2000/06/20
Published inJuku2000, No. 225
The Mita Public Speaking Event was the first full-fledged organization in Japan dedicated to the practice of speech, or public speaking, and it continues its activities to this day.
This article explores its journey, which created and established the new concept of "public speaking" in Japan, in tandem with the movements of the times.
The Mita Public Speaking Event was launched on June 27, 1874, as a forum for the study and practice of public speaking and debate by Yukichi Fukuzawa, Tokujirō Obata, Nobukichi Koizumi, and about a dozen other pioneers of Keio University. The Mita Enzetsukan (Public Speaking Hall) was completed the following year. In Volume 12 ofGakumon no susume (An Encouragement of Learning), Fukuzawa wrote, "Public speaking is called 'speech' in English, and it is a method of gathering a large number of people to state one's views and convey one's thoughts to others from the platform." While everyone understands what public speaking is today, the concept did not exist in Japan at that time. Therefore, the practice of "public speaking"—expressing one's opinions before a large audience—was nothing less than a creative act that involved trial and error to find concrete methods. The details are recorded in documents such as theMita Enzetsu Nikki(Mita Public Speaking Diary), and an episode about the rule "never to laugh" during public speaking practice poignantly illustrates the struggles of pioneering this new art.
Furthermore, prior to founding the public speaking event, Fukuzawa also coined words such as "enzetsu" (public speaking) and "tōron" (debate), as there were no corresponding Japanese words for "speech" or "debate" at the time. In 1873, the year before the first public speaking event, Nobukichi Koizumi (later President of Keio University) showed Fukuzawa a small English booklet about speech. Recognizing its value, Fukuzawa translated the gist of it and used it as a basis for writing what is believed to beKaigi-ben(On Conducting Meetings), published the following year. For this, Fukuzawa literally created several words that are now commonplace. For example, "enzetsu" (public speaking) originates from the term "enzetsusho" (statement of opinion), a document used by samurai of the former Nakatsu domain, Fukuzawa's home domain, to express their will to the domain government. Fukuzawa himself stated that he replaced the character for "tongue" (舌) with "discourse" (説) because the former was too vulgar. Therefore, while "enzetsu" was not Fukuzawa's complete invention, its significance lies in giving a new meaning and substance—that of "speech"—to an old word. He also established "tōron" as the translation for "debate" and coined terms such as "hiketsu" (rejection) and "kaketsu" (approval).
The record of the 105th Mita Public Speaking Event, held on October 27, 1877, three years after its start, states, "Public speaking has become increasingly popular in recent times." This refers not only to the Mita Public Speaking Event but also to the social conditions of the time. In the first half of the 1880s, the rise of the Freedom and People's Rights Movement led to the active holding of various public speaking events in Tokyo. Records remain that rank the speakers and public speaking societies of the time. These show a high proportion of Keio University alumni, indicating that the Mita Public Speaking Event played a major role in what can be called Japan's first "age of public speaking." In the early Imperial Diet, Keio University alumni accounted for one-tenth of the members. Among them were Yukio Ozaki (a party politician from the Meiji to Showa periods known as the "God of Constitutional Politics"), Tsuyoshi Inukai (later Prime Minister, assassinated in the May 15th Incident), and Kakugoro Inoue (a politician and businessman). Their debates, honed at the public speaking events, were said to be the highlights of the Diet.
Meanwhile, the Mita Public Speaking Event also attracted large audiences and, despite several interruptions due to cholera outbreaks and other reasons, continued its activities vigorously, not ceasing even after Fukuzawa's death.
The early Taisho period was a time of rising democratic movements in Japan, such as the Movement to Protect Constitutional Government, led by the aforementioned Yukio Ozaki, which forced the resignation of the Taro Katsura cabinet. Following the Freedom and People's Rights Movement, it became an era where the power of speech, including public speaking, moved society.
However, the Mita Public Speaking Event was by no means limited to political issues; rather, it always prided itself on being an academic public speaking event, and a wide range of intellectuals of the time took the podium. Records show that they invited leading figures from various fields who were also active internationally, such as Dr. Hideyo Noguchi in bacteriology, Mr. Ekai Kawaguchi in Tibetan studies, and Dr. Fusakichi Omori in seismology.
The Taisho period was also an era when Japan enhanced its position in the international community, such as by participating in World War I. At the public speaking events, topics related to the situation in Europe and Asia became more prominent. However, in the early Showa period, following events like the February 26th Incident and the May 15th Incident, the military's unchecked advance led to tangible and intangible pressure on freedom of speech. Finally, during the Sino-Japanese War, the Mita Public Speaking Event was also suspended after its 580th meeting on October 27, 1939.
After World War II, the Mita Public Speaking Event was revived on July 6, 1951. Coincidentally, in the same year, Japan finally secured its status as an independent nation through the San Francisco Peace Treaty. At a public speaking event held on November 26 of that year, Shiro Hara, a correspondent for the Yomiuri Shimbun, gave a speech titled "On the San Francisco Peace Conference," detailing his experience covering the conference.
Since then, through the period of high economic growth to the present day, the Mita Public Speaking Event has addressed a diverse range of themes in response to the diversification of values, covering everything from education, culture, and the arts to politics, economics, management, and science and technology. As of this June, it has been held 672 times.
Even today, the importance of speech and debate in education is frequently pointed out. Although styles and topics may change, the spirit of Yukichi Fukuzawa has been passed down through the ages at the Mita Public Speaking Event, and its journey continues into the 21st century.
125th Anniversary of the Enzetsukan (Public Speaking Hall)
The Enzetsukan (Public Speaking Hall) was built on May 1, 1875, as Japan's first hall for public speaking events. Initially located between the current Old Library and the Jukukan-kyoku (Keio Corporate Administration), it was relocated to its present site (Inariyama, in the southwest of the Mita Campus) in 1924. It was restored in 1947. Furthermore, it underwent a disassembly and restoration process that took about a year and a half starting in 1995. The wooden, tile-roofed, Western-style building with its distinctive *namako* walls was designated a National Important Cultural Property in 1967.
Today, 125 years after its opening, it still hosts official Keio University events such as the Mita Public Speaking Event and lectures on the Yukichi Fukuzawa-Francis Wayland Lecture Day.