[Special Feature: On "On the Imperial Household"] Unwavering Through the Years: The Spirit of Keio University During the Post-War Reconstruction Period

2019/05/07

Image: Mita Campus in the late 1940s, viewed from the ruins of the Public Speaking Hall (Daikodo)

When discussing the Imperial Family of the Heisei era, the presence of former President Shinzo Koizumi is often mentioned. In April 1946, Koizumi was appointed as a consultant for the education of the Crown Prince, becoming a full-time consultant in 1949, and devoted himself to the education of His Imperial Highness Crown Prince Akihito. Later, during imperial lectures, he used "On the Imperial Household," written by Yukichi Fukuzawa in 1882, and they would take turns reading it aloud. "On the Imperial Household" states that "the Imperial Household is something outside of politics" and "the Imperial Household alone is an eternal spring; when the people look up to it, they should feel a sense of serenity and harmony." In modern terms, it presents the image of the Emperor as a symbol of the people.

The late 1940s was an era when the country sought reconstruction from the defeat in the war, and social values—from family and education to the Imperial Family—were required to undergo a major transformation. Among these, there must have been many who struggled with how to position the Imperial Family in a country that values individual freedom, equality, and independence.

How, then, did the Keio Gijuku Shachu welcome the new era after the defeat? Considering the consciousness of the people at the Juku in the late 1940s—the "atmosphere of Mita," so to speak—is meaningful for understanding that era. It also helps us understand that the vision Koizumi had for society and the Imperial Family in the new era was not something special to him alone, nor something he devised merely as a response to the times, but something more natural.

The damage suffered by Keio University during the last war was immense. Many school buildings and hospital wards in Mita and Shinanomachi were destroyed by air raids, and Hiyoshi, which was intended to be a base for reconstruction, was requisitioned by the U.S. military. Above all, many Keio students and Keio University alumni died in battle. After the surrender, many were still in foreign lands, unable to return home.

Of course, regardless of the extent of the damage, it was an era when everyone faced various hardships and sorrows and was preoccupied with their immediate lives. However, the people of the Juku had a slightly different sensation than others.

For example, Tokusaburo Watanabe, who was a teacher at the Yochisha Elementary School, later stated the following in an essay titled "Group Evacuation, Yochisha, and the Juku Spirit" (included in Watanabe's "Yukichi Fukuzawa's Recommendation for Home Education"):

"At that time, I think everyone involved with the Juku felt that while the defeat was a disagreeable thing, they were happy that extreme nationalism was removed, allowing the original spirit of the Juku to become active."

He also wrote, "Since the foundation of old values was lost, many schools in the world seemed to fall into confusion, not knowing what to do," but "Yochisha—Keio University—was fortunately unrelated to such confusion. I believe this is because the Juku spirit lives on not only in the school but also among the parents." Using a survey of class parents conducted in February 1946 as an example, he added the fact that parents also trusted the Juku spirit since the time of Yukichi Fukuzawa. For instance, one parent who was a Keio University alumni replied, "It is truly gratifying that the academic style of Keio University was more liberal and democratic than any other."

Watanabe also recalled, "I did not think I had to change myself drastically just because the war ended; rather, I felt that the time had come when Yukichi Fukuzawa's education could be realized publicly" (Yochisha Shimbun, No. 774).

This sensation was also shared by Keio University alumni who had long since left the Juku. For example, I once interviewed Mr. Gihei Konno, a 1932 graduate who worked for Meiji Life Insurance and later compiled "The Biography of Taizo Abe: Founder of Life Insurance in Japan" and the history of Kojunsha. During the interview, Konno reminisced as follows:

"(Until the end of the war) private schools were looked down upon. It had to be a government school. Then the war ended, and on NHK radio in the morning, they would broadcast, 'It is said that heaven does not create one man above or below another man. Any existing distinction between the wise and the stupid, between the rich and the poor, comes down to a matter of education.' It started from there every time. (Omitted) When I visited a senior of mine, he was very happy, saying that the era of Keio has finally come, and now is the time for Yukichi Fukuzawa's spirit to be put to use. Common sense-wise, it was no longer the era of government schools but the era of Fukuzawa; that became the general consensus" (Keio Senior High School Fukuzawa Research Society Journal "Yukichi," No. 6).

Despite carrying various sorrows and struggling with post-war reconstruction, the people of the Juku felt that their era had finally arrived.

To understand the feeling that their era had finally come, it is necessary to know what kind of experiences the people of the Juku had in the preceding era.

Watanabe tells of his experience leading Yochisha students at an evacuation school. At the evacuation site, they borrowed classrooms from a local elementary school for lessons. He said he was astonished to see the students of that school being shouted at by their teacher to salute every time they entered or left the classroom while cleaning.

"In the world of that time, under the banner of 'Training Imperial Citizens,' saluting was popular everywhere, but I was stunned by this. Such a ridiculous thing was unthinkable at Yochisha. No matter how much it was wartime, Yochisha education was more humanistic, rational, and smart. I felt I saw the Juku spirit there."

While militarism was creeping in everywhere around them, they became conscious of the spirit and individuality of the Juku.

Not only that, but in the 1930s and 40s, the "Theory of Eradicating Fukuzawa's Thought" gradually began to circulate, and Keio University came to be seen almost as a traitorous institution for being the school of Yukichi Fukuzawa, who introduced Western liberalism to Japan.

For example, in the section "The Intellectual World of the Meiji Era and the Imperial Rescript on Education" in the textbook "History of Our Country" for the Army Junior Officer School, compiled by Professor Kishi Hiraizumi of Tokyo Imperial University, the following phrases appear: "The spirit of the Meiji Restoration rapidly went down the path of collapse as Western thought permeated after 1872," "The one who took the lead in this was Yukichi Fukuzawa," and "The one that exerted the most profound influence (omitted) was 'An Encouragement of Learning'." In short, it was a criticism of Yukichi Fukuzawa's ideas of freedom and equality that respect individual independence, warning strictly that "The intent of this book is completely contrary to our country's traditional views," and "If this is carried to its logical conclusion, the relationship between lord and subject is ultimately a matter of convenience," and "It is natural that it would overturn fundamental values." Consequently, some Keio students who joined the Army were slapped or struck with bamboo swords by superiors influenced by these views as soon as they were identified as Keio students, being told they would be "thoroughly retrained."

Publishers also began to request deletions of his works in advance, fearing censorship. For example, in 1937, when "Selected Works of Fukuzawa" was published as a supplementary reader for the University Preparatory Course, the inclusion of "On the Imperial Household" was censored by the Thought Bureau of the Ministry of Education, which claimed it was inappropriate reading for young students and ordered it to be deleted from subsequent editions and replaced with other content.

Masafumi Tomita, a leading scholar of Fukuzawa and the lyricist of the Juku-ka, described the situation illustrated by these examples as follows. This is the end of "Yukichi Fukuzawa: A Teacher of Humanity," published in "The New Elementary School" (September 1950) for elementary school teachers:

"While those who slandered, reviled, and attacked this giant—who taught our citizens the dignity of human rights, explained the principles of freedom, showed the great cause of independence, and opened the broad path of democracy—were rampant with their clever-looking faces, and while those who followed their lead emerged one after another, Japan's fate plummeted with the momentum of a stone rolling down a steep slope. And when they finally realized and tried to re-evaluate his true worth, the Japan that Fukuzawa and many other predecessors had built with diligent hardship had already returned to square one."

After the defeat, when it was difficult to determine the country's direction, many people associated with the Juku were among those Prime Minister Shigeru Yoshida relied upon. It is well known that his trust in Shinzo Koizumi remained great throughout his life, but there were others as well: Takuzo Itakura, who lectured on political science and international law in the Faculty of Law and supported the "Jiji Shimpo"; Kiyoshi Nagata, who lectured on public finance in the Faculty of Economics and would serve as an advisor to the Director-General of the Economic Stabilization Board; and Tomoo Maki, a standing director during Koizumi's presidency who later became the first president of the National Defense Academy. Furthermore, Sei'ichiro Takahashi, who served as Acting President from April 1946 to January 1947 in place of Koizumi (who was recuperating from severe burns suffered in an air raid), served as Minister of Education in the Yoshida Cabinet and realized the enactment of the Fundamental Law of Education.

The circumstances of how Takahashi became Minister of Education are described in detail in "Before, During, and After the War" by Taro Takemi, a graduate of the Juku's School of Medicine who later served as president of the Japan Medical Association for a long time. Takemi was related to Shigeru Yoshida, and Yoshida often stopped by Takemi's clinic.

When the Showa Emperor asked Minister of Education Kotaro Tanaka how the relationship between the Imperial Family and the people should be in a democratic society, Tanaka only replied, "I think it is a problem to be considered in the future." Consequently, Yoshida was also called and asked, "What does the Prime Minister think?" and he was troubled when he withdrew. Takemi heard about this and mentioned that Yukichi Fukuzawa's "On the Imperial Household" applied to Japan's current situation. Yoshida then said he wanted to read it immediately and had Takemi go to his home in Kashiwa in the Prime Minister's official car to retrieve it. He read it through over several hours on the spot and decided he wanted to ask Shinzo Koizumi to be the Minister of Education. However, since Koizumi had not recovered his health from the severe burns in the air raid, Yoshida thought of Takahashi and repeatedly persuaded him.

Takahashi's term of office was only four months, from January 31, 1947, until the resignation of the Yoshida Cabinet on May 24, but during that time, he laid the foundation for post-war education with the promulgation and enforcement of the Fundamental Law of Education and the School Education Law. He also managed to implement the 6-3 system, which extended compulsory education from six years of elementary school to nine years (elementary and junior high), despite a strong atmosphere of opposition within the cabinet for financial reasons.

Materials from Takahashi's time as Minister of Education were introduced in Volume 34 of "Modern Japanese Studies" published last year (Daiki Shiraishi, "Materials Related to Sei'ichiro Takahashi's Educational Administration"), and they are quite interesting. For example, in his inaugural address to the staff of the Ministry of Education, he stated the following:

"In that regard, what I often recall and find extremely regrettable is that the principle of independence and self-respect, which the great Meiji pioneer Yukichi Fukuzawa advocated for many years, was not widely accepted by the world. Based on this principle of independence and self-respect, the document drafted by Tokujirō Obata and other direct disciples of the master (omitted) called 'Shūshin Yōryō: Fukuzawa's Moral Code' was buried by a chorus of criticism and attacks at the time of its announcement, and ultimately failed to become a force governing the era."

Furthermore, he spoke about the era from the time the government revived Confucianism after the Political Crisis of 1881 until the defeat in the war:

"Yukichi Fukuzawa and the seniors of Keio University bravely fought against bureaucracy in education, but they were ultimately not followed by others, and in the end, we saw a world dominated by militarism and ultra-nationalism. (Omitted) These 60 years of lost educational history are truly to be regretted."

On that occasion, Takahashi cited a passage where Yukichi Fukuzawa said in his "Casual Remarks" (Mangen) that if one wanted to suppress liberal and democratic thoughts, one might as well close all the schools in Japan and have the students engage in picking up horse manure or fodder. Takahashi noted with sharp irony that during the war, "Just as the master's casual remarks suggested, schoolchildren were made to abandon their studies and engage in cutting fodder."

He concluded by saying, "Convinced that the time has come to actually provide the education of independence and self-respect that this school has advocated for many years, I have unexpectedly accepted this great responsibility myself."

During his tenure, Takahashi explained the enactment of the Fundamental Law of Education to the Showa Emperor and also had the opportunity to give an imperial lecture on "On the Imperial Household." On that occasion, His Majesty expressed a desire to read "Fukuzawa's On the Imperial Household and On Reverence for the Emperor." Takahashi had the first edition brought from the Juku library and lent it to him, and it is said that His Majesty read it through immediately.

During that imperial lecture, His Majesty asked, "How should the Emperor system be under democracy, and why is the Imperial Rescript on Education not good as a standard for virtues?" Takahashi explained by citing "On the Imperial Household" and stated the significance of the preamble of the Fundamental Law of Education, saying that people's morals and beliefs arise from within and should not be imposed commandingly from above. These circumstances are recorded by Toshio Yamamoto and Shin Shimizu in the Sei'ichiro Takahashi memorial issue of Mita-hyoron (No. 826). Yamamoto was an educational scholar who served as Koizumi's presidential secretary, and Shimizu was the head of the political and economic department of "Jiji Shimpo," centered around Itakura after the war.

The spirit of the Keio Gijuku Shachu of that time, which I have introduced so far, was most clearly expressed at the 90th anniversary commemorative ceremony held in 1947 (by the traditional counting). This ceremony also provided momentum for reconstruction after the emergency responses following the end of the war the previous year.

That spirit is well expressed in the ceremonial address by President Kōji Ushioda.

"Keio University has always, to the last, remained in the private sector, standing with the citizens to advocate and practice independence and self-respect. We took the lead in trying to eradicate feudal thought among the people and plant the spirit of independence and self-respect. We have fought against the power of official authority and military cliques, and fought for civil liberties."

He then pointed out that Japan had "taken the first step toward rebirth as a democratic nation" and that the new Constitution and the Fundamental Law of Education contained the principles the Juku had been advocating, stating:

"At this time, it is clear that the Juku must lead the citizens with this traditional spirit. We recognize that we have the most natural right and are charged with the duty to embark on a great enlightenment movement for the citizens on the occasion of this 90th anniversary festival."

The "Keio Sanka" was composed for the 90th anniversary festival by Yoichi Hiraoka, a xylophonist and Keio graduate, and was sung in chorus at the end of the ceremony. The spirit contained in the first verse, "With our youthful power, let us build the ideal homeland," can be understood with even more realism when one knows this historical context.

Sei'ichiro Takahashi also delivered a congratulatory speech as Minister of Education at this ceremony. In it, he spoke in connection with the Fundamental Law of Education as follows:

"In 1900, in the final years of Yukichi Fukuzawa's life, the Shūshin Yōryō was issued. The spirit contained within it—namely, independence and self-respect—is consistent with the principle stated in the Fundamental Law of Education: that the purpose of education lies in the completion of personality, and that the educational system under democratic politics must be based on the recognition of individual dignity and value."

In his youth, Takahashi had joined and lectured in various places during a lecture tour conducted by the Juku to "promote and thoroughly disseminate the principle of independence and self-respect that forms the core of the 'Shūshin Yōryō'" (Takahashi, "The 1908 Lecture Tour," included in "Essays on Keio University") in response to a world solely focused on the Imperial Rescript on Education.

Looking at it this way, it becomes clear that the spirit of the people at the Juku in the late 1940s, amidst a major shift in social values, was not something forced, but rather a consistent axis from the time of Yukichi Fukuzawa that was naturally endowed within each of their hearts. It is exactly the "unwavering through the years" from the third verse of the Juku-ka (established in 1941).

In a freshman welcome pamphlet of the All Keio Student Federation (Zenkeiren), presumably from 1949, "To the New Students" written by Kōji Ushioda for students who had come to Tokyo from all over the country to enroll is published. I would like to introduce the full text as it well illustrates this naturally endowed axis and its meaning.

It is said that those accustomed to wartime discipline thought the Juku was a slovenly school when they entered. Conversely, those of you who have come to Mita from post-war disorder and chaos may be surprised to find it a rather conservative place. This is the Juku spirit. While the world has been shrinking or going too far, the Juku alone has for over 90 years unchangeably practiced the principles of freedom and democracy. In this respect, we are adults.

At the Juku, there are no children who, finding freedom a novelty, recklessly break things or snap at people. There are no sycophants who cower before power, but there are also no boors who take pride in speaking rudely or behaving impolitely. Independence and self-respect: while never belittling one's own authority toward the outside, one does not commit the ignorance and shallowness of seeking participation and a voice in everything. To speak, talk, and argue without any constraint between teacher and student or among friends, yet without losing courtesy toward friends and having manners, harmonizing and being close to form one family—this is the Juku spirit.

I hope you will quickly master this family spirit, become adults of freedom and democracy, and make the name of the Juku shine even more.

Regarding Takahashi, Jiro Arimitsu, who was the Administrative Vice-Minister during Takahashi's time as Minister of Education, recalled the following in a roundtable discussion in the memorial issue of Mita-hyoron:

"Professor Takahashi clearly possessed ideas that led the trends of the times, such as the role of the Imperial Family under democracy and how to respond to the Imperial Rescript on Education. He felt no resistance at all to the enactment of the Fundamental Law of Education, and he once remarked that such things were commonly accepted at Keio."

Looking at it this way, for those associated with the Juku, including Koizumi and Takahashi, as well as for Shigeru Yoshida and others who sympathized with their ideas, there was likely no sense of contradiction in the coexistence of a society of freedom and equality with the Imperial Family as a symbol of the people.

Thanks to the single axis since the time of Yukichi Fukuzawa, one can know the trends of an era by looking at how the master is evaluated in society. In that sense, even as times change, the significance of "On the Imperial Household" and the roles played by Takahashi, Koizumi, and others will not diminish. Furthermore, we should once again cherish the spirit of the people of the Juku that was so clearly visible in the immediate post-war era.