Yukichi Fukuzawa Goes to the World's Fair

2010/12/07 Reprinted from "Juku" 2010, No. 268

The World's Fair is currently being held in Shanghai (at the time of "Juku" No. 268's publication on 2010/10/15). Japan's first World's Fair was held in Osaka 40 years ago, in 1970. More than 100 years before that, Yukichi Fukuzawa, who visited the 1862 London World's Fair, introduced the mechanism of open cultural exchange in the first volume of his "Things Western (Seiyō Jijō)," inspiring the young people on the eve of the Meiji Restoration who would lead the charge for civilization and enlightenment.

Images marked with an asterisk (*) in this article are from the collection of the Fukuzawa Memorial Center for Modern Japanese Studies at Keio University.

The World's Fair being held in Shanghai, China, will close its doors on October 31.

Just as Japan made great strides as a nation following the Tokyo Olympics and the Osaka Expo, China is sure to further develop its national power after the Beijing Olympics and the Shanghai Expo.

Looking back at the history of world's fairs, domestic exhibitions that became popular in Europe and the United States eventually evolved into international exhibitions that crossed borders to display products from several countries. The first World's Fair was held in London in 1851, a full-scale event that lasted for five and a half months. After subsequent fairs in New York and Paris, Yukichi Fukuzawa, as a member of the Tokugawa shogunate's embassy to Europe, visited the World's Fair held again in London in 1862.

Based on this experience, he touched upon museums and exhibitions in the first volume of "Things Western (Seiyō Jijō)," published in 1866 (Keiō 2). While conveying the significance of museums that display the achievements of past technology, he noted that technology progresses daily, writing that past innovations "have now become obsolete, and it is not uncommon for yesterday's useful tools to become today's burdens." He then accurately conveyed the significance of international exhibitions that widely disseminate new technologies and products: "Therefore, in the great cities of the West, they hold a grand assembly of products every few years, proclaiming it to the world and gathering the famous products, convenient machines, and rare antiquities of each country to show to the people of all nations. This is called a 'hakurankai' (exhibition)."

Regarding the London World's Fair he witnessed firsthand, he conveyed the large number of visitors, stating, "In 1862, an exhibition hall was established in London, and no fewer than forty or fifty thousand people entered the grounds each day." He argued that world's fairs are highly beneficial for the international exchange of technology and knowledge, explaining, "The purpose of an exhibition is mutual teaching and learning, where one takes the strengths of others for one's own benefit. It is like engaging in a trade of intellect and ingenuity."

The first volume of "Things Western (Seiyō Jijō)" was a bestseller of its time that introduced political systems like monarchies and republics, as well as parliamentary systems, greatly influencing people on the eve of the Meiji Restoration. But the introduction of exhibitions held across borders was also likely a surprise and a great stimulus to the people of a country that had long been in seclusion. In fact, Japan made its first official exhibit at the second Paris Exposition, held in 1867, the year after the book's publication. In addition to the Tokugawa shogunate, the Satsuma and Saga domains also set up exhibition areas, displaying pottery and lacquerware, which became a forerunner of Japonisme in Europe.

In the "Foreword to the Collected Works of Fukuzawa," published in 1897 (Meiji 30), Yukichi Fukuzawa reflected on his own work, "Things Western (Seiyō Jijō)," calling it "the book among my writings and translations that was most widely circulated and most often seen by people."

Here, along with his surprise at learning of the existence of political parties in Britain—a stark contrast to Japan at the time, where forming "factions" was forbidden—and his admiration for the postal service in France, where a letter would seemingly arrive on its own if a stamp was affixed, he fondly recalled his experience accompanying the mission some 35 years earlier, stating, "There was nothing I saw—hospitals, museums, exhibitions—that was not novel, and nothing whose origins and utility I heard of that did not captivate me."

Furthermore, in this foreword, he writes something interesting about how "Things Western (Seiyō Jijō)," in which he recorded his observations, was widely read by people and "gained great influence, sweeping through all of Japanese society."

The ambitious volunteers from the various domains promoting the Restoration were capable and active individuals, nurtured by Bushido, but they were unfamiliar with Eastern learning and, from the perspective of Confucianism, could only be described as "uneducated." However, it was precisely these volunteers, uneducated in Confucianism, who "accomplished the great work of the Restoration," and when they desired to "open the country and enter civilization," what they came across was "Things Western (Seiyō Jijō)." It became their spiritual anchor, as they thought, "This is fascinating! This is good material for the plan of civilization."

Fukuzawa himself analyzes that this spread by word of mouth among like-minded individuals, and "Things Western (Seiyō Jijō)" likely became an indispensable handbook for those seeking civilization and enlightenment.

The "good material for the plan of civilization" was not only the forms and systems of Western politics, but also the open-minded idea of holding world's fairs to exchange information and learn from one another, which must have also stimulated the young people of the time. In other words, "Things Western (Seiyō Jijō)" was an irreplaceable book that spurred the Meiji Restoration and accelerated the process of civilization and enlightenment.

In 1970, approximately 100 years after Japan began its path to modernization, and after experiencing defeat in war and rapid economic growth, a World's Fair was finally held in our country. Now, 40 years later, the Shanghai Expo is being held in grand style in China, the birthplace of the "Confucianism" that the ambitious volunteers of the Restoration had to overcome to open their eyes to the West.