【Column】Ryotaro Shiba's Assessment of Yukichi Fukuzawa: The Power of Cutting Losses in Osaka

2023/12/20

Image: Monument of the Former Site of Osaka Keio University

The author Ryotaro Shiba (1923–96), who marked the 100th anniversary of his birth, resided in Higashiosaka City. He continued to write and publish historical novels with rich narratives such as "Tobu ga Gotoku" and "Kashin," as well as travelogues and essays like "Kaido wo Yuku" and "Kono Kuni no Katachi."

An interesting article about Shiba, who is sometimes evaluated as a "national author," was published in the April issue of Mita-hyoron (official monthly journal published by Keio University Press), No. 1276. It is titled "Three-Person Chat: 100th Anniversary of Ryotaro Shiba's Birth." In this article, Keio University Professor Morihide Katayama, a specialist in the history of political thought and a well-known music critic, discusses Shiba from various perspectives with Hiroshi Oishi (Guest Professor (Part-time) at Jomonji Gakuen Women's University and Professor Emeritus of Keio University) and Yoshiaki Fukuma (Professor at Ritsumeikan University).

According to the article, Mr. Oishi asks, "Ryotaro Shiba mentions Yukichi Fukuzawa when writing about Ogata Koan, for example, but he never discussed him head-on. Why is that?" In response, Mr. Katayama replies as follows.

"I suspect he wasn't the type of person Shiba liked. I think he would have written about him if Yukichi Fukuzawa had died much earlier. He founded Keio University, established himself as a grand figure, and lived quite a long life for that time. (...) Instead of dying in the midst of romance like Shinsaku Takasugi, he became like a 'don.' Shiba isn't interested in people like that." Mr. Katayama's characteristic way of speaking is truly interesting. That said, was Shiba really uninterested in Yukichi Fukuzawa as Mr. Katayama suggests? My answer is "no."

It is true that Shiba did not write a novel with Fukuzawa as the protagonist. However, as I discussed in my small book, "Letter to Ryotaro Shiba on the 100th Anniversary of His Birth: Rediscovering Osaka, the City of Learning" (Dnieper Publishing, 2023), Shiba often spoke favorably of Fukuzawa in his lectures. For example, in a lecture given on January 28, 1988, at the Kanagawa Prefectural Youth Center, he asserted: "I like Yukichi Fukuzawa. This man wrote very easy-to-understand prose. (...) Yukichi used to say, 'The sentences I write can be understood even by a monkey.' Even looking at his writing alone, Yukichi was a wonderful enlightenment thinker."

Furthermore, at the beginning of his lecture "Sun Yat-sen's Farewell to Japan" given on November 12, 1984, at the Kobe City Workers' Hall, Shiba said: "Before I talk about Dr. Sun Yat-sen, I will talk about Yukichi Fukuzawa. I like Yukichi Fukuzawa, but there are parts of him that are a bit difficult to understand. He has parts that are quite detached from ordinary people, and those parts are dry. He is a dry person." What Shiba means by a "dry person" is likely someone with a logical and rational spirit. Such a man, Fukuzawa, has a very strong connection with the Kansai region.

First, Fukuzawa's birthplace is Osaka. His father was a retainer of the Nakatsu Okudaira family (a daimyo family in what is now Nakatsu City, Oita Prefecture) and was posted to the family's Osaka warehouse residence with his family. Fukuzawa was subsequently born in Osaka. Second, Tekijuku, opened in Osaka by the Rangaku scholar Ogata Koan, is Fukuzawa's alma mater. Therefore, Fukuzawa spent his youth in Osaka during the end of the Edo period. Third, a point of special note is the historical fact that after the Meiji Restoration, Fukuzawa established educational enterprises in various parts of Kansai, including Wakayama, Osaka, Kyoto, and Tokushima.

In modern terms, Yukichi Fukuzawa was truly an entrepreneur with the face of a venture capitalist. This is because he founded the private school Keio University in Edo (Tokyo) and started businesses such as Jiji Shinpo (a daily newspaper) and Kojunsha (a social club). At the same time, we must not forget that Fukuzawa was a first-class journalist who left behind numerous works such as Things Western (Seiyō Jijō) and An Outline of a Theory of Civilization.

Now, in November 1873, Fukuzawa made a move called Osaka Keio University. He started a branch of the Tokyo Keio University in Osaka. This was because Heigoro Shoda (who later became a manager of the Mitsubishi Zaibatsu), who was a teacher at Keio University in Tokyo at the time, suggested that there would be a demand for Keio-style education in Osaka and that it would prosper.

Fukuzawa also seems to have thought that Keio University would prosper in Osaka just as it did in Tokyo. This was because famous early modern private schools and academies like Tekijuku and Kaitokudo were in decline in Osaka at the time, and the recently opened Shusei Gakko (the predecessor of Osaka Prefectural Kitano High School) was a very small school building. In other words, there were few competing schools, so he saw a chance of success.

Fukuzawa submitted an application for establishment to Noboru Watanabe, the deputy governor of Osaka Prefecture, and opened Osaka Keio University by renting a private house in Shinsaibashi-suji. According to the "Osaka Keio University Opening Report," four subjects were taught at the school: "English books, translated books, Western arithmetic, and Japanese arithmetic." The entrance fee was 3 yen, and tuition was set by subject—for example, the monthly fee for "English books" was 75 sen. Teachers were dispatched from Keio University in Tokyo.

However, things did not go according to Fukuzawa's calculations. Students did not gather as expected. Realizing the failure of Osaka Keio University, Fukuzawa decided to withdraw from Osaka as early as June 1875 and closed the school. Fukuzawa demonstrated a swift ability to cut his losses. Looking at this management decision, Fukuzawa is indeed a "dry person" in the sense of having a rational spirit.

Income (tuition, donations, etc.) commensurate with the running costs of Osaka Keio University was unlikely to be expected. In that case, rather than struggling in Osaka and focusing on public relations to recruit students, Yukichi Fukuzawa chose a way of life where he quickly withdrew from Osaka and sought a completely different move. This power to cut losses is one of the charms of Fukuzawa, who survived the turbulent Meiji Restoration, and it is something that modern educators facing a period of change, especially managers of private schools, should learn from.

Even so, why did Keio University fail in Osaka? I have discussed a hypothesis that differs from the common theory regarding the cause of the slump in the aforementioned small book, and I would be honored if you would take a look.