Launch of the "Gakumon no Susume" Project

2022/12/08

Image: Sticker placed on a cafeteria tray

In 1872 (Meiji 5), the first volume of "Gakumon no susume (An Encouragement of Learning)" was published. In 2022 (Reiwa 4), 150 years later, Keio University launched the "Gakumon no Susume" Project. "Gakumon no susume (An Encouragement of Learning)" is one of Yukichi Fukuzawa's most famous representative works. Even if one does not know the details of its content, everyone knows its title and the opening line: "It is said that heaven does not create one person above or below another."

Therefore, on this 150th anniversary, Keio University planned the events introduced below, primarily targeting prospective and current Keio students who will carve out the future, to spark interest in the book's content, which is rich in suggestions that still apply today. We want them to use their fresh sensibilities to read the guidelines for an uncertain era where the future is hard to foresee.

First, the "Gakumon no Susume" Project special website, which shows the overall plan, was launched on November 14. When you click the URL of this site (Gakumon no Susume Special Page: [Keio University]), a character based on Fukuzawa first appears, with various changes in facial expressions and movements.

Next, the project concept "What do we study for?" is presented. By replacing "Gakumon" (learning) with "Benkyo" (study), the motif of "Gakumon no susume (An Encouragement of Learning)" itself is written in simple language. The aim is to move away from stiff literary expressions and appeal to young people. Then, a photo appears of Fukuzawa at the time of publication, taken with his eldest son Ichitaro and second son Sutejiro, who were still young. Fukuzawa's gaze, as he holds both children firmly in his arms as if to protect them, seems to passionately tell a message to the next generation.

Now, we come to the highlight of this project. It is a series of three dialogue videos scheduled to be released between President Kohei Itoh and Keio University alumni active in various fields. The first installment, a session with entertainer Sho Sakurai, was already released on the special website mentioned above on November 18. The President welcomes Mr. Sakurai, who is visiting his alma mater for the first time in a while, and in the memorial room of the Old University Library, both holding copies of "Gakumon no susume (An Encouragement of Learning)," they engage in a wide-ranging dialogue about learning, work, and life. With skillful editing techniques, viewers will surely be drawn into the talk between the two throughout the first and second parts.

In addition, the second installment will feature a dialogue video with a Keio University alumni active in international organizations, and the third installment will feature an athlete Keio University alumni active mainly in the sports world. The second is scheduled for release within this year, and the third next year. If you watch them, please send your opinions and impressions to the Office of Communications and Public Relations.

This project also collaborates with internal departments. This can also be confirmed on the special website, but the 2022 Autumn Special Exhibition at the Fukuzawa Yukichi Memorial Keio History Museum is titled "Yukichi Fukuzawa and 'Non-Violence'—150 Years of Gakumon no Susume," richly conveying the essence of the Fukuzawa spirit that the pen is mightier than the sword (until December 17). Also, the 2022 course "150 Years of 'Gakumon no susume (An Encouragement of Learning)'" by the Fukuzawa Memorial Center for Modern Japanese Studies, held at the Keio Osaka City Campus, began on November 27. The period runs until March 12 next year, and participation is possible both in person and online. For details, please click the URL on the special website. Among the 2022 on-campus lectures, at the "Commemorative Lecture for Yukichi Fukuzawa's Lectures on Wayland's Elements of Political Economy" in May, Professor Tetsuya Suzuki of the Faculty of Science and Technology touched upon "Gakumon no susume (An Encouragement of Learning)" (see the August/September issue of this magazine), and at the "Mita Public Speaking Event" in December, Associate Professor Alberto Millán Martín of the Faculty of Economics is scheduled to give a talk mentioning the same book.

In addition, a dialogue article between President Suematsu of The Japan Times and President Itoh is scheduled to be published in The Japan Times (dated December 5), mentioning this project. Furthermore, at the "Asahi Education Conference," under the theme "Encouragement of Entrepreneurship—On the 150th Anniversary of 'Gakumon no susume (An Encouragement of Learning)'," President Itoh, Director Takashi Hirano of the Fukuzawa Memorial Center for Modern Japanese Studies, Vice-President Kotaro Yamagishi, Professor Hideyuki Okano of the School of Medicine, and Ms. Haruka Mera (Keio University alumni, Representative Director and CEO of READYFOR, Inc.) took the stage to discuss the conditions for producing future entrepreneurs while tracing back to the entrepreneurship of Fukuzawa and his students. This conference is scheduled to be published in the Asahi Shimbun on December 7.

Furthermore, we plan to collaborate with bookstores. Book fairs of related books are planned at co-ops on each campus, TSUTAYA Tamachi Ekimae, and other bookstores in the Tokyo metropolitan area and around Osaka Station. In addition to "Gakumon no susume (An Encouragement of Learning)," other works by Fukuzawa will also be introduced. This book fair will be held in collaboration with Keio University Press. We hope that as many students as possible will take this opportunity to pick up and become familiar with Fukuzawa's works.

Distribution of Fukuzawa character (Yukichi-kun) stickers, created as promotional goods, will also begin around the time of the Mita Festival. If the author of "Gakumon no susume (An Encouragement of Learning)" from 150 years ago were to appear here now, what would he think of the Keio students who connect easily via the internet and SNS and communicate and empathize with each other so skillfully? Fukuzawa, who emphasized publishing and communication as tools of civilization, would likely try to communicate with the young people living at the cutting edge of the era immediately. There, "Gakumon no Susume" in the digital age would surely become a topic of conversation.