Momosuke Fukuzawa (Part 1)

2025/02/26

Image: Momosuke Fukuzawa during his studies in the United States (21 years old, from "The Biography of Old Man Momosuke Fukuzawa")

"Mount Fuji and heroes are best viewed from a distance. Fuji, which looks perfectly elegant from afar, is pockmarked and filthy when you get close—hardly a sight to behold. Heroes are the same. Perhaps because I was by Yukichi Fukuzawa's side, I don't think he was that great. In some respects, I feel I am far greater than he was."

"I do not think of him as such a great figure as Yukio Ozaki or Masami Oishi do, but what I admire about him is that he was skilled at both speaking and listening. (Omitted) Of course, he had other flaws. I don't know if he was greater compared to Danjuro (Ichikawa). But at any rate, Ozaki and Oishi say so, and in the eyes of the world's observers, Yukichi Fukuzawa was the greatest person born in the Meiji era."

This is an excerpt from the "Introduction" of a book titled "My Views on Financial Figures," written in 1929, which critiqued the big names of the financial world at the time. The man who, as a disciple, flatly stated that Yukichi was "not that great" and dared to say he was "far greater in some respects" was Momosuke Fukuzawa.

Momosuke was born in 1868 (the first year of Keio) in Arako Village, Musashi Province, as the second son of Kiichi and Sada Iwasaki. His family was poor, living on a small plot of rice field given by the main family, but eventually Kiichi moved to Kawagoe and started a lantern shop. Momosuke was a hardworking student from a young age, "striving to go to Tokyo, study, and become a great man," and in the summer of 1883, he entered Keio University through personal connections. When Momosuke entered the dormitory, it was the hot season, and all the Keio students were reading books stark naked. Momosuke was taken aback by the sight and thought Tokyo students were rowdy; in fact, he was occasionally struck by the fists of physically strong Keio students.

During his time as one of the Keio students, Momosuke was sometimes scolded by Yukichi. Once, while Yukichi was walking outside, someone urinated from the second floor of the dormitory. When Yukichi asked "Who is it?", Momosuke, not knowing it was Yukichi, shouted back, "It's Momosuke!" Yukichi went so far as to say he would expel Momosuke, but on this occasion, he was forgiven after apologies from Shigeaki Tabata (who would later work with Momosuke at the Hokkaido Colliery and Railway Company and be invited by Yukichi to serve as an assistant to Shibasaburo Kitasato) and others who became lifelong friends. Also, claiming a "punishment of the caterers" because the provided meals were unpalatable, Momosuke went on a rampage, breaking bowls and throwing out rice tubs. About 15 ringleaders were summoned to Yukichi's residence. They were told they would be forgiven if they apologized, but Momosuke alone remained stubborn, insisting that "it is the caterer's fault for not providing delicious food as promised," and ultimately refused to apologize.

One day, this mere student became Yukichi's adopted son. Regarding the circumstances, Momosuke said, "The world rumors that Yukichi Fukuzawa adopted me because he thought I was a promising young man, but that is not the case at all. The one who chose me for adoption was his wife, my current mother, Kin." The setting was a Keio University athletic meet. At the time, athletic meets were bustling events where not only those involved but also parents with daughters of marriageable age would crowd in to find a future son-in-law. Momosuke, who was physically weak, lost many of the athletic competitions, but a friend had drawn a large lion's face on his white shirt to give it some flair. The handsome young man moving nimbly in that shirt stood out among the Keio students. Kin and her eldest daughter, Sato, took a liking to him at first sight. Or perhaps the two of them sensed the feelings of the second daughter, Fusa, who was next to them, and moved Yukichi to act.

In proceeding with the marriage proposal between Fusa and Momosuke, Yukichi wrote a document titled "General Intent." It began with "Momosuke Iwasaki shall be received as the adopted son of Yukichi Fukuzawa," followed by "The adopted son is not an heir to Yukichi's lineage, but shall marry Yukichi's second daughter, Fusa, and establish a separate branch family." Just the previous year, in an editorial for the Jiji Shinpo titled "On Japanese Womanhood," Yukichi had criticized the custom of adoption as "a rare custom in the human world that sensible people always find strange." Was this not a rare case of inconsistency between words and actions for Yukichi? Perhaps Yukichi himself, to satisfy his own logic, explicitly stated in the second clause that this was not an adoption for inheritance as is common in society, but for establishing a separate family. Even so, among the husbands of Yukichi's five daughters, Momosuke was the only one who married after being adopted, which is mysterious. Did Yukichi care about the social standing of the Iwasaki family, or did he have Momosuke use the Fukuzawa name out of consideration for his future? Regarding this, Momosuke later wrote, "Fusa was a vague, good-natured person who might not manage well even if she married into another family, so my mother probably thought it would be better to take in an adopted son out of pity."

The truth of the matter remains unknown, but as a result, this adoption had a profound impact on both the public and private sides of Momosuke's life—his career and his psyche—probably more than he imagined at the time. The philosopher and critic Setsurei Miyake explained the benefits of this union, saying, "Even if he did not gain great profit as an adopted son, he must have gained some. Thus, becoming Fukuzawa's adopted son was a matter of fate, and it is well that he does things in the Fukuzawa style." On the other hand, he pointed out the loss, saying, "From the standpoint of independence and self-reliance, what does it matter if he became an adopted son of the Fukuzawa family?" Regardless, at this point, Momosuke accepted the marriage to Fusa and the adoption by Yukichi.

What prompted Momosuke's decision regarding the marriage and adoption was nothing other than the conditions written in the fourth and fifth clauses of the "General Intent," which stated that he would be sent to study abroad using funds Yukichi had saved. Momosuke later cited two events as the "happiest moments since I was born," and one of them was "when Yukichi Fukuzawa told me he would send me abroad."

In February 1887, Momosuke, now surnamed Fukuzawa instead of Iwasaki, traveled to America and arrived in Poughkeepsie, New York, where his brother-in-law Ichitaro was studying. In a letter Yukichi sent to Sutejiro, who was also studying abroad, he introduced Momosuke: "This youth is active and seems to get along well with you. Since he is none other than your brother, you should look after him in all matters. He is by no means stubborn and will follow what people say briskly" (Letter 1184). As Yukichi observed, Sutejiro frequently supported his brother-in-law, who often exceeded the standards of the Fukuzawa family, and they remained close throughout their lives. It is well known that Yukichi diligently sent letters to Ichitaro and Sutejiro during their studies abroad, but he also wrote frequently to Momosuke while asking Momosuke to reply in turn.

Later, Momosuke moved to Boston where Sutejiro was, and further followed instructions in a letter from Yukichi saying, "How about learning the practice of railway management?" (Letter 1154) to work for the Pennsylvania Railroad Company. In Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, was Tatsui Baba, a disciple of Yukichi and a democratic rights activist. Momosuke served as the opening act for Baba's public speaking, introducing Baba as a great Japanese statesman, while Baba would appear in armor and a helmet to lecture on Bushido, and Momosuke helped earn living expenses by collecting show fees from spectators. When Baba fell ill and died abroad, Momosuke was away on a trip, and Hisaya Iwasaki (the eldest son of Yataro and later the third head of the Mitsubishi Zaibatsu) took care of the funeral. Later, when Momosuke aspired to be a politician and advocated for the protection of constitutional government, he mentioned the influence he received from Baba at that time.

While studying abroad, Momosuke suffered the misfortune of losing his father Kiichi and mother Sada in quick succession. It was Yukichi who informed Momosuke of the two death notices. Yukichi encouraged Momosuke to continue his studies abroad while comforting him, saying, "From now on, think of your parents as being not just in name, but in reality, here in Mita, Tokyo" (Letter 1274).

After nearly three years in America, Momosuke returned to Japan and married Yukichi's second daughter, Fusa, as promised. Yukichi had also prepared a job for him. At the Hokkaido Colliery and Railway Company, which Yukichi was deeply involved in establishing, his monthly salary was an exceptional 100 yen. Since Sanji Muto (who would later lead Kanegafuchi Spinning to become one of Japan's leading companies), a fellow Juku graduate who had also returned from abroad, received a starting salary of 25 yen at Mitsui Bank, a large part of Momosuke's salary was undoubtedly due to Yukichi's consideration. Momosuke took up his post in Sapporo with Fusa, but Fusa became pregnant, and whether it was Fusa's wish or Kin's concerned intervention, he returned to Tokyo before the Hokkaido winter passed, with the title of Manager of the Coal Sales Department at the Tokyo branch. Soon, when the First Sino-Japanese War broke out, many ships were requisitioned as government vessels, and he lost the ships to transport coal, making business impossible. Momosuke searched for ships and succeeded in purchasing a British vessel, but he coughed up blood on the deck where the ship was handed over, was diagnosed with pulmonary tuberculosis, and was admitted to the Yojoen sanitarium run by Shibasaburo Kitasato.

After about eight months of hospitalization, Momosuke went to Oiso to recuperate. Being idle, he felt anxious about securing future living expenses. That was when he thought of the stock market. Momosuke was a man of intense focus. Once interested, he would research thoroughly and add his own unique innovations (which he called the "Momosuke Style"), and he directed 1,000 yen of the 3,000 yen he had saved from his ample salary into the stock market. The stock market likely suited Momosuke, who possessed the contradictory traits of being both bold and meticulous, and detached yet persistent. In about a year, the 1,000 yen had reportedly ballooned to 100,000 yen (equivalent to several hundred million yen today).

Eventually, his health recovered, and when he was able to travel again, Yukichi invited him to join a family trip (in 1897) touring the Keihan and Sanyo regions. During the trip, Momosuke was anxious about the movements of the stock market, but Yukichi, who was by his side, hated speculation above all else. During the trip, Momosuke left his stock holdings as they were, unable to give instructions by telegraph. Upon returning to Tokyo, Momosuke's fears were confirmed, and the market was in a state of collapse. Resigned, Momosuke sold off his stocks, reduced his profits by half, and withdrew from the stock market.

In his own book, Momosuke introduces an "interesting story" about Yukichi during this trip. When they visited Miyajima to worship, Yukichi was handed a sakaki branch by the priest. Not knowing what to do with it, he looked back and asked his six-year-old grandson, Sokichi Nakamura (the child of his eldest daughter Sato), "So-san, what should I do?" Momosuke, watching from the side, could not help but chuckle. According to Momosuke, "When in a fix, the wise, the foolish, the hero, and the ordinary person are all the same." It is the "Momosuke Style" to deliberately pick such an "interesting story" for his reminiscences of Yukichi, showing his dislike for enshrining Yukichi as a great man.

(To be continued in the next issue)