The "Passion" of Yukichi Fukuzawa and Shibasaburo Kitasato

2004/01/15

Published in "Juku" No. 241, 2004

In 1920 (Taisho 9), the School of Medicine was established with the world-renowned bacteriologist Shibasaburo Kitasato as its dean.
The natural science education at Keio that Yukichi Fukuzawa had so eagerly desired began in earnest, with the School of Medicine as its first step.
Yukichi Fukuzawa and Shibasaburo Kitasato—these two great pioneers of modern Japan recognized each other's passion during the Meiji era and built a warm friendship.

As a young man, Yukichi Fukuzawa studied at Tekijuku, the school of the Osaka physician Koan Ogata, and from an early stage, he was keenly aware of the importance of specialized education in the sciences. The Keio Igakusho (Keio Medical School), established in 1873 (Meiji 6) with Fukuzawa's disciple, the physician Toan Matsuyama, as its head, can be said to have been born from Fukuzawa's strong aspirations. While most government-run medical schools at the time focused on German medicine, the Keio Igakusho was unique in teaching British and American medicine. Although it produced over 300 graduates since its founding, it was closed in 1880 (Meiji 13) due to financial difficulties and other circumstances. However, in the following era, Yukichi Fukuzawa's passion for natural science education and research bore fruit in the form of cooperation with and support for the brilliant bacteriologist Dr. Shibasaburo Kitasato. Dr. Kitasato, feeling the height of Yukichi Fukuzawa's aspirations and a deep sense of gratitude, carried on his will even after Fukuzawa's death and dedicated himself to establishing a university School of Medicine. In 1917 (Taisho 6), the preparatory course for the Keio University Department of Medicine was established, and three years later, the university's School of Medicine was founded under the University Ordinance. The person welcomed as the first dean was, of course, Dr. Shibasaburo Kitasato himself.

Dr. Shibasaburo Kitasato was born in 1853 (Kaei 5) in what is now Kumamoto Prefecture. After graduating from Tokyo Medical School (now the University of Tokyo School of Medicine), he took a position at the Sanitary Bureau of the Home Ministry. In 1885 (Meiji 18), he went to Germany to study at government expense. He studied under Robert Koch, a leading figure in bacteriology, and became the first in the world to succeed in the pure culture of the tetanus bacillus. He discovered the toxin produced by the tetanus bacillus and its antitoxin antibody. He established "serum therapy," a treatment that uses antibodies produced in animal bodies, and his name became known throughout the world. He returned to Japan in 1892 (Meiji 25). The Home Ministry, eagerly awaiting the results of Dr. Kitasato's tuberculosis research from his final year abroad, was preparing to submit a bill to the Diet and arrange a budget to establish an institute for infectious diseases within the ministry. At the time, measures against tuberculosis and infectious diseases were urgent, but establishing a national research institute would take at least two years. Therefore, Kitasato's superior and lifelong supporter, Sensai Nagayo, consulted Yukichi Fukuzawa for a solution and received a proposal and a promise of support for the establishment of a private institute for infectious diseases. Sensai Nagayo had been a close friend of Yukichi Fukuzawa since their time at Tekijuku. Yukichi Fukuzawa immediately provided land he owned in Shiba Park and used his personal fortune to realize the establishment of the private Institute for Study of Infectious Diseases.

Their friendship began in this way, when Yukichi Fukuzawa was 57 and Dr. Kitasato was 40.

The Institute for Study of Infectious Diseases came under the jurisdiction of the Home Ministry in 1899 (Meiji 32). It flourished year after year under Dr. Kitasato's direction and supervision, but Yukichi Fukuzawa advised him to save up research funds, saying, "The government's policy could change at any time." Even before that, Fukuzawa had provided land in Shirokane, Shiba, to establish Japan's first sanatorium for tuberculosis, the "Tsukushigaoka Yojoen," to prepare for the future. Yukichi Fukuzawa's fears proved correct. In 1914 (Taisho 3), the government suddenly moved the institute's jurisdiction to the Ministry of Education and attempted to reorganize it under the umbrella of the University of Tokyo. Dr. Kitasato, who opposed this heavy-handed policy and resigned his post, established the Kitasato Institute to pursue his research without reservation. The funds for its establishment were the 300,000 yen of his personal fortune that he had saved on Yukichi Fukuzawa's advice.

Yukichi Fukuzawa's warm consideration for Dr. Kitasato remained unchanged throughout his life, but out of goodwill and high expectations, he often offered harsh words and stern advice. The "Milk Bottle Incident" is a well-known episode in which he severely reprimanded Dr. Kitasato. The aforementioned Yojoen sanatorium delivered milk, which Yukichi Fukuzawa was fond of drinking, to his villa every day. One day, however, the delivered milk bottle had something like a hair on its rim. Seeing this, Yukichi Fukuzawa became furious and sent a letter to the Yojoen's Administrative Director. In the letter, he pointed out that this might be a sign that the hospital had become complacent and neglectful in all matters as it prospered, writing, "I wish to preserve this bottle, with the milk and the hair-like filth on its rim, as a monument to the administrative corruption of the Yojoen, and I believe it will serve as a good source for scolding for years to come." The Administrative Director, upon reading this letter, rushed to Fukuzawa's residence to apologize. But Yukichi Fukuzawa's anger did not easily subside, and he strictly ordered, "Show the letter to Kitasato." The next morning, Dr. Kitasato, after reading the letter, immediately visited Fukuzawa's residence and was reportedly given a thorough dressing-down by Yukichi Fukuzawa for about three hours. Incidentally, Dr. Kitasato himself was very strict with his institute staff, and he is said to have told his disciple Kiyoshi Shiga (the discoverer of the dysentery bacillus and later a professor at the Keio University School of Medicine), "Those who shrink from such reprimands cannot grow; only those who reflect on their own and move forward will achieve greatness."

It must have been precisely because he was such a person that Dr. Kitasato sensed the great expectation and affection for him within Yukichi Fukuzawa's fierce anger, and he surely took each of his harsh words to heart.

Upon Yukichi Fukuzawa's death, Dr. Kitasato offered the following eulogy: "I will embody his teachings and, through diligent study and self-improvement, hope to repay even a fraction of his kindness." True to his words, Dr. Kitasato later poured his heart and soul into the development of medical education at Keio University. Dr. Kitasato's passion lives on today, on the 150th anniversary of his birth, in the university's School of Medicine and hospital, and his name is engraved on the Center for Medical Information and Media building as the "Kitasato Memorial Medical Library."

<1><2><3> Photos courtesy of The Kitasato Institute