The Cleverness of Our Juku as Seen in the Creation of the Core Concept for the 150th Anniversary Commemorative Projects | Keiichi Yoshino (Dean, Graduate School of Health Management)
2005.12.21
This theme, "Juku's 150th Year," is very formal, just like the last one. I wonder if there's a reason we've had two formal themes in a row since Mr. Murai became Vice-President? For me, however, it was perfect, as I happened to have a formal but good topic in line with this theme that I had wanted to save for my diary.
This is not something widely known inside or outside of Keio. However, the members of the "150th Anniversary Commemorative Projects Preparatory Committee" and the "Fukuzawa Memorial Center" were at least notified by e-mail. For my part, I offer my wholehearted applause for the fact that this matter, at a critical juncture in the creation of the core concept, was resolved with what can only be described as the admirable cleverness of all involved.
In the "Draft Proposal for the 150th Anniversary Commemorative Projects" issued by the executive board in July of this year, 2005, the following phrase appeared as the core concept, so to speak:
"'Independence and self-respect' will continue to be a universal spirit..."
In response, Professor Masanori Komuro of the Faculty of Economics, Director of the Keio Fukuzawa Memorial Center, offered the following opinion:
Fukuzawa was a thinker who argued for the historicity of "spirit," and "universal spirit" was a concept he refuted. "Shūshin Yōryō: Fukuzawa's Moral Code" states, "Moral teachings are bound to change with the progress of human culture..." For details, see "An Outline of a Theory of Civilization." Therefore, using the word "universal" risks the misunderstanding that one does not comprehend Fukuzawa's philosophy. (Quoted verbatim)
Director Komuro offered other valuable opinions as well, but I will omit them here.
There is clearly a major difference between the two positions above. I believed this was a fundamental issue for promoting the 150th-anniversary projects, and I paid close attention to how it would unfold. I even went out of my way to attend the project briefing held at Mita at the time. However, there was no discussion of this matter, and the days passed without it being raised in other meetings either.
The final version issued by the executive board took the form of a booklet titled "Leading toward the Future," which served as a prospectus for the commemorative projects and a guide to fundraising, distributed to Keio University alumni, faculty, and staff within Keio. Seeing that the aforementioned point had been taken into consideration, I glimpsed what I can only call the conscience of Juku and its cleverness in carrying things out without offending anyone.
A digression (literally): To be honest, I too had vaguely perceived "'independence and self-respect' as a universal spirit..." Now, having learned Yukichi Fukuzawa's thoughts on this four-character phrase through this series of events, I am once again struck with admiration for his greatness.
A further digression: If a world were to emerge where the spirit of "independence and self-respect" is no longer needed, the value of Juku's existence would likely diminish. But as long as the world ofhumanscontinues, that will surely never happen. (End)
(Date Published: 2005/12/21)