1997/05/01
Published in "Juku" No. 205, 1997
Keio University carefully preserves numerous personal belongings of its founder, Fukuzawa Yukichi, as valuable historical materials.
Here, we introduce a few of these items. Please take a moment to remember Fukuzawa as he was, through the words and anecdotes he left behind.
Overseas Travel
<1>
Right: Notebook from his travels to the West
This notebook was purchased in Paris during his stay as a member of the Japanese Embassy to Europe. It is one of his most valuable belongings, serving as a precious historical document with detailed records of what he saw and heard during his tour of Europe.
Left: Membership card for the American and Oriental Ethnological Society
Fukuzawa joined this society on the recommendation of Léon de Rosny, a Frenchman with whom he was close and who later became the first professor of the Japanese language department at the School of Oriental Languages in Paris. In addition to Fukuzawa's own signature, Rosny's signature can also be seen on the membership card. Incidentally, Fukuzawa was photographed by this society as a racial specimen.
<2> Binoculars (Telescope)
Fukuzawa traveled to America twice during his lifetime. It is said that he purchased these binoculars during his second visit in 1867 (Keio 3). Binoculars were a great luxury at the time, and the body of this pair is made of ivory. After Fukuzawa's death, they were carefully kept by his fourth daughter, Taki, and passed down to her daughter, Tayo, and then to her son, Mr. Takashi Kiuchi. They are still in good enough condition to be used today.
<3> English-Chinese Dictionary
An English-Chinese bilingual dictionary purchased in London (for 5 pounds) during his year-long tour of Europe. Fukuzawa was dispatched to Europe as an attendant to the shogunate's mission in 1861 (Bunkyu 1), when he was 28 years old.
Daily Routine
<1> Walking Stick
“Physical development is of the utmost importance.” Fukuzawa, who always preached that no matter the circumstances, a person's physical health comes first, saying, “First build a beast-like body, then cultivate a human mind,” was also thorough in managing his own health. In his later years, he never missed his daily morning walk of one and a half *ri* (approx. 6 km), and several of his favorite walking sticks used at that time remain among his belongings.
<2> Iai Sword
In addition to walking, Fukuzawa practiced *iai* (the art of drawing a sword) and pounded rice for about an hour every day to maintain his health. This is the sword he used. Fukuzawa's *iai* style was called *Risshin Shin-ryu*, which he learned as a boy from Shohachi Nakamura, an *iai* master of the Nakatsu domain. It is said that in his later years, his skill reached the level of a master.
<3> Mortar and Pestle
The mortar and pestle he used for pounding rice, a practice he diligently followed to maintain his physical health. It is said that he distributed most of the pounded rice not to his family, but to his acquaintances.
Daily Life/Hobbies
<1> Brush and Inkstone
The title calligraphy for this magazine, "Juku," was also written by Fukuzawa.
<2> Tobacco Pouch
Fukuzawa Yukichi was known to be a great lover of tobacco. Several of his favorite tobacco pouches and trays from his lifetime have been preserved.
<3> Eyeglasses
<4> Shogi Board
Fukuzawa was fond of *shogi* (Japanese chess), and some of his game records still exist. An anecdote tells of a day when he went to a friend's house to play *shogi* and found one piece missing. Fukuzawa then began to carve a piece of wood, wrote the character on it with ink to create a replacement piece, and started the game with his friend.
Family
<1> Baby Carriage
One of the souvenirs from his second trip to America, this was the first baby carriage brought to Japan. The rickshaw, invented in the Meiji era, is said to have been inspired by the shape of this baby carriage.
<2> Photograph of Sutejiro in the Baby Carriage
The child in the baby carriage is Fukuzawa's second son, Sutejiro, and the other is believed to be his eldest son, Ichitaro.