A Society of Mutual Recognition: Learning from Yukichi Fukuzawa's Views on Women and the Family

2020/03/24

Happy New Year, everyone. Also, happy 185th birthday to Yukichi Fukuzawa. My name is Naoko Nishizawa, as I was just introduced. It is a great honor to have the opportunity to speak at this birthday celebration today. Thank you very much. I am currently very nervous.

Usually, at research presentations, I often refer to him as Fukuzawa or Yukichi Fukuzawa without an honorific title in order to objectively position his achievements. However, since today is a gathering to celebrate his birthday, I would like to call him Yukichi Fukuzawa. I hope you will kindly overlook any awkwardness this may cause. Now, I would like to get straight to the main topic.

It may not be very well known now that Yukichi Fukuzawa wrote many essays on women and the family. Because his achievements were so diverse and numerous, I believe there are fewer opportunities for his views on women and the family to be discussed systematically compared to his other commentaries.

However, Yukichi Fukuzawa's views on women and the family sparked controversy from the time they were first published, and discussions have continued from time to time even after his death. Kikue Yamakawa, who served as the first Director of the Women's and Minors' Bureau of the Ministry of Labor after the war, stated in her book "Record of Two Generations of Women" that reading his essays felt like a weight being lifted. Akiko Yosano said, "Even now, I cannot help but deeply sympathize with his brilliant insight. Yukichi Fukuzawa was the great man who advocated for equal rights for men and women at the earliest stage in our country and encouraged the independence of women" ("What Do We Seek?"). Furthermore, Shigeri Yamataka, who served as the president of the National Federation of Regional Women's Organizations (Chifuren), stated in her 1934 work "Knowledge of Women's Issues" that Yukichi Fukuzawa's views on women remain a masterpiece of Meiji—and indeed Japanese—discourse on women.

On the other hand, many female educators criticized him, arguing that women with the self-determination he advocated would hinder men at a time when Japan, as a developing nation, needed to increase its national strength. Even today, evaluations of Yukichi Fukuzawa's views on women and the family are not uniform.

I believe the fact that controversy has continued for so long indicates that Yukichi Fukuzawa's arguments and proposals touched upon the essence of the problem. Today, under the title "A Society of Mutual Recognition," I would like to consider the challenges we must tackle in modern society while drawing inspiration from the views on women and the family written by Yukichi Fukuzawa.

In May of last year, the so-called Act on Promotion of Women's Participation and Advancement in the Workplace was revised, and it seems as though women's active participation in professional life is expected. The Cabinet Office conducts a "Public Opinion Survey on a Gender-Equal Society" approximately once every two years. Among the questions is one asking whether respondents agree or disagree with the idea that "the husband should work outside and the wife should protect the home."

According to the results announced in 2016, the group with the highest percentage of people who agreed or somewhat agreed with the opinion that "the husband should work outside and the wife should protect the home" was, as you might imagine, men in their 70s and older. However, the group with the next highest support rate was, surprisingly, women in their 20s (ages 20–29). In fact, 47.2%—nearly half of women in their 20s—supported the idea of the husband working outside and the wife protecting the home. Since the overall average was 40.6%, the high level of support in this generation is evident.

Looking at these results, I don't think we should optimistically think, "Oh, women in their 20s still long for marriage and family life." This survey also publishes the percentage for women aged 18 to 29, and just by including 18 and 19-year-olds, the percentage drops by 6.1%. What exactly does that mean?

Based on the results of the same survey, which also showed that "there are few opportunities to feel inequality in school life," I think as follows: Women who have spent their lives up until graduation without feeling much gender inequality begin to realize the gap with men as they spend more years in employment. They hit an insurmountable wall, a glass ceiling, and begin to think that a lifestyle prioritizing the home might be happier. I suspect this is the result, and it may not be an active choice at all.

The data I just introduced was announced in 2016, but there is actually the latest data announced last September. However, in the latest version, whether intentional or not, the figures for the 20s are not published, and only the 18 to 29 age group is shown, making the comparison I just mentioned impossible. Overall, the number of people who support the idea of the husband being outside and the wife at home has decreased by about 5%, so I hope things will improve, but unfortunately, a disappointing result was also announced at the end of last year.

The World Economic Forum (WEF), known for its annual meeting in Davos, quantifies whether men and women are equal and publishes The Global Gender Gap Index (GGGI) every year, ranking countries. In the 2019 results announced at the end of last year, Japan ranked 121st out of 153 countries, its lowest ever. This shows that gender equality is not progressing to a surprising degree. It has been pointed out that the factor is the low participation of women in the political field, but that is not all. Looking in detail, the wage gap between men and women in the economic field remains large. According to an announcement by the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare, women's wages remain at a level slightly over 70% of men's. Also, in the field of education, the further one advances into higher education, and when comparing subsequent careers as researchers, the gap between men and women is large.

Why has Japan been so slow to realize gender equality?

When the GGGI results are announced, various media outlets discuss what should be done to promote equality. In a series reported by the Asahi Shimbun last year, a method devised by an author to understand gender inequality in an instant was introduced: swapping men and women. When I read that, I was surprised that it was being spoken of as a new discovery now, even though Yukichi Fukuzawa said the same thing long ago, 135 years ago. Yukichi Fukuzawa stated the following in the 1885 "On Japanese Womanhood, Part 2":

"If we were to try borrowing the text of the Onna Daigaku (Greater Learning for Women) as it is, and simply swap the words for men and women in the text as written below, would men gratefully follow these teachings?"

At that time, a book called "Onna Daigaku" was widely circulated, which taught that women should live in obedience to men. It was a teaching that forced irrationality upon women, such as being aware that women are inferior to men, valuing the husband's parents more than one's own, and that while a wife should nurse her husband if he falls ill, it is natural for a wife who falls ill to be divorced. Yukichi Fukuzawa asks people to try swapping the words for men and women in the text, and questions whether men would think those teachings are wonderful and follow them.

Yukichi Fukuzawa had a strong conviction that men and women should be equal. This was closely related to the vision of modern society he had conceived.

Entering the new era of Meiji, he believed that unlike the previous feudal society, which was fixed by a class system, the new society must be formed with individuals as the main subjects. Each individual gains freedom and independence, and these "independently minded" individuals form a society through social interaction, which then leads to the nation. Rather than first drawing a vision of a strong nation and then seeking a family and citizenry to fit it, he developed the idea from "independence of the individual" to "independence of the family" and then "independence of the nation." He believed it was essential for society to be one where the individual is the subject and each person is valued.

And since society is made up of men and women, he argued that those men and women must be equal beings. In "On Japanese Womanhood, Part 2," he also states that if women are not recognized as full-fledged individuals and are treated as if they do not exist, the population is halved, and the power to support the country will stop at half.

In the early Meiji period, partly due to influence from the West, it was not at all uncommon for men in the intellectual class to discuss whether the rights held by men and women were the same. However, where Yukichi Fukuzawa's argument differed from others was that he advocated for the equality of the very existence of men and women to all people. Before engaging in difficult arguments about what rights as citizens or private individuals are, Yukichi Fukuzawa argued that everyone should first understand that the existence of men and women itself is equal.

Yukichi Fukuzawa stated the following in his 1870 "Letter of Farewell to Nakatsu":

"When Heaven creates people, at the beginning of creation, there must be one man and one woman. Even after tens of millions of years, that ratio cannot help but be the same. Whether called man or woman, they are equally a single person between heaven and earth, and there is no reason for there to be a distinction in importance."

Why are men and women equal? If you look around, men and women are born in equal numbers. This has not changed for thousands of years. He argued that this is proof that there is no discrimination in importance between men and women. Using familiar examples that anyone could relate to, he explained a theory of gender equality that everyone could understand.

He also stated the following in the 8th volume of Gakumon no susume (An Encouragement of Learning) (1874):

"In the first place, those born into the world, men are people and women are people. Speaking in terms of performing indispensable functions for this world, the world must not lack men for a single day, nor must it lack women."

Gakumon no susume (An Encouragement of Learning) begins with the words, "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." I think that at the time, probably more than 95% of the people who read this sentence unconsciously thought that "man" referred to an "adult male." They were not conscious that it included the elderly, children, or certainly not women. Yukichi Fukuzawa knew this, so he went out of his way to explain that "men are people and women are people," arguing that the "people" he spoke of were both men and women, and that both were equal beings indispensable to this world.

After understanding that men and women are equal beings, what is necessary to improve the social status of women? Today, I would like to take up the following four points from Yukichi Fukuzawa's arguments.

First, the first point is to give women responsibility. In his 1885 "On Japanese Womanhood," he states, "Looking at the women of Japan, they have no responsibility whatsoever," and "With no responsibility both inside and outside the home, their status is extremely low." He argues that the lack of responsibility both inside and outside the home keeps the status of women low. He says that having responsibility makes a human being grow, and that leads to the essence of "power," such as rights and the power to exercise them.

I believe this is a very relevant point today. Even now, I think the distance between women and responsibility leads to the thinking of the women in their 20s mentioned at the beginning, and is reflected in the high rate of non-regular employment for women. However, in Yukichi Fukuzawa's time, women were simply not given responsibility, which kept their status low. Today, there are reports of situations where women themselves hesitate to take on responsibility. Of course, this leads to a chicken-and-egg debate about whether a working environment that allows for taking on responsibility is in place, but as Sarah Casanova, CEO of McDonald's Japan, points out, I think it is also a weak point for Japanese women. I believe we must address the importance of the existence of responsibility that Yukichi Fukuzawa pointed out.

The second point is to have economic power. He stated, "Power arises from wealth, and wealth is the source of power," arguing that if women can become economically independent, they can increase their power.

In "Supplement to Discourse on Social Interaction between Men and Women" (1886), he encouraged women to have professions, saying, "From now on, even women should seek some kind of profession and make it their primary focus to ensure they have no trouble making a living for themselves, no matter what situation they face." When I talk about this, some students say, "Are you denying stay-at-home mothers? My mother is a stay-at-home mother, and I think it's a wonderful way to live." I think being a stay-at-home mother is a very high-risk choice, but I have no intention of denying it, and neither did Yukichi Fukuzawa. He argued that the reason a husband can work outside is because the wife is in charge of things inside the house, and half of those earnings belong to the wife. He also argued that women should have ownership rights over the family's property. The important thing is to have economic power.

The third point is that men and women should have a relationship where they learn from each other. As I mentioned earlier, Yukichi Fukuzawa stated that society after the Meiji era would be formed by people interacting with each other. He called this "jinkan kosai (society)," and stated that this interaction should take place not only between members of the same sex but also between men and women.

In Japan, for a long time, a wide range of social interaction that brings spiritual richness between men and women has not been nurtured within customs. Yukichi Fukuzawa described this situation in an easy-to-understand way, saying that in Japan, the choice for men and women is between meeting in "formal court dress" or meeting "naked." He argued that social interaction should be broad and continuous, and within that, men and women can unconsciously raise each other's wisdom and virtue. In "Discourse on Social Interaction between Men and Women" (1886), he stated the following:

"In the course of unconscious interaction, women learn from men and men are taught by women, tangibly increasing their knowledge and intangibly advancing their morality. It is beyond doubt that there will be great benefits in unexpected places in all matters of domestic life and social conduct."

And fourthly, and I believe this is the most important point among Yukichi Fukuzawa's observations, he argued that a reform of consciousness is essential. This is a most serious and fundamental challenge that continues to this day.

He explains the reason why differences arise between men and women, who should inherently be equal, in "On Japanese Womanhood, Part 2" as follows:

"Even though there are no signs of any kind between men and women, scholars of the Confucian style look at women and somehow despise them, somehow believing them to be inferior to men, and as is their custom, they record them as 'yin' in the 'yin notebook' that exists within their own minds."

In other words, in the process of growing up, people do not verify clear reasons, but "somehow" despise women and "somehow" think women are inferior to men. Moreover, they record that information not in a notebook where they write down what they have studied, but in a "yin" notebook in their "minds," a notebook in their heads. He states that the problem is that they act according to that. This is exactly a point about gender bias and how it is formed. Furthermore, he states the following in "The New Greater Learning for Women":

"The so-called old Confucianists have been nurtured by formal customs for hundreds and thousands of years, as if forming a second sex, and they are content with the base custom of 'predominance of men over women' and ultimately do not know how to realize their error."

Men and women are born with biological sex differences. He points out that the problem is that on top of biological sex differences, acquired social gender differences are added by customs cultivated throughout history.

Recent students don't seem to quite get it when I mention Beauvoir, but it was 1949 when Beauvoir wrote "The Second Sex," stating "One is not born, but rather becomes, a woman." Exactly 50 years before that, Yukichi Fukuzawa used the term "second sex" to appeal to people about the existence of social gender differences. Of course, Beauvoir's meaning and Yukichi Fukuzawa's concept do not match perfectly, but I think it is noteworthy that he saw through the fact that gender differences are defined by people's consciousness and proposed it using the term "second sex."

Yukichi Fukuzawa was the first to realize that unless the consciousness of men changes, the social status of women will not change. In other words, he viewed the discourse on men as two sides of the same coin as the discourse on women, and discussed the improvement of women's status from the perspective of gender bias in society. It can be said that this was a discussion that captured the essence, and in this respect, Yukichi Fukuzawa's views on women were outstanding. That is why, as I introduced at the beginning, it was praised as a masterpiece of its time that made one feel a weight lifted and with which one could not help but sympathize.

These relationships between men and women appear most closely and prominently in married couples.

Yukichi Fukuzawa lists three emotions that bind a family: love (ai), respect (kei), and empathy (jo). Love, to love, is an essential condition, but he says that even animals have this. What makes humans different from animals is having the emotion of respect. What is respect (kei)? In "On Japanese Womanhood, Part 2," he says it is "to position the wife as a full-fledged person on an equal rank with the husband, to talk to her about everything and consult with her about everything," recognizing the other person as being of equal rank, talking about everything, and consulting each other without deciding things on one's own.

Furthermore, the emotion of empathy (jo) is important. Similarly, in "On Japanese Womanhood, Part 2," he states the following:

"Empathy (jo) is a character made by combining the two characters for 'like' and 'heart.' It means to think of another person's heart as if it were one's own heart, to estimate that what is unbearable to oneself will also be unbearable to others, and to restrain oneself accordingly."

Thinking about things from the other person's perspective. Thinking of the other person's heart, and thinking that if something is unpleasant and unbearable for oneself, it will also be unpleasant and unbearable for the other person, and not taking such actions. Also, since jo has the meaning of "to forgive," I think it also includes the meaning of being able to be generous to each other.

I believe that this kind of respecting and caring for others and thinking from their perspective is not just for between family members, but can be expanded to society in general. I think it is important to reflect on oneself for being in a superior position for no reason, "somehow" without grounds, to recognize the other person as an equal being, and to have feelings of respect (kei) and empathy (jo).

The important thing is that the question of whether such a society can be realized is largely a matter of consciousness. Unless consciousness is reformed, the situation will not change.

In "On Japanese Womanhood," Yukichi Fukuzawa states that things do not change just because a law is made, and that the issue of consciousness in trying to change customs is important, as follows:

"The root of equal rights originates from custom, and the written text of the law merely supports the power of that custom."

This is also a point that applies exactly to modern society. The development of laws is important, but it is only the first step. Yukichi Fukuzawa, in "The New Greater Learning for Women," dismisses people who understand in their heads but cannot take action because they are preoccupied with public appearance as "fools without courage." It is important not only to understand in one's head but also to change one's consciousness and take action.

What I have said so far may be common sense by now. I might be scolded for only saying things that are already well understood. However, as I mentioned at the beginning, it is a reality that the Gender Gap Index is 121st, and as you may have heard often recently, among the 17 SDGs (Sustainable Development Goals) decided unanimously at the 2015 UN Summit, it is said that the most difficult one for Japan to reach is gender equality. Changing consciousness is not easy.

After hearing my talk, some of you might think, "Even if you say that, my wife is so powerful at home that I can't stand up to her," or "Women in the world are strong; isn't it only women having lunch at hotels?" Yukichi Fukuzawa saw through that as well, and in Popular Discourse on National Rights (1878), he says that in the small details inside the house, women actually hold the real power. But that is a separate issue from whether they can be active in society.

I cannot mention the story of Keio University and women's education today, but when Yukichi Fukuzawa considered education for women, he argued that it is important whether there is a place in society to receive them after they have been educated. To borrow the expression from "On Japanese Womanhood, Part 2," the country is something shared by men and women. If men try to maintain it alone, the power to support society will be halved.

More than 120 years have passed since Yukichi Fukuzawa wrote his last essays on women and the family. Of course, there are parts of his arguments that are no longer applicable. In fact, if that were not the case, it would mean we have made no progress.

But even so, it can be said that the fundamentals that he saw through and pointed out with a sharp perspective have still not been corrected. Especially in an increasingly diverse society, I think the issue of "consciousness" pointed out by Yukichi Fukuzawa must be expanded in various directions, not just as a simple issue of men and women. I believe a society with respect (kei) and empathy (jo) is the key to accepting diversity.

There is something that bothers me while teaching classes. Do you know the term "date DV" (dating violence)? It may be a term you are not very familiar with. There are classes on date DV for junior high and high school students where they learn through role-playing and other methods what kind of words and actions hurt the other person—for example, where a simple feeling like "this one is definitely more delicious, so you should eat this" becomes a problem. It's obvious, but it's not only men who cause hurt. Women also have groundless prejudices, such as "it's natural for men to pay when going on a date," so it's a class where both learn.

However, among the students who come to Keio University, the number of people who have experience taking such a class—I haven't taken accurate statistics, I'm just asking in class—is, I think, less than 10%. I think so-called elite schools do not place importance on it. But this is an issue unrelated to academic ability. And even if it is a simulated experience, I believe that the value of experience generates consciousness reform.

Also, I introduce diverse family images in class, but for example, when I talk about children with transgender parents, at other universities as well as Keio University, many students say that they think the parents' way of life should be recognized, but since children cannot choose their parents, it's a pity they are exposed to curious eyes from birth and will be targets of bullying. They lack the consciousness that they themselves are the ones who decide whether or not to look with curious eyes. The idea that "I am different, but everyone else looks at them that way" is, in the end, the same as what Yukichi Fukuzawa calls "fools without courage."

And for young people to change that consciousness, I think people of the older generation actually need to become self-aware. Yukichi Fukuzawa says, "Moral education does not enter through the ears, but through the eyes." He means that teachings are not acquired by being told, but by imitating those who serve as models. In Japan, the images of women and families appearing in picture books, anime, and TV programs seen by young children are still not diverse.

Also, values are diverse. Recently, I was asked by single women that when the need for night shifts or holiday work arises at the workplace, it always comes to them; it's taken as natural because they don't have childcare, but they also have plans after work and on weekends, so is childcare an excuse? While "ikumen" (involved fathers) are celebrated, it is meaningless if the burden is shifted to someone else. I believe it is important for an equal society to change consciousness as each person notices these things.

It is essential and very important that research on gender is conducted in the university, a seat of learning. But on the other hand, if old consciousness is maintained within seminar and club activities, the research has no meaning.

I believe that if each of us at Keio University takes Yukichi Fukuzawa's teachings to heart and strives for consciousness reform and practice, we can become pioneers in the realization of the SDGs. Thank you very much for your attention today.

(This article is based on a commemorative lecture given at the 185th Yukichi Fukuzawa Birthday Celebration held on January 10, 2020. Note that some notations in the cited literature have been modified for readability.)