Yukichi Fukuzawa and Osaka

2008/10/21

Published in "Juku," 2008, no. 260

Osaka is where Yukichi Fukuzawa was born and where he studied at Tekijuku in his youth.
It is also a place with deep connections not only to Fukuzawa himself but also to Keio University, with the establishment of "Osaka Keio University," which operated for about a year and a half from November of Meiji 6 (1873).
Let us trace the youth of Yukichi Fukuzawa, who lived through the turbulent transition from the Tokugawa to the Meiji period, in the land of Osaka.

The monument (in Fukushima Ward, Osaka City), inscribed with the words "Birthplace of Yukichi Fukuzawa" in the calligraphy of former President Shinzo Koizumi, conveys the circumstances of Yukichi Fukuzawa's birth and the historical context of the time. The inscription begins, "Yukichi Fukuzawa, the great educator of the late Tokugawa and Meiji periods, was born here." It continues: "It is said that when his wife, Ojun, gave birth to their fifth child, a large, thin, but big-boned baby, his father Hyakusuke... said, 'This is a fine child. When he grows up, I will send him to a temple to become a monk.' In the feudal, class-based society of the time, the only way for a low-ranking samurai to ensure his son could make a name for himself was likely to have him enter the Buddhist priesthood. Who at that time could have foreseen that this child would later become a master of introducing Western civilization to the East and strive to dismantle the feudalistic mindset?"

Although Yukichi Fukuzawa was born in the kurayashiki (warehouse-residence) of the Nakatsu domain of Buzen Province (present-day Nakatsu City, Oita Prefecture) in Osaka, he lost his father at just 18 months old. For Fukuzawa, who returned to Nakatsu with his mother and siblings, the constraints of the feudal clan system were a major obstacle to his ambition to devote himself to his studies. Moreover, as he wrote in "Fukuō Jiden," it was a time when "in the domain of Nakatsu, not only was there no one who could read Western script, but there was no one who had even seen it."

It was in Ansei 1 (1854) that he went to Nagasaki to pursue Dutch studies. However, due to the machinations of Iki Okudaira, the son of a chief retainer of the Nakatsu domain, he was forced to leave Nagasaki the following year. He came to Osaka intending to go to Edo, but his older brother recommended that he enter the Dutch studies Juku of Koan Ogata. This was in the third month of Ansei 2 (1855), when he was 22 years old.

At the time, Osaka was a center not only for economy and commerce but also for the development of Dutch studies. Yukichi Fukuzawa began his studies at "Tekijuku," the Dutch studies Juku of the physician Koan Ogata, located in Kasho-machi (present-day 3-chome, Kitahama, Higashi-ku, Osaka City). The students' work consisted entirely of deciphering the books in Tekijuku's collection. The only resource they could rely on was a single handwritten Dutch-Japanese dictionary known as the "Doeff" (compiled by Hendrik Doeff). Students flocked to the "Doeff Room," where this dictionary was kept, at all hours, and it is said that the lamp in the room was never extinguished at night. At Tekijuku, there were translation sessions called "kaidoku" about six times a month. Those who translated well received a white circle next to their name in the register, those who failed received a black circle, and those who did exceptionally well received a white triangle. Students who held the top rank for more than three months were promoted to the next level. It is said that these learning methods had various influences on the early days of Keio University.

Many of the students were struggling financially, and their only recreation was occasional drinking or strolling along the Dotonbori River. They were completely devoted to their studies, so much so that Fukuzawa later wrote in "Fukuō Jiden," "The students of Ogata never neglected their studies in the slightest."

Looking back on his time at Tekijuku, Yukichi Fukuzawa later advocated for "study without a purpose." He recommended that rather than seeking career advancement or constantly worrying about one's future while studying, one should purely devote oneself to academic training and develop the understanding and judgment to comprehend all things.

Furthermore, his encounter with his affectionate master, Koan Ogata, can be seen as the origin of Yukichi Fukuzawa's own warm educational approach toward his disciples. For instance, when Fukuzawa contracted typhoid fever while at Tekijuku, Ogata's anguish over which medicine to administer was like that for his own child, creating an unforgettable memory. His life at Tekijuku—a merit-based environment free from class distinctions, where he lived and ate with his peers and freely developed his aptitudes—lasted for the better part of four years. It is not hard to imagine that this period shaped the rest of Yukichi Fukuzawa's life. Later, on the orders of his domain, he went to Edo and opened a Dutch studies Juku in a small row house on the grounds of the Okudaira clan's residence in Tsukiji Teppozu. This was in Ansei 5 (1858), when Yukichi Fukuzawa was 25. This was the origin of Keio University.

Fifteen years after Yukichi Fukuzawa opened his Dutch studies Juku in Tsukiji Teppozu, the era had shifted from the end of the Tokugawa shogunate to the Meiji period, and Keio University was so popular that it attracted the attention of all who aspired to study Western learning. In response to the ambitions of those who could not come to Tokyo, the university decided to establish branch schools in the provinces. The very first of these was established in Osaka.

Osaka Keio University offered three departments—English Literature, Arithmetic, and Translation—and instructors such as Heigoro Shoda, Rokuto Nagoya, and Shigeru Iwata took turns traveling to teach English books, translation, Western mathematics, and Japanese mathematics.

However, Osaka Keio University, which opened in November of Meiji 6 (1873), closed in less than two years. According to a memoir published in "Keio University Gakuho" No. 41 (June, Meiji 34 [1901]), the original purpose of the school was quickly lost: "As transportation between Tokyo and Osaka became more convenient, students coming to Osaka from their hometowns found that the cost was not much different from studying in Tokyo, and so more and more of them began to enter the main school in Tokyo."

After its closure, Osaka Keio University was succeeded by Tokushima Keio University. Kyoto Keio University was also established in February of Meiji 7 (1874), but both were short-lived.

In the spring of 2008, the "Keio Osaka Riverside Campus" was opened in a location where one can trace the origins of Yukichi Fukuzawa. It is located in Hotarumachi (Fukushima Ward, Osaka City), a redevelopment area on the former site of Osaka University Hospital where the Monument to the Birthplace of Yukichi Fukuzawa stands, and plans to offer various seminars and courses. Approximately 130 years after the opening of Osaka Keio University, this campus, once again established in Osaka, will carry on the spirit of Yukichi Fukuzawa and become a new hub for people who will pioneer the future.