On May 15, 1868, in the midst of the Boshin War, while all of Edo was in an uproar, Yukichi Fukuzawa remained unperturbed and continued his lecture on Francis Wayland's economics textbook as usual. To pass down Fukuzawa's spirit of respecting academic education regardless of changes in the world, Keio University has held a memorial lecture every year since 1956, designating May 15 as "Yukichi Fukuzawa-Francis Wayland Lecture Day."
This year, on Thursday, May 14, a lecture was held by Professor Yasushi Ishide of the Institute of Physical Education under the title "Physical Education at Keio University: Initiatives of Keio University Institute of Physical Education."
Professor Ishide looked back on the history of the Institute of Physical Education, which celebrated its 65th anniversary, and explained in detail the educational practices of the past 10 years in particular. He mentioned that Yukichi Fukuzawa's original ideas from the founding of Keio University, such as "First build the body of a beast, then foster the heart of a person" and "A healthy body and an active spirit," are still being passed down at the Institute of Physical Education, and he defined his own classes as a "place for character building." He stated that in today's increasingly impersonal era, he wants students to feel the joy of connecting with others through a single banner—"Ishide Volleyball"—and the resulting richness of life.
As Professor Ishide spoke proudly of the deep bonds with his former students that continue after graduation as a gift of sports, his warm gaze occasionally filled the packed venue with gentle laughter and voices of admiration.
The lecture transcript is scheduled to be published in the July issue of the Keio University official journal, Mita-hyoron (official monthly journal published by Keio University Press).
Photography: Takeshi Kishi