Yukichi Fukuzawa's Walking Path

2008/07/01

Published in "Juku" 2008, No. 259

Iai (sword drawing), rice polishing, and walking. The three daily routines that Yukichi Fukuzawa practiced to maintain his health are well known. Of these, walking was the one he started around his 60th birthday and continued even after a serious illness. On his walks of about one and a half *ri* (approx. 6 km), he was accompanied by Keio students and Keio University alumni, who were called the so-called "Walking Party" (*Sanpo-to*). It is said that the party members received various teachings from Fukuzawa in his later years.

Yukichi Fukuzawa preached, "First build a beastly body, then cultivate a human mind." Believing that physical health was paramount for human beings under any circumstances, he never missed his daily *iai* training and rice polishing to maintain and manage his own health. Along with *iai* and rice polishing, his other daily routine for health maintenance was an early morning walk. Dressed in a tucked-up kimono with *momohiki* trousers and a hunting cap, and carrying a long bamboo cane, he would set out toward the Sankocho area of Shiba (present-day Shirokane Sankocho), which was a sparsely populated suburb at the time. He would walk a course of about one and a half *ri*, taking a little over an hour, passing through Hiroo, turning back at Meguro, and returning via Furukawabashi bridge, never missing a day, rain or shine.

"Walking with Students Early in the Morning"

一点寒鐘声遠伝　　半輪残月影尚鮮

草鞋竹策払秋暁　　歩自三光渡古川

(The sound of a cold temple bell travels far, the shadow of the half-moon lingers vividly, with straw sandals and a bamboo cane, I sweep away the autumn dawn, walking from Sankocho across the Furukawa.)

This is a poem composed by Yukichi Fukuzawa in the late autumn of 1897. These walks began around 1895–1896. After he suffered a cerebral hemorrhage in September 1898, they were temporarily suspended but resumed around October of the following year and continued until January 1901.

For students, these walks were also one of the few opportunities to interact with Yukichi Fukuzawa in his later years. Although they were a very limited number compared to the entire student body, they were able to accompany him on his morning walks and receive various teachings. Sometimes a few, sometimes as many as 20 Keio students and graduates would trail along with Fukuzawa. He referred to them as the "Walking Party" (*Sanpo-to*) and is said to have been particularly close to them.

Kango Koyama, who served as president of the Jiji Shimpo newspaper, describes himself as a pioneer of the Walking Party in an article contributed to the appendix of Volume 8 of the "Selected Works of Yukichi Fukuzawa" (old edition). According to Koyama, Yukichi Fukuzawa initially took his morning walks alone. Once, when Fukuzawa spoke about health and exercise at a Mita Public Speaking Event, he recruited companions for his morning walks, which he practiced as a health regimen, saying, "It's not good for young people to be sleeping in." Most of the Keio students ignored the invitation, but Koyama was invited by his dormitory friend Ichitaro Honda, and the two went for a walk the next morning. Along the way, they ran into Yukichi Fukuzawa near Raijin-yama in Shirokane, who invited them, "Why don't you join me from now on?" and they began accompanying him the next day. From then on, the number of participants gradually increased, and the "Walking Party" was formed. Besides Koyama, the Walking Party included figures such as Toyotaro Isomura, later president of the Hokkaido Colliery and Railway Company; Yasuzaemon Matsunaga, the "demon of electric power"; Momosuke Fukuzawa, the "king of electric power"; and the economist Sei'ichiro Takahashi.

The party leader, Yukichi Fukuzawa, woke up earlier than anyone and went around waking up the party members. First, he would sound a gong at the entrance to gather the Keio students on Mita Hilltop Square, and they would leave through the gate together. Then, those living in boarding houses in town would see the group, rush out, and join them.

It was a daily custom for Fukuzawa to say, "It's bad for your body if you don't put something in your stomach," as he took sweet buns and rice crackers from his sleeve and gave one to each party member. If a regular Keio student overslept and didn't show up, Fukuzawa himself would go to their doorstep and shout. Some would hastily throw on their clothes and tumble out without even washing their faces. Yukichi Fukuzawa is said to have cheerfully described the walks to his family over breakfast, saying things like, "They rush out without even washing their faces and eat the snacks."

Toyotaro Isomura, who was working at Mitsui & Co. at the time, lived in a rented house along the walking route. Every morning around 5:00 a.m., Yukichi Fukuzawa would visit and wake him by banging on the wooden wall of his bedroom with his thick cane. Since this happened almost daily, a hole eventually formed in the wall, and the story goes that Isomura became so exasperated by Fukuzawa peeking through it that he finally moved out.

Sei'ichiro Takahashi joined the Walking Party around the autumn of 1899, when Fukuzawa had recovered from his first cerebral hemorrhage and was gradually resuming his walks. In his series "My Personal History," published in the *Nihon Keizai Shimbun*, Takahashi recalls the Walking Party as follows.

"We circled the top of the hill at Mita many times. As he walked, Fukuzawa was constantly chattering. He was truly talkative and eloquent. He would ask my name, ask where my hometown was, ask about my parents, talk about school, and begin various lectures. After walking and talking for about an hour, we would part ways in front of the Fukuzawa family's entrance, and I would return to my dormitory. ...The number of walking companions gradually increased. There were a few boys like me, but besides the university students, there were also four or five considerably older people who seemed to be alumni of this school. As the number of people grew, Fukuzawa prepared cheap sweets and rice crackers in a larger bag. The topics of conversation were complex and varied, ranging from childish to adult-oriented. Fukuzawa would interject his own opinions on each of these topics."

Thus, Yukichi Fukuzawa's "everyday" talks during the walks were free-spirited, innocent, and extremely interesting, and it is said that some joined the walks just to hear them. At times, he would also host breakfast parties for the Walking Party at his villa in Hiroo, invite them to pound *mochi* (rice cakes), or earnestly recommend a doctor to a Keio student who looked pale, giving the Walking Party many opportunities to experience his meticulous care firsthand. The aforementioned Kango Koyama was impressed by Fukuzawa's personality, saying he was "truly frank, kind, and overflowing with affection for his students." Incidentally, it is said that when announcements were made for events like breakfast parties, applicants would flock, and the Walking Party would thrive.

On February 3, 1901, Yukichi Fukuzawa passed away at his home on Mita Hilltop Square. The cause of death was a recurrent cerebral hemorrhage. His early morning walks had continued until just before his death. Yukichi Fukuzawa in his later years loved his walks and the Walking Party. The members of the Walking Party, who were exposed to his thoughts and personality, would eventually grow up to become leaders of Japan.