Tokujirō Obata

Image: Collection of the Fukuzawa Memorial Center for Modern Japanese Studies

In issue No. 621 of Mita-hyoron (official monthly journal published by Keio University Press) (December 1963), Masafumi Tomita, editor of the "Complete Works of Yukichi Fukuzawa," spoke of Tokujirō Obata: "We must never forget that behind Yukichi Fukuzawa's founding of Keio University and its growth to its current greatness, this man's work was consistent from beginning to end. Tokujirō Obata was the one who made the greatest contribution to the completion of Keio University as Yukichi Fukuzawa's right-hand man and a power behind the scenes. To Yukichi Fukuzawa, he was the leading figure among his disciples, and to those outside the Juku, it is fair to say there was no one else but him to represent the Gijuku in place of Yukichi Fukuzawa."

The image of Obata as Fukuzawa's collaborator was also recognized by his contemporaries. For example, the Choya Shimbun dated March 5, 1890, stated, "Those who know of the existence of Keio University must know of Tokujirō Obata. Among those who know the name of the venerable Fukuzawa, who could fail to record his name?" Obituaries in various newspapers after his death also reported: "His character was gentle, he received the deep trust of the late Yukichi Fukuzawa, and was highly respected among the Keio Gijuku Shachu; in particular, his contribution to the education of the students of Keio University was immense" (Mainichi Shimbun, April 18, 1905), and "He studied English studies early on and assisted Yukichi Fukuzawa as a pioneer of our nation's culture" (Niroku Shimbun, same date). However, as time passed, far from "never being forgotten," Obata's name became known to fewer and fewer people, even within Keio University.

Until now, there has been no proper biography of him, only the "Anecdotes of Master Obata" published in the Jiji Shimpo in 12 installments starting May 14, 1905, and a small booklet titled "A Brief Biography of Master Tokujirō Obata and an Outline of the History of the Obata Memorial Library," created for "Reading Week" in 1926 by the Nakatsu Library, which was established through his wishes and donations.

Finally, in March 2022, as a joint project between Keio University and the Fukuzawa Yukichi Association, the publication of his first Collected Works began. He had various achievements, including translations from the works of Wayland, Tocqueville, and J.S. Mill, translations of practical books, and the writing of history and geography books for elementary school students. Volume 1 includes "English Idioms," "Natural Disasters," "Supplement to New Compendium of Natural History," "Guide to the Way of Production," and a brief biography of Tokujirō Obata. Volume 2 includes "Table of Money and Grain Receipts and Expenditures of Western Countries," "On the Freedom of Publication," "Mill's Three Essays on Religion," "Manual of Parliamentary Procedure," and writings published in newspapers and magazines up to 1878. Volume 3 includes "Wayland's Elements of Political Economy," and Volume 4 includes "Steps to Elementary History," "Elementary History," "Steps to Elementary Geography," and writings published in newspapers and magazines from 1879 onwards. Subsequent volumes are planned to include "Complete Book of British Naval Guns," "New Book on Marine Steam Engines," and outgoing letters.

Tokujirō Obata was born in 1842, seven years after Yukichi Fukuzawa, in Nakatsu, Buzen Province (now Nakatsu City, Oita Prefecture). While both were sons of Nakatsu samurai, Yukichi's father Hyakusuke was a lower-ranking samurai with a stipend of thirteen koku and rations for two people, whereas Tokujirō was the son of an upper-ranking samurai with a stipend of two hundred koku. He learned the punctuation of the Four Books and Five Classics from his father, later studied under Nakatsu Confucian scholars such as Hakugan Nomoto, entered the clan school Shinshukan, and eventually became involved in education at the same school. The turning point for him, who was making a living through Confucianism, came in 1864. Having witnessed the high level of civilization during his inspection of Europe in 1862, Fukuzawa considered human resource development through Western studies an urgent task. He sought collaborators in Nakatsu for the reform of his own Juku and chose Obata for the role.

According to Obata's recollections in his final years ("Fifty-Year History of Keio University"), he had known Fukuzawa through his "uncle" since he was four or five years old, wearing only a haragake (apron). He had the "honor of reading" Things Western (Seiyō Jijō) before its publication. However, since his father had already passed away at that time, he thought of his remaining mother and avoided meeting Fukuzawa to ensure he would not be invited. However, they unexpectedly met at his "aunt's house," and after being strongly persuaded that "I have not heard of a student starving to death in Edo," he decided to go to Edo.

According to recollections of disciples who entered the school from the end of the Edo period to the early Meiji era, Obata was studying and lecturing himself while also handling enrollment procedures and supervising boarding students (Mita-hyoron (official monthly journal published by Keio University Press) No. 223, 233, 250, etc.). Fukuzawa believed that civilization and enlightenment would progress under a stable feudal system under the "Monarchy of the Shogun," but the Shogunate came to an end sooner than expected. Looking at the February 1868 diary of Yoshitake Kimura, who was the commander of the Kanrin Maru, Fukuzawa was consulting about a "school" at that time. Then, in April, the "Keio Gijuku no Ki (Notes on Keio Gijuku)," which could be called the declaration of the founding of a new school, was announced. According to Toan Matsuyama, it was Obata's draft ("One Hundred Year History of Keio University," Volume 1).

The document states that establishing a "company" where "comrades study and refine themselves together" and engage in Western studies is not a "private" matter, but a broad "public" one, and expresses the hope that all those with ambition, "regardless of whether they are samurai or commoners," will come to study. In other words, Keio University aimed for the sharing of knowledge. In a letter to Riozo Yamaguchi around 1870 or 1871, Obata calls Fukuzawa "Master" and shows awareness of "our party." For Obata, Fukuzawa was both a predecessor and a comrade.

Through the publication of works such as "Natural Disasters" and "Supplement to New Compendium of Natural History," Obata introduced new knowledge based on physics and biology to a wide range of people, including women and children. These activities were carried out in cooperation with Fukuzawa, as clearly indicated by the fact that "Natural Disasters" and Yukichi Fukuzawa's Research Bulletin Kyurizukai (early autumn 1868) explicitly state their complementary relationship. Furthermore, he spent seven years from 1871 completing the full translation of Francis Wayland's economics book, which he took over from Fukuzawa to lecture on ("Wayland's Elements of Political Economy," 9 volumes).

It is well known that the first volume of Gakumon no susume (An Encouragement of Learning) was "co-authored" with Fukuzawa, but Obata is often seen as merely lending his name. Fukuzawa also claimed it as his own work in his collected works during his lifetime. However, that volume has a predecessor called "Literary Proclamation to the Samurai and People of the Prefecture," which is almost identical except for the last quarter. In Nakatsu Prefecture, an application for publication had been submitted to the Ministry of Finance to disseminate this to the world as widely as "newspapers." Considering the differences in content from the first volume of Gakumon no susume (An Encouragement of Learning), there may be room to reconsider whether Obata had no involvement at all in the "Literary Proclamation to the Samurai and People of the Prefecture," which would have been developed with the senior and junior councilors of the prefecture.

Fukuzawa deeply trusted Obata's scholarship. In the preface to An Outline of a Theory of Civilization in 1875, he stated that the "value" of the theory increased greatly after receiving Obata's corrections. When Jiji Shimpo was launched in 1882, it was noted regarding the editorials that they "specifically requested the drafts of both Mr. Fukuzawa and Mr. Obata, and troubled them with their inspection." In the "Biographies of Newspaper Contributors" edited by Gompei Tsuda and published in 1881, it is recorded that because Obata was one step ahead in his knowledge of Confucianism, Fukuzawa would never publish a translation of a "Western book" without it first passing through Obata's "critical proofreading."

Was the relationship between Fukuzawa and Obata always good? In 1887, Fukuzawa began to think about establishing specialized departments and turning Keio University into a "university." He welcomed Nobukichi Koizumi, who was then serving in the Ministry of Finance, as the Chancellor, and under him, reforms were to be carried out by Sadashiro Hamano, Ikunoshin Kadono, and Eiji Masuda. However, Obata's name was not there. Fukuzawa's nephew Hikojiro Nakamigawa was worried and made a suggestion to Fukuzawa, but Fukuzawa replied that it was "unnecessary worry" and that Obata would take the position of "advisor" or "retired status" (letter dated October 1, 1887).

Obata's reaction at this time is not clear. However, at the end of 1877, he had been forced to return from London after just over six months when he had planned to stay for a year. During a period of deteriorating management, he took on the operation of Keio University on his shoulders while being consulted by Fukuzawa about closing the school. In a lecture he gave in 1883 at the request of students, he had to make excuses, saying, "I am usually occupied with administrative affairs and cannot simply focus my eyes on books. Therefore, I cannot give a sufficient lecture to satisfy you all." Obata had worked so hard for academic affairs. Was the sudden announcement of retirement something he could accept? In the end, the Koizumi system did not go well, and it was Obata who settled things, assuming the post of President in March 1890.

Furthermore, in 1896, regarding the continuation of the college, which continued to run a large deficit, Obata, who was then President, agreed with Nakamigawa's plan to abolish the college and enhance the advanced courses. The Board of Councilors decided on the abolition and the addition of subjects to the advanced courses. However, Fukuzawa insisted on its continuation to the end and overturned the decision at the next Board of Councilors meeting. Obata resigned as President on August 13, 1897, before a successor had even been decided. He likely felt that as the head of an organization, ignoring the decision of the highest decision-making body was unacceptable. He became the Vice-Chancellor less than eight months later, but in "Anecdotes of Master Obata (9)" in Jiji Shimpo, it is stated that since he was "not involved in Juku affairs" and only "oversaw the general outline of matters," he was "now at peace" and intended to return to Nakatsu. However, he was persuaded to stay by Fukuzawa, who said that if it were not for Obata, "who else could be the second chief priest of the head temple?" He assumed the post of Chancellor of Keio University in October 1901 after Fukuzawa's death and died of stomach cancer on April 16, 1905. His grave is at Shoun-ji Temple in Hiroo, Tokyo.

Reading the minutes of the House of Peers, one can see scenes where even Obata's statements as a member were suspected of having Fukuzawa's opinions in the background, and Obata would counter that they were "my own personal thoughts." It cannot be denied that not only the public but also Fukuzawa had a side that identified Obata with himself.

From the works and letters included in the first Collected Works, Obata's own social vision becomes clear, and it is evident that he was involved in the management of Keio University and the Kojunsha as his own conviction. I hope that research will progress in the future and Obata's achievements will be clarified from various perspectives. This will undoubtedly lead to the elucidation of the essence of the Meiji Restoration—who the actual leaders of Japan's modernization were.