The celebrations for the 186th anniversary of Yukichi Fukuzawa's birthday were held on Sunday, January 10. Every year, on this date, the Keio University community comes together to celebrate the birthday of Yukichi Fukuzawa, the founder of the university; however, due to the backdrop of COVID-19 infections, this year's event was limited to concerned participants from Keio, accompanied by a video relay of the proceedings.
The ceremony kicked off with a CD replay of the songs "Here Stands Yukichi Fukuzawa" and "Pride of Japan," followed by a New Year's greeting from Keio President Akira Haseyama and an address by the Chair of the Board of Councillors, Hiromichi Iwasa.
Subsequently, Professor Mitsunori Yoneyama of the Teacher Training Center gave a commemorative lecture titled "Yukichi Fukuzawa and Social Education." During the lecture, he touched upon Fukuzawa's emphasis on society as a whole rather than the enclosed space of a school as a platform for education, and the importance of educating oneself based on real-life experiences.
After the lecture, Fukuzawa's descendant Yukichi Fukuzawa greeted the audience on behalf of the family. An awards ceremony for the Keio University-sponsored national high school student essay contest established in honor of Shinzo Koizumi, a former president of the university, followed. The certificates of the four recipients of the award were read out by President Haseyama, with Hiroshi Hayakawa offering comments on behalf of the contest panel for the essay competition.
While it was not possible to gather on the Hill of Mita for this year's event, it nonetheless proved an opportunity to reflect on Fukuzawa, with more persons viewing the event proceedings via the video relay than in typical years.
Video of the celebrations of the 186th Anniversary of Yukichi Fukuzawa's Birthday (Japanese)