu and Takeshi Sugita. Practical education was conducted at the Sonseisha Clinic (later Matsuyama Hospital) opened by Matsuyama in Mita in April 1875, where instruction was provided by Matsuyama, Gentan Sugita, Souetsu Kumagawa, as well as Faulds and Simmons.

The number of enrollees reached 81, 52, and 59 in 1874, 1875, and 1876, respectively. However, as medical education required more precision, vast funds were needed to prepare instruments, cadavers for practice, and hospitals. Ultimately, it led to the school's closure in 1880.

Beyond the medical school, Matsuyama contributed to the expansion of Japanese healthcare in various ways.

In 1871, he served as the "Chief Medical Officer" at a Western-style hospital established in Yokohama in cooperation with Aritomo Hayashi, which gained a reputation through Simmons' clinical practice. This hospital later changed its name to Yokohama Kyoritsu Hospital and Juzen Hospital, eventually becoming today's Yokohama City University Hospital.

In October 1878, he also established Kyoritsu Hospital by merging an ophthalmology hospital he had opened with Kumagawa, where Simmons also practiced (closed in May the following year).

Meanwhile, he also created organizations for doctors. In 1875, he formed the "Tokyo Medical Company," which could be called Japan's first medical society. Among the six directors, including Matsuyama, were Kumagawa, Masatane Ando (who studied at the Juku), and Motonori Tashiro from the Nakatsu Domain.

In 1877, he founded the "Tokyo Association of Private Practitioners," which could be called Japan's first medical association, with Kumagawa, Ando, and others. Its purpose was to "improve medical customs and investigate academic subjects" in response to the tendency of traditional Kampo doctors to be viewed as "entertainers" without recognizing their mission to save lives.

Then, in 1880, Kanehiro Takaki, who had studied medical sciences in London, returned to Japan. Matsuyama met with Takaki, and the two hit it off, maintaining a cooperative relationship thereafter. Since Matsuyama's British/American-style Keio University medical school had closed for economic reasons, and the newly returned Takaki likely felt a strong bias toward German medicine, they must have found common ground.

The two immediately wrote a prospectus and sent it to over 20 doctors, gaining supporters and forming an academic organization called "Sei-i-kai" in January 1881. Takaki was elected president, and Matsuyama, Kumagawa, Shingu, and Tashiro were elected as directors. On May 1, they opened the "Sei-i-kai Training Center" and began classes in the second-floor hall of the Tokyo Medical Company.

Furthermore, through repeated meetings of volunteers, they founded the Tokyo Charity Hospital (Yushi Kyoritsu Tokyo Byoin). As the name suggests, it was based on donations from volunteers, with Matsuyama, Takaki, Kumagawa, and the director Bunkai Totsuka each donating 1,000 yen at the start. When clinical practice began in August 1882, it is said that a large number of patients gathered at the gate of the temple being used as a temporary hospital for Takaki and Matsuyama's treatments.

The Sei-i-kai Training Center later changed its name to Sei-i School and became the "Tokyo Jikei Hospital Medical School" in 1891. The Tokyo Charity Hospital received a grant and words of encouragement from Her Majesty the Empress in 1887, and was renamed "Tokyo Jikei Hospital" accordingly. These are today's Jikei University School of Medicine and its affiliated hospital.

I have intentionally recorded the names of the people involved in each of Matsuyama's achievements in detail. By looking at those names together, one can understand that Matsuyama and the people around him played a major role in both the Sei-i-kai Training Center, the origin of today's Jikei University School of Medicine, and the Tokyo Charity Hospital, which led to the university hospital.

Regarding Matsuyama, the "Biography of Matsuyama Toan" states the following:

"The teacher had a strong passion for creation or construction, and several times he cast aside his business to rush into the cultural construction of the early Meiji era. (...) As is clear from his career at the Kishu English School, Nakatsu City School, Yokohama Kyoritsu Hospital, Tokyo Kyoritsu Hospital, and this Tokyo Charity Hospital, he would either entrust the succession to an old master or hand over the business for the sake of his juniors, without the slightest attachment. This is where he was a rare person of character."

Could it be that Matsuyama's reverence for Fukuzawa was hidden behind that creative fever in the private sector? The key lies in the word "Kyoritsu" (public/jointly established) attached to the names of the schools and hospitals he created. These are the words also written in the "Keio Gijuku no Ki (Notes on Keio Gijuku)," which could be called the declaration of independence for Keio University: "Following the system of that Kyoritsu school, (...) we tentatively name it Keio Gijuku after the era name of its founding." Matsuyama was a person who, not stopping at his work as a doctor, poured his energy into building businesses based on the spirit of "Kyoritsu," where people with shared aspirations cooperate for a public purpose.