Fukuzawa Yukichi Memorial Keio History Museum 2nd Exhibition: Expanding the Horizons of Yukichi Fukuzawa and Keio University History

2021/03/16

When visiting other historic universities, one notices that Keio University has few bronze statues. To begin with, Yukichi Fukuzawa disliked bronze statues. He detested the idea of a person's achievements being implanted as an established authority rather than being evaluated based on facts. Therefore, those close to Fukuzawa did not build a statue after his death. When a movement to build one in Nakatsu arose in 1904, it was stopped, and instead, a giant obelisk inscribed with "independence and self-respect" was erected.

However, after the war, as the number of people who had direct contact with Fukuzawa dwindled, a bust (created by Kaiseki Shibata) was made for the Mita Campus to preserve his likeness while people who knew his appearance were still alive.

Today, it is taken for granted that a statue of Fukuzawa stands on campus. He is a great figure in textbooks. A pioneer who brought the whirlwind of Western civilization to Japan. A success story recognized by the government, becoming the face of the 10,000-yen note. The bronze statue, which embodies Fukuzawa—now a figure above the clouds—in the physical world, is a prime photo spot for visitors to Mita, with some even clasping their hands in prayer or offering coins. Keio University, the school he founded, is now viewed as an authoritative institution of higher education ranked among the most difficult to enter. Graduates distinguish people based on whether they are "Keio University alumni" or not, huddling together with an attitude that those who are not alumni are hardly human. The thought and history at the core of this solidarity are no longer reflected upon, and I fear that both "Yukichi Fukuzawa" and "Keio University" have now unquestionably become symbols of authority.

I am not suggesting we destroy the Fukuzawa statue in Mita following the BLM movement. Rather, I believe we need to strip away that authority once more and humbly examine and share its contemporary and modern significance. This was the primary focus when preparing this museum.

I wanted to prevent visitors from falling into a state of mental stagnation due to the preconceived image of "the great Yukichi Fukuzawa." Therefore, I placed a main visual at the beginning that is "not conventionally cool but grows on you." It shows Fukuzawa in his final years, dressed strangely and walking with a cane. It is a famous photograph, but to those who don't know it, it looks odd. Yet, this appearance actually expresses his philosophy succinctly. Furthermore, it connects to the academic culture of Keio University today. From the opening message next to that life-sized photo, a single pen-drawn line emerges and guides visitors through the exhibition hall in a single stroke. This single-stroke line represents the flow of empirical and rational learning—what Fukuzawa called "jitsugaku (science)"—which started with the birth of Dutch Studies in Japan and continues powerfully today through the intervention of Fukuzawa and Keio University. The line escorts visitors while transforming into the figures of Keio students from various eras or depicting symbolic patterns related to the exhibits. Keio students—from the early Meiji period with cropped hair and casual kimonos, the Taisho period with soft hats and high-collared uniforms, the pre-war era with round caps and gakuran, the post-war era in civilian clothes, or those in the uniforms of affiliated schools—are scattered about alongside the strolling Fukuzawa, all connected by a single stroke.

This concept was refined through repeated online sessions during the COVID-19 lockdown with Rie Nishio of Total Media Development Institute, designer Keiji Harada, and planner Wataru Ishikawa.

As you walk through the exhibition space following the line, the line ends at the very finish. If you look closely, Fukuzawa is nowhere to be found. This carries the message of continuing to move forward beyond Fukuzawa.

One thing I was careful about in this exhibition was ensuring that people with no connection to Keio University would also find it interesting. This museum intends to raise questions about Japan's progress since the modern era, not as a history led by the government or politics, but from the perspectives of resistance and setbacks by private-sector forces, education, and scholarship. To achieve this, it was necessary to avoid creating a space that alienates those outside of Keio University. Terminology unique to Keio University requires caution. For example, terms like "Keio University alumni" or "Keio Gijuku Shachu" can easily create an exclusionary, "insider" feel.

However, in the final part of the exhibition, I dared to feature "Shachu Cooperation" and the "Mita-kai." In the commentary, I wrote that the tradition of Shachu cooperation is "not inherently self-righteous or exclusive, but rather combines a proactive social stance with the tension required to protect the ideals of a private institution." This solidarity originally had a context that could be called resistance against the worship of the public sector and the disparagement of the private. We should not be joyfully buying up media coverage that highlights the solidarity of the Mita-kai and Keio University alumni as the "kings of academic cliques." This part of the exhibition is an expression of my own "concern for the Juku," and it might be the most personal description in the entire exhibition.

Furthermore, I intended to write in a way that does not ignore the existence of critical perspectives toward Yukichi Fukuzawa, aiming for continued interest through diverse interpretations and readings.

While many modern exhibition facilities use various elaborate display methods, this museum is quite orthodox in that regard. Although I tried to keep the word count to a minimum and the explanations simple, one might get the impression that the text is packed in tightly. Someone who saw it for the first time even remarked, "It's quite 'dense,' contrary to the current times (of social distancing)."

To ensure it is not insufficient for those who want to know more, I provided a wealth of information while placing keywords throughout that lead to further interesting topics, creating a network of links that visitors notice as they view the exhibition multiple times.

I also scattered impressive passages, such as Fukuzawa's own words and important texts from Keio University history, throughout the exhibition. I had the museums of various U.S. presidents in mind for this. Along with the actual historical materials, I hoped that by encountering the "raw words" of the time, visitors would be curious enough to return to the original sources and deepen their understanding.

Another major challenge was the principle of providing English translations in anticipation of foreign visitors. This was made possible through the efforts of Philip Brunton, Thomas Lidwen, and Alex Queen from the Keio Translation Team at the Global Engagement Office, as well as Jeffrey Krashige from the Faculty of Business and Commerce. Translating historical expressions into English is quite difficult, and I expect we will need to continue making revisions. Additionally, following recent trends, all names are unified in the Surname-Given Name order. For historical proper nouns within Keio that lacked standard translations, we created new ones. For example, the "Koto-bu" established in 1922 was translated as "Junior College of Liberal Education," a significant liberal translation based on the reality of the education and pre-war examples. For the "Shoko Gakko" opened in 1905, we did not adopt a different translation seen in recent years; instead, noting that the school's emblem featured the letters C and T overlaid on The Pen Mark, we translated it as "Commercial and Technical School." In this way, we incorporated various circumstances into the English translations as much as possible.

Even if you visit this museum, there is not a single immediately useful exhibit that provides a direct answer to today's complex social conditions. During the planning stages, I sometimes heard voices asking if we should use precious space in cramped Mita for the backward-looking purpose of reflecting on the past. History may not have immediate effects, but over many years, it has the power to influence how people live. I want this facility to be such a place, regardless of whether one is affiliated with Keio University. In that sense, I believe the existence of Fukuzawa and the history of Keio University are truly useful.

Fukuzawa, who knew all too well the suspicious nature of things that everyone immediately appreciates, noticed as his death approached that those around him were expecting "final words of wisdom." What was born then was "independence and self-respect." These words are easy for anyone to accept, yet they actually just mean "think for yourself." If we can make this a place that supports the strength of visitors to continue learning throughout their lives, always thinking for themselves and taking on challenges, I will be satisfied.

Fukuzawa Yukichi Memorial Keio History Museum HP

Fukuzawa Yukichi Memorial Keio History Museum – A history museum for considering modern civilization through the life of Yukichi Fukuzawa and the 160-year history of Keio University