Yukichi Fukuzawa's "Transition of People's Way of Thinking" and the "Instruments of Civilization"

2025/03/11

I am Sugiyama, and I have just been introduced. It is a great honor to be invited to speak at the 190th anniversary celebration of Yukichi Fukuzawa's birth today.

This year, 2025, marks a historical milestone: exactly 80 years since the end of the war and the 100th year of the Showa era. As a member of the baby boomer generation, if I look back at a similar span of time in the previous era, the period 80 years before the defeat in 1945 was 1865 (the first year of Keio). It is about the same number of years as I have lived once over. That was just before the Meiji Restoration. It is short, in a sense. I believe the approximately 80 years from then until the Pacific War saw much greater social changes than the 80 years after the war.

My specialty is Japanese economic history, and I have specifically researched the relationship between Japan's industrialization and trade. When I was teaching, although I read various works by Yukichi Fukuzawa, it was often piecemeal, and I rarely had the opportunity to read them collectively. I decided to read the "Complete Works of Yukichi Fukuzawa" properly after retiring, and I have finally been able to do so over the past few years. Last year, I published a research book from Keio University Press titled "The 'Information Revolution' of Modern Japan," which examines how informatization progressed in modern Japan and what actual impact the construction of social infrastructure and information networks, such as the postal and telegraph systems by the Meiji government, had on local regions. In one chapter of that book, I discussed Yukichi Fukuzawa's "Transition of People's Way of Thinking."

"Transition of People's Way of Thinking" was written in 1879 (Meiji 12), when Yukichi Fukuzawa was 44 years old. It is a very short work, less than 60 pages in the Iwanami "Complete Works of Yukichi Fukuzawa" and about 80 pages in paperback, but I believe the content is extremely condensed.

When people think of Yukichi Fukuzawa, works like "Things Western (Seiyō Jijō)," "Gakumon no susume (An Encouragement of Learning)," and "An Outline of a Theory of Civilization" are well known, and I don't think many people have read "Transition of People's Way of Thinking." While those specializing in economic history read it to some extent, it generally does not receive much recognition.

It is often said that Yukichi Fukuzawa's thought is divided into two major periods around 1880 (Meiji 13). The period before 1880 is often called the early Fukuzawa, during which there were many works on very theoretical and abstract themes. On the other hand, the period from the 1880s onward, known as the late Fukuzawa, involves discussions on quite specific and topical themes, as seen in the editorials and commentaries of the "Jiji Shimpo."

Of course, Yukichi Fukuzawa consistently managed Keio University and fulfilled his role as an educator. However, from the perspective of the history of thought, the early period—when he strove to import and introduce Western civilization through translations and adaptations of Western books—is called the era of the enlightenment thinker. This situation changed significantly with the Political Crisis of 1881, and the period thereafter can be called the era of the journalist, centered on the "Jiji Shimpo." The work that stands at the very turning point dividing these phases of Yukichi Fukuzawa's thought is "Transition of People's Way of Thinking."

As you all know, Yukichi Fukuzawa was very prolific and a fast writer. Looking at his writings, he expressed his views at the time quite directly, and I believe he was basically a very positive and optimistic thinker. Above all, Yukichi Fukuzawa's ideas and ways of thinking were greatly influenced by his experience at the Ogata Juku (Tekijuku), where he acquired the world's most advanced knowledge of the time through reading original texts in natural sciences such as medical sciences and physics. Here, he repeatedly trained in logical and rational thinking based on scientism. I believe this is very important.

Conversely, he criticized things like Confucianism, which are not backed by scientific evidence, as "hollow learning," and strongly emphasized "jitsugaku (science)," which is backed by scientific evidence.

Yukichi Fukuzawa said, "The essence of learning is simply to know the connections (en) between things." This means that elucidating the relationships and causalities between things is extremely important. This was not limited to mechanical technology but also included broad subjects such as social institutions and systems. In that sense, I believe Yukichi Fukuzawa's way of thinking embodies what we now call the "integration of humanities and sciences," which was also mentioned in the President's speech earlier.

Yukichi Fukuzawa himself was not a historian, so he did not state that a specific method was necessary for viewing history. However, in his later years, just before his death, "Kyogaman no Setsu" (The Theory of Honorable Perseverance) was published. This had actually been completed ten years earlier and criticized the conduct of former shogunal vassals Kaishu Katsu and Takeaki Enomoto after the Meiji Restoration.

Soho Tokutomi immediately countered "Kyogaman no Setsu" in the "Kokumin Shimbun." Soho defended Kaishu Katsu, arguing that Katsu surrendered Edo Castle out of concern for foreign intervention, thereby resolving Japan's crisis and completing the great work of the Restoration, and criticized Yukichi Fukuzawa. Yukichi Fukuzawa immediately refuted this, criticizing that "it is regrettable to read this; because the theorist is not familiar with the truth of late-Edo diplomacy, his earnest critique does not fit the facts at all and is nothing more than a piece of empty writing."

What this means is that Soho was born in 1863, just before the Meiji Restoration, but at that time Yukichi Fukuzawa was already sharing the sense of the era by translating diplomatic documents and newspapers from the settlements. In contrast, Soho had just been born, so he was criticizing based only on historical materials that recorded the events of the time. Yukichi Fukuzawa called this approach, which might be termed historical material fundamentalism, "fictional imagination."

When actually looking at history, it becomes important to share the sense of the era and get as close as possible to the atmosphere of the time. Of course, because Yukichi Fukuzawa lived in such a turbulent era, there might be an opposite bias, but in any case, when we look back at a certain era, we know what happened afterward, so strange preconceptions tend to creep in.

Furthermore, because there is subsequent research, it is very common to be dragged along by the interpretations of research history. I believe it is important to avoid this and share the sense of that era—what might be called the present within history—the sense that history only existed up to that point. Yukichi Fukuzawa's arguments are often called "situational thinking," and he placed great importance on the "now," a specific time and a specific place. I believe this attitude is very important when looking at history and thinking back on it.

What kind of era was the Meiji Japan in which Yukichi Fukuzawa lived? In terms of world history, it was an era when a new international order called "Pax Britannica," centered on Britain immediately after the Industrial Revolution, was being created, and it was also an era of the "transportation and communication revolution." Japan had signed unequal treaties with Western powers through the Ansei Five-Power Treaties of 1858, and establishing equal status with the West and treaty revision were considered extremely important tasks for Japan.

When considering Yukichi Fukuzawa's works in such an era, it is very important to consider what experiences he had, what information he possessed, and how he perceived the world and society. In other words, while it is important to look at the various discourses appearing in Yukichi Fukuzawa's works chronologically, it is also very important to see how the circumstances of the era surrounding him were changing. As a human being, he was naturally influenced by changes in social conditions, so it is necessary to rethink the relationship with the era within that context.

An important part of Yukichi Fukuzawa's experience was his three trips to the West at the end of the Edo period. In particular, the second trip with the Bunkyu Embassy to Europe for about a year was very significant. This is because going to Europe allowed him to see Japan in relation to the West. Another point is that on the way to Europe, he passed through Asian regions such as China and Ceylon, where he experienced the actual conditions of the local residents and, I believe, developed an eye for seeing the relative position of Asia and Japan.

The typical work reflecting the experience of the Bunkyu Embassy is said to be "Things Western (Seiyō Jijō)," which was a typical work from Yukichi Fukuzawa's translation period. If you look at the "Seikoki" (Record of a Voyage to the West) and "Seiko Techo" (Western Voyage Notebook) that served as the basis for "Things Western (Seiyō Jijō)," there are many detailed notes about railroads and the telegraph. Since he was originally interested in science and technology, he already had an interest in steamships, steam carriages (railroads), telegraph machines, and newspapers before going abroad. I believe the fact that he actually saw and experienced them in Europe is very important. The frontispiece of the first volume of "Things Western (Seiyō Jijō)" also features a famous illustration showing a steamship, a railroad, and telegraph lines encircling the globe with a courier running along them, reflecting his interest in such things.

As you all know, Yukichi Fukuzawa's theory of civilization can be seen in "Gakumon no susume (An Encouragement of Learning)" and "An Outline of a Theory of Civilization." In particular, "An Outline of a Theory of Civilization" was written with the intention of clarifying Japan's position in terms of the history of civilization, based on the then-popular historical view of progress.

Since "An Outline of a Theory of Civilization" was published in 1875, the world Yukichi Fukuzawa was looking at was roughly the world and Japan of the early 1870s. At that time, international relations involved Japan being in conflict with China (then the Qing Dynasty), while Britain and Russia were advancing around Japan. Meanwhile, the Meiji government itself had just been established and its foundation was not yet secure. In that sense, "An Outline of a Theory of Civilization" was written at a time when Japan's existence as a Meiji state was in great jeopardy both externally and internally. I believe this is very important.

In "An Outline of a Theory of Civilization," Yukichi Fukuzawa stated that there are two aspects to civilization. One is "external things," which are tangible forms—the results of scientific inventions and ingenuity. The other is the "intangible" "spirit of civilization," and he emphasized the importance of the latter in particular.

According to the view of progress at the time, Japan was merely a "semi-civilized" country, while Western nations were civilized. In order for Japan to maintain its national independence and stand on equal footing with these Western nations, it needed to become a civilized country. Therefore, the famous phrase "the independence of a nation is its civilization" appears.

I believe you are also familiar with the phrase "when the individual is independent, the nation is independent" from "Gakumon no susume (An Encouragement of Learning)." In my interpretation, rather than the nation becoming independent because individuals are independent, he thought that the independence of the individual was necessary for the nation to become independent.

Now, I must move on to "Transition of People's Way of Thinking." "Transition of People's Way of Thinking" consists of five chapters in addition to an introduction called "Sho-gen." In previous research, many scholars of political history and political thought have interpreted the purpose of "Transition of People's Way of Thinking" as being written to argue that introducing a British-style parliamentary system, discussed in Chapter 5, was best for Japan. However, I think it is slightly different.

Because Yukichi Fukuzawa's "On the National Assembly" was serialized in the "Yubin Hochi Shimbun" prior to the publication of "Transition of People's Way of Thinking" and was published under the names of his students Mokichi Fujita and Katsuto Minoura, the novelty of the 19th-century theory of civilization emphasized by Yukichi Fukuzawa in "Transition of People's Way of Thinking" was distorted into a political theory. I believe this is the reason it has not been properly evaluated.

While "Gakumon no susume (An Encouragement of Learning)" and "An Outline of a Theory of Civilization" were written over a considerable amount of time, "Transition of People's Way of Thinking" was written in about a month. Consequently, there are many instances where explanations are insufficient or the writing is unpolished and repetitive. I suspect there were circumstances that required it to be written in a short period. The late 1870s was a time when Keio University was facing a management crisis, and the financial situation was so dire that Yukichi Fukuzawa even considered closing the school. While that background likely played a part, I believe there was a stronger desire to quickly make known the development of a new theory of civilization.

Since "Transition of People's Way of Thinking" was written in 1879, the world and Japan Yukichi Fukuzawa was looking at were in the context of the late 70s, which was completely different from when "An Outline of a Theory of Civilization" was written. He wrote it while observing a society that continued to change. What was the situation? Japan's foreign relations were very peaceful. Looking at the relationship with the United States, President Grant visited Japan, and the pressing sense of crisis about maintaining national independence discussed in "An Outline of a Theory of Civilization" was arguably no longer present during this period.

On the other hand, it was an era of great domestic turmoil. As the possibility of establishing a national assembly gradually became a reality, the Freedom and People's Rights Movement gained momentum. Additionally, a series of samurai rebellions, including the Satsuma Rebellion, occurred. Furthermore, nationalistic or reactionary tendencies emerged as a critique of the government's rapid Westernization policies. Yukichi Fukuzawa considered these circumstances undesirable, and it was in this context that "Transition of People's Way of Thinking" was written.

For Yukichi Fukuzawa, "Transition of People's Way of Thinking" was a confident work written all at once in his own words, not a translation or adaptation of Western materials. Despite this, it was not highly evaluated and did not attract much attention, but he even considered publishing an English version. In that sense, it can be considered a very monumental work.

In letters to his eldest son Ichitaro and second son Sutejiro, who were studying in the United States, he wrote the following: First, foreigners' knowledge of Japan is very limited, so something must be done about it. Second, it is important for Japanese people to express their own thoughts in English. And third, by publishing "Transition of People's Way of Thinking" in English, he wanted to promote the internationalization of Japanese scholarship. Thus, we can see that it was a very ambitious work.

I will briefly touch upon the content of "Transition of People's Way of Thinking." The core is Chapter 3. The title of Chapter 3 is "Steamships and Railcars, the Telegraph, Printing, and the Post are Inventions and Devices of the 1800s, and are the Instruments that Change the Sentiment of Society." In the discussion of this book, Yukichi Fukuzawa states that the driving force behind historical progress lay particularly in technological innovations such as the invention and improvement of the steam engine. He clearly states, "Those whose practical use is most widespread and has a direct impact on all aspects of society, moving not only the fortunes of the human body but also the internal spirit, and completely changing the state of wisdom and virtue, are the inventions of steamships and railcars and the telegraph, and the devices of the post and printing."

The reason why he wrote "Transition of People's Way of Thinking" is stated in the "Sho-gen." "This volume establishes an argument by taking the four elements of steamships and railcars, the telegraph, printing, and the post as the elements of modern civilization." Modern civilization here refers to 19th-century civilization. He states, "Since modern civilization was born from the invention of steam, and this invention has influenced the public sentiment of all nations and virtually renewed the people, only those who deal with matters in accordance with the actual conditions of this renewal can begin to speak of civilization with others. The purpose of the argument in this volume lies solely in this one point," clearly identifying "Transition of People's Way of Thinking" as a theory of civilization.

Furthermore, he says, "It is possible to say that the motive power of human society lies in steam. It is possible to say that the 1800s is the age of steam, and modern civilization is the civilization of steam," stating that due to the development of science and technology since the Industrial Revolution of the 19th century, it is completely different from the previous era. In "An Outline of a Theory of Civilization," he relied on the continuous view of progress from the 18th to the 19th century found in Buckle's 'History of Civilization in England' and Guizot's 'History of Civilization in Europe,' but in "Transition of People's Way of Thinking," he rejects such ideas and clearly states that the 19th century has become a different era. In "An Outline of a Theory of Civilization," it was said that the "intangible" "spirit of civilization" was necessary to promote Japan's independence, but in "Transition of People's Way of Thinking," that is not the case.

"It can be said that modern civilization is that which has overturned intangible sentiments with tangible things." In other words, not the "intangible spirit," but "tangible things"—science and technology—are more important. In that sense, the way of thinking in the theory of civilization has completely changed between "An Outline of a Theory of Civilization" and "Transition of People's Way of Thinking."

To speak more specifically about the instruments of 19th-century civilization, there are the inventions of steamships and railcars and the telegraph, and the devices of the post and printing. Steamships and railroads are means of transportation by sea and land, and the telegraph, post, and printing are means of information and communication. Yukichi Fukuzawa calls both of these instruments for the "communication of thought." He says that because the post, newspapers, and magazines are carried by steamships and railroads, they are all included as instruments for the "communication of thought." He strongly emphasizes the importance of infrastructure as a public good.

However, while steamships only have an effect on coastal areas, railroads bring effects to all parts of the interior, so Yukichi Fukuzawa believed that laying railroads was more important than ships. At this time, the Meiji government still had financial problems, and railroads had not been laid nationwide. I believe he was very dissatisfied with this.

Regarding the telegraph, in Japan's case, a nationwide telegraph network was established in the 1870s, particularly triggered by the Satsuma Rebellion. He highly evaluated its role, saying the telegraph is the "nerves of the nation" and something that "shrinks the entire world." Regarding the post and printing, he said, "These are the most powerful and have the widest operation for broadening people's knowledge," and specifically said that newspapers are a "method of jinkan kosai (society)."

Indeed, during this era, for example in Tokyo, there were the "Tokyo Nichi Nichi Shimbun," "Yubin Hochi Shimbun," and "Choya Shimbun," and in the regions, the "Osaka Nippo" and "Yokohama Mainichi Shimbun." In fiscal year 1878, 178 newspapers were published nationwide, and circulation was rapidly increasing. I believe Yukichi Fukuzawa strongly felt the power of newspapers and magazines as information tools. Behind the writing of "Transition of People's Way of Thinking" was the situation where nationwide networks for the post and telegraph were established and Japan was rapidly modernizing. For that reason, he likely felt the need to rethink the theory of civilization once again.

Yukichi Fukuzawa also said, "I never dreamed that I would see the actual telegraph in Japan during my lifetime." Yukichi Fukuzawa had actually seen the telegraph and newspapers in Europe, and the world he depicted in "Things Western (Seiyō Jijō)" was rapidly becoming the reality of Meiji Japan. "The progress of human affairs is truly astonishing. The past was thus; the future can be inferred." He expected that Japan's future would be very bright as the information environment changed rapidly, stating, "Ultimately, our society will continue to move and progress along with these instruments."

Another point that must be mentioned here is regarding "wisdom and virtue." In "An Outline of a Theory of Civilization," both "wisdom and virtue" are necessary for civilization, but "virtue is something that advances or retreats through the effort of a single heart" and is "difficult to teach and difficult to learn." In contrast, "wisdom should advance through learning. It cannot advance without learning," and "human wisdom lies only in teaching. If taught, its progress shall be limitless," emphasizing the importance of wisdom and education. In "An Outline of a Theory of Civilization," he defined "wisdom as the function of thinking about things, understanding things, and comprehending things," and said it corresponds to the English word "intellect."

In "Transition of People's Way of Thinking," this changes: "Wisdom does not necessarily mean only the sense of thinking about and devising the principles of things; it can also be taken to mean broadening one's knowledge and knowing the state of things. That is, in English, it can be interpreted in the sense of 'information'." It changed from the meaning of "intellect" at an individual level to "information" in a broader social sense. It is said that the word "information" itself changed significantly in meaning in the late 19th century, becoming closer to what we now call "joho" (information). It is stated that the instruments of civilization can only be reached through wisdom, and "wisdom" itself is the "spirit of civilization."

Through education, such irreversible wisdom is accumulated, and once accumulated, it never returns to its original state. In that sense, the importance of wisdom is pointed out in "Transition of People's Way of Thinking," and the conclusion is reached that the invention and ingenuity of science and technology are the crystallization of wisdom, mediated by wisdom. On the other hand, virtue is not mentioned in "Transition of People's Way of Thinking."

So, what happens to society as a result of the development of science and technology? In the West, changes in public sentiment have occurred along with the technological innovations they invented, but society has reached a deadlock because it cannot respond to them, becoming a "world of shock and panic." Examples include the Socialist Party and nihilism in Russia, and Chartism and socialism in Britain. The conflict between conservative governments and enterprising people is intensifying. In this context, it is said that Japan cannot look forward apart from these instruments of civilization and must move forward.

This civilization itself has not only renewed public sentiment but has reached the point of "virtually overturning the human world." Both the government and the people are in a state of panic. Japan has hitherto "blindly believed in the West" and used "the West as a standard," but "the Western nations of today are precisely those who are panicking and losing their way. To use those who are panicking as a standard for our own direction—is that not the height of panic?" He says there is no longer any need to take the West as the standard. Japan must break away from Western standards, "leave the West," and walk a new path, seeking its own unique way. In this sense, I believe the discussion in "Transition of People's Way of Thinking" emphasizes the necessity of Japan's ideological and civilizational independence.

Behind this was a major change in Yukichi Fukuzawa's view of the Meiji government. When the Meiji government was first established, he regarded it as isolationist and xenophobic and did not evaluate the government's enlightened policies at all. However, through a series of reforms such as the Return of the Domains, Land Tax Reform, and the Abolition of Hereditary Stipends, the feudal clan system that Yukichi Fukuzawa regarded as his "parent's enemy" was largely dismantled. Because of this, his evaluation of the Meiji government shifted considerably.

In response to those reforms, rebellions by disgruntled samurai and the Freedom and People's Rights Movement gained momentum domestically. What Yukichi Fukuzawa greatly feared was that the disgruntled samurai or the Freedom and People's Rights faction would unite and oppose the government. He likely feared that such conflict between the government and the people would cause the government to become increasingly despotic and lead to the collapse of the Meiji government.

It is likely that against the backdrop of such a sense of crisis, he wrote about the necessity of establishing a national assembly in the final chapter of "Transition of People's Way of Thinking." Based on the situation of social panic, the establishment of a national assembly became inevitable to prevent the direction of the Meiji government's reforms from being frustrated. In that context, Yukichi Fukuzawa likely thought that the best option for Japan was to introduce a British-style parliamentary cabinet system.

In this way, "Transition of People's Way of Thinking" is a theory of social civilization that newly incorporates the development of science and technology. It recognizes the current situation where the development of science and technology has a major impact on human politics, economy, and society, causing social panic. It seems to predict a future image of a civilized society where human control becomes impossible and sounds an alarm. After this, Yukichi Fukuzawa's theory of civilization did not change, and the so-called late Fukuzawa from the 1880s onward is an extension of this, with the basic perspective completed in "Transition of People's Way of Thinking." In that sense, "Transition of People's Way of Thinking" was a monumental work that served as both the turning point and the culmination of the theory of civilization in Yukichi Fukuzawa's thought, as well as the starting point for the late Fukuzawa.

Finally, I would like to consider what it would be like if Yukichi Fukuzawa were living in today's information society. While Yukichi Fukuzawa was the only thinker in Japan who accurately recognized the era of the 19th-century "transportation and communication revolution," there were probably few others in the world either. Even if we replace the instruments of civilization I spoke of today with modern IT, the Internet, and generative AI, they are still fully applicable. If Yukichi Fukuzawa were alive today, I believe he would be updating his website day and night and broadcasting through all kinds of media, such as YouTube and SNS.

Some of you may remember that in Japan in 2001—a quarter-century ago now—there was something called the e-Japan strategy. More than 20 years have passed since then, but Japan's digitalization has progressed slowly. Japan has already become a digital laggard, and anyone who has experienced being abroad will immediately understand how far behind Japan is in digitalization and cashless payments. In fact, the digital trade deficit in 2023 was 5.3 trillion yen. Since the trade deficit for goods was 6.5 trillion yen, Japan is recording a digital deficit comparable to that. I believe Yukichi Fukuzawa would be the one feeling most frustrated seeing this situation.

Furthermore, research on a thinker like Yukichi Fukuzawa, who left behind a vast body of work on a very wide range of topics, could benefit from the help of generative AI. Since it is a research subject that a single individual researcher cannot possibly compete with, I think it is difficult with an analog humanities approach. In any case, I believe that creating an intellectual environment for the future is exactly what Yukichi Fukuzawa would most desire.

Thank you for your attention today.