Nishiki Fukuzawa

2023/01/12

"She was just a gentle, old-fashioned grandmother. Despite being the wife of Yukichi Fukuzawa, she didn't know a word of English, didn't eat butter... but she would boast that she could drink milk. So we thought of our grandmother as a symbol of the old era." This is a recollection by Eiichi Kiyooka, a grandson of Yukichi Fukuzawa (from "Talking about My Father Yukichi"). This grandmother refers to Yukichi's wife, Nishiki. Yukichi adored his wife, calling her "Okin-san," and respected and loved her throughout his life. Yukichi reportedly told his grandson Kiyooka, "No matter what I leave in your grandmother's care, she never loses it. It is entirely thanks to her that I can work without worry and that we have managed to save some wealth" (ibid.). On the other hand, their fourth daughter, Taki, reflects on her mother Nishiki: "I don't think my mother understood my father's ideas at all. Since most people of that time didn't understand what my father said, it's no wonder my mother didn't either" (from "Yukichi Fukuzawa in Everyday Clothes").

Nishiki was born in 1845 as the second daughter of the Toki family at the Nakatsu Domain residence in Shiodome, Edo. According to "The Biography of Yukichi Fukuzawa's Children" written by Yukichi in 1876, the Toki family was a branch of the Okudaira family, who were senior retainers of the Nakatsu Domain. Nishiki's mother, Hama, was the daughter of the Inoue clan of the Yodo Domain, and her father, Tarohachi, served as a "yojin-yaku" (steward). Yukichi described him as a "person of high character who had shed worldly desires."

According to stories Eiichi Kiyooka heard from his mother, Nishiki was named "Kan" as a child, but she disliked the name and asked her parents to change it to "Kin" (Gold). However, she then disliked the kanji character, so after marrying Yukichi, she had him think of a new one, and it became "Nishiki" (Brocade), which has the same pronunciation. Additionally, Nishiki had a fiancé when she was young but stubbornly refused to marry him. Ultimately, the fiancé was deemed unsuitable and the engagement was canceled, but Nishiki herself reportedly felt that she would rather lose her life than go through with that marriage.

Nishiki married Yukichi in the winter of 1861. Nishiki was 17 and Yukichi was around 26. As mentioned, the Toki family were high-ranking samurai of the Nakatsu Domain with a stipend of 250 koku. The difference in stipend compared to the Fukuzawa family, who were lower-ranking samurai with 13 koku and rations for two, was more than tenfold. It is said that the primary reason these two, who were of such different social statuses that they normally could not marry, were able to wed was that Nishiki's father recognized Yukichi's potential and left a will requesting the marriage before he passed away. Furthermore, during this period, Yukichi had completed his first visit to the United States and had been appointed as a translator for the Shogunate with a stipend for 20 people and a 15-ryo allowance. Yukichi's service to the Shogunate is also considered a factor that made the marriage possible.

The Fukuzawas' married life began in a rented house in Shiba Shinsenza, with about 20 tatami mats across the first and second floors. After moving several times, they settled in Mita about ten years after their marriage. The couple was blessed with four sons and five daughters, but they did not hire a wet nurse until their sixth child. According to the recollections of Shigeemon Ito, around 1875 or 1876, there were about six or seven maids and wet nurses, five to ten students, one handyman, and about two grooms; including the Fukuzawa family and relatives, there were usually an average of 25 or 26 people. Nishiki managed the maids and wet nurses, supporting this large Fukuzawa household.

In the Fukuzawa household, not only did many Keio students come and go, but garden parties and various events were also held. These ranged from events for acquaintances, friends, and Keio students to gatherings where invitations were sent out in the names of the couple or Nishiki herself, providing a space for women to socialize as advocated in "On Japanese Womanhood." Yukichi's letters reveal that Nishiki sometimes acted as the host, using her ingenuity to entertain guests at lottery events. Mr. and Mrs. John Henry Wigmore, faculty members of the college who were invited to the meetings, both noted in their letters that although Nishiki did not speak English, her noble character was evident from her gentle face.

Nishiki's days were extremely busy with housework, childcare, and various types of hospitality. In a letter to her eldest son Ichitaro, she stated, "When I receive invitations from outside, I cannot simply refuse them, and we also have guests coming here, so every day is busy." Due to her busyness, she sometimes even had Yukichi write letters on her behalf to acquaintances, relatives, and even her son studying in the United States.

In "The Biography of Yukichi Fukuzawa's Children," Yukichi wrote, "Although the Fukuzawa and Toki families are from the same domain, their ancestors lived in different places in the East and West, and there is no blood relation at all." Yukichi, who was born in Osaka and spent his later years in Nakatsu, and Nishiki, who was born in Edo, can be said to have grown up in the different cultures of the West and East, respectively. Even regarding food, there was a custom of eating pufferfish in Nakatsu which Yukichi enjoyed, but Nishiki is said to have admonished him, saying that if he was going to eat dangerous pufferfish, he should kill the family first, illustrating their differences.

Furthermore, as the daughter of a high-ranking samurai, Nishiki received the "standard upbringing of a domain samurai living in Edo." On the other hand, Yukichi grew up in a poor, lower-ranking samurai family where he lost his father early and had to help his mother with side jobs to survive. It is likely that their values differed greatly from Yukichi's, who sought to proactively adopt Western ideas.

For example, for Nishiki, it was perfectly natural to greet her husband with a bow and say "Welcome home" when he returned, but Yukichi disliked this. He would intentionally enter through the back to escape her, and the sight of Nishiki chasing after him was said to be like a game of tag. Eventually, Nishiki gave in and stopped, but it is imagined that there were many things she could not agree with, having been raised with the etiquette of a high-ranking samurai's daughter. However, letters sent from his travels show that Yukichi relied on Nishiki daily for things like managing his clothes and preparing his toothbrush.

In his writings, Yukichi advocated for equal rights for men and women and the importance of education for women. There are also letters where he asked his sons studying abroad for estimates of the costs if he were to send his daughters to study abroad.

However, in reality, the daughters did not attend school properly, let alone study abroad. Up until the third daughter, they were briefly enrolled in the Yochisha, but the content they studied was different from the boys, and they quit after about two years. Later, he enrolled a daughter in Kyoritsu Women's School in Yokohama (now Yokohama Kyoritsu Gakuen), but she was withdrawn after only one or two months. Even though this school was a boarding school, he went so far as to send petitions asking for them to be allowed to skip weekend services and return home as an exception until they got used to it. According to Kiyooka, a major factor was that "Grandmother said she was so worried and lonely that she called them back." The fifth daughter never attended school even once.

Ultimately, the daughters' education, aside from having foreign women come to the house to teach English, knitting, and cooking, consisted of "completely ordinary female education no different from an ordinary household," learning "standard lessons" such as koto, shamisen, dance, and Japanese painting. This may have been heavily influenced by the views of Nishiki, who had received the "standard upbringing of a domain samurai living in Edo." Additionally, Nishiki's mother, Hama, had lost her husband early and lived in retirement at the Fukuzawa house. She managed all the housework alongside Nishiki and was said to be particularly attentive to supervising the maids. Out of consideration for the Okudaira family's "Horein-in Sama," she was so stubborn and formal that she never uttered the word "horensou" (spinach) in her life, calling it "akanesou" instead. Hama's presence may also have influenced the daughters' education.

Yukichi preached that the foundation of life and family is the husband and wife, and that it is important for the couple to be equal and consult each other on all matters. Indeed, in letters Yukichi sent to his sons studying abroad, words like "agreement" and "discussion" with "Mother" can be seen. Nishiki's letters also mention that since worries would affect Yukichi's health, she would hear about them first and then "consult" with him.

Furthermore, at the end of every month, they engaged in collaborative work such as "always bringing out the ledger and abacus to face each other as a couple" and keeping the household accounts together. Additionally, Nishiki's hobby was haiku, and she received instruction from Sanji Iida, one of Yukichi's students; sometimes Yukichi would join in, showing an effort to engage with Nishiki's hobby by composing linked verse (renku) together.

On the other hand, the fourth son, Daishiro, heard from his older sister that "Father talked about women's rights and such, but at home he always did exactly as he pleased without hesitation." However, he analyzed that "since there was no one to oppose him, it naturally became that way," and reflected that the reason there were no marital quarrels and they were harmonious was likely because "Mother was a Japanese-style woman and an extremely calm, obedient person, so no problems arose" (from "My Father, Yukichi Fukuzawa").

For more than 20 years after Yukichi passed away, Nishiki lived alone in the Mita house as a widow. According to Kiyooka, she did not rely on her children for care, but rather "the children and grandchildren relied on her." She had a "fine office desk in the corner of her living room," and was described as "a gentle person who might scold but never got angry, always composed, and never sat in a relaxed posture, so I thought that no matter how hot it was in summer, only Grandmother was not hot." It was said that "because she gave instructions to the maids in a natural flow, it made us feel very relaxed as well."

To her grandchildren, Nishiki was a "gentle person" and at the same time, as mentioned at the beginning, a "symbol of the old era." Depending on how one looks at it, could it not be said that in her later years, despite being the wife of Yukichi Fukuzawa, Nishiki was able to "grow old" as an "old-fashioned grandmother"? This might be because Yukichi and Nishiki respected each other's values as independent individuals and prioritized dialogue, consultation, and collaborative work.

Nishiki passed away in 1924 and was buried at Jokyo-ji Temple, where Yukichi rests. Later, like Yukichi, she was reinterred at Zenpuku-ji Temple.

During his lifetime, Yukichi believed that Nishiki should also have her own assets and made deposits in her name. After Nishiki's death, those assets had grown significantly, so a memorial fund named the "Nishiki-kai" was established to help relatives and support the Juku. Today, this fund is used for the copies of "The Autobiography of Yukichi Fukuzawa" presented to every year's Yochisha graduates, and Grandmother Nishiki's kindness is still being delivered to the young Keio students.

(Reference: "Yukichi Fukuzawa and Women" by Naoko Nishizawa)