The 4th Fukuzawa Yukichi Memorial Keio History Museum: Arranging Objects from the History of Keio University

2021/05/15

When you hear that the "Keio History Museum" is opening in the Old University Library in Mita, what kind of objects do you imagine will be on display? Let's take an overview of the venue, focusing on specific exhibits.

Upon entering the museum, visitors are greeted by an opening video. Lasting about five minutes, it centers on three anecdotes that convey the spirit Fukuzawa left in Mita. The narration is provided by Takanori Iwata, and the voice of Fukuzawa Yukichi is performed by Ennosuke Ichikawa. Ennosuke's deep, powerful voice—recreating a scene from the mid-Meiji era where Fukuzawa tells a new student unfamiliar with the Juku's relationships that teachers and Keio students are all companions and "in a sense, equals"—will leave a strong impression alongside Mr. Iwata's refreshing narration.

The exhibition introducing Fukuzawa's life and the history of Keio University is divided into four chapters. The first is the "Chapter of Sassatsu." "Sassatsu" (meaning briskly or lightheartedly) is a keyword frequently used in "The Autobiography of Fukuzawa Yukichi," representing Fukuzawa's mentality of moving forward actively and lightly without dwelling on things. It was a term the late comparative literature scholar Toru Haga loved to use when discussing Fukuzawa.

This chapter displays Fukuzawa's upbringing, academic formation, and overseas experiences. By viewing the exhibits with "Sassatsu" in mind, the items will appear organically interconnected. Standard important materials are gathered together, such as the manuscript of "The Autobiography of Fukuzawa Yukichi" where he wrote "The feudal system is my father's mortal enemy," and a photo with a young girl taken in San Francisco. My personal highlight is the diagram of the modern world on the title page of "Things Western (Seiyō Jijō)" (published in 1866). It may be hard to understand at first glance, but please pay attention to how Fukuzawa perceived the changes in the world.

The second chapter's title, "Chiyu" (Wisdom and Courage), is also a Fukuzawa keyword. This is different from a simple parallel relationship of wisdom plus courage. It is courage based on wisdom—not reckless bravado or mere physical valor. When asked what Fukuzawa did, I often explain recently that he "flipped people's motivation switches." He inspired many to summon "courage" and take action. He made them realize that the source of action is not military force, but wisdom (learning).

This chapter covers the period from the start of the Rangaku Juku in 1858 to Fukuzawa's death in 1901, intertwining Fukuzawa's activities with the history of the Juku. This is the section with the largest volume. There are many materials to note, but the official documents (though replicas) deliberating the petition Keio University submitted to the government in 1884 seeking an amendment to the Conscription Law are particularly noteworthy. How did the government respond to the plea that the school would collapse under the current law? They wrote that even if private schools like the Juku were to perish, it would be no concern as they were not "essential and urgent for the state." This serves as excellent material for thinking about modern Japan—or rather, contemporary Japan.

Chapter 3 deals with the history of the Juku from after Fukuzawa's death to the present. It covers the difficult era through the war years and into the post-war period. Please pay attention to the commentary on "Resistance and Adaptation of Keio University as a Private Institution," which considers the struggles with the administration. I excluded the latest affairs of the Juku as they did not fit the exhibition, choosing instead topics that could be considered milestones in Japanese history. The guidelines for Japan's first AO (Admissions Office) entrance exams and the 1995 Japan New Words and Buzzwords Award trophy given to Jun Murai (for the winning word "Internet") can certainly be called historical materials of Japan.

Chapter 4 is a section for thinking about how relationships between people should be. It questions how Fukuzawa's perspective on independent individuals forming a society is projected onto the present state of the Juku, and its structure deviates from the chronological order of the previous three chapters. It covers Fukuzawa's views on women and social interaction and their implementation, the academic culture of the Juku and the characteristics of the Athletic Association as reflections of those views, and the expansion of the "Keio Gijuku Shachu" consciousness. Here, mixed with the writings of a beggar nicknamed "Okama-no-suke" whom Fukuzawa went to see every day and Olympic medals won by Keio students and Keio University alumni, are models recreating a room in the pre-war Keio University Hiyoshi Kishukusha (completed in 1937, designed by Yoshiro Taniguchi) and a typical rough-and-tumble student dormitory of other schools from the same era. Differences in academic culture, which are rarely noticed today, are clearly "visualized."

In the dormitory of other schools (composed from many photographic materials of old-system high schools and not a specific location), we recreated unmade futons and graffiti all over the walls. For the North Wing of the Kishukusha in Hiyoshi (which is now in ruins), where the pre-war interior remains well-preserved, we visited many times to conduct strict historical verification. We truly struggled with estimating the colors. Along with the Mita Campus model introduced in the first installment of this series, please look at every corner. These models are the painstaking work of the husband-and-wife team Yoshiki and Sumiyo Koyama.

The very end of the exhibition concludes with Fukuzawa's final public speaking at the Kojunsha. His words—stating that his "lifelong hobby" was to not be swayed by a single authoritative voice but to keep discussing and "kneading" all sorts of things in the world, and asking for this to be carried on—serve as a summary of the entire exhibition.

Apart from these four chapters, we installed topical sections in the middle of the exhibition: a corner introducing the history of the Old University Library building where the museum is located, and a corner titled "Fukuzawa the Tall-Tale Teller, Yukichi the Liar," which excerpts various evaluations of Fukuzawa by his contemporaries. The famous letter sent by Katsu Kaishu to Fukuzawa containing the phrase "Whether I serve or retire depends on me" is also scheduled to be displayed here at the time of opening.

When viewed from above, the walls inside the museum are arranged in a large square shape, which is cut vertically and horizontally into a cross, creating four islands. This design was handled by Fumihiko Maki's Maki and Associates. In fact, when the space that had been the Grand Reading Room since the library opened in 1912 was renovated into a Large Conference Room in 1983, the same firm handled the interior. While highlighting this historical space with its high ceilings and large windows, the design protects the exhibition materials and allows for a beautiful view of the exhibition space. In the center of the exhibition room lies a large carpet designed by Maki and Associates during the 1983 renovation. Although some weathering from the past 40 years can be felt, it has been carefully cleaned and restored for this occasion—a hidden highlight.

As such, this museum is full of must-see items. However, at first glance, the exhibits are all things that are not interesting at all—mostly just dirty scraps of paper. We made an effort to convey as briefly and carefully as possible why they are displayed here and what makes them interesting. We also valued the provenance of where they came from. Even if they are from 50 or 100 years ago, if the donor is known, we have clearly stated it, so you will see things like "Donated by Mr. Jiro Shirasu."

If an encounter with a certain material or a certain word in this museum creates an awareness of living as an extension of history and generates some kind of inspiration or action in visitors, then it can be said to have been meaningful. I hope that this will bear fruit both within Keio and beyond over a span of 10 or 20 years.