Fukuzawa Yukichi 福澤諭吉 | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Fukuzawa in 1891 | |
| Born | (1835-01-10)10 January 1835 Osaka,Kawachi Province, Japan |
| Died | 3 February 1901(1901-02-03) (aged 66) Tokyo, Japan |
| Education | Tekijuku |
| Known for |
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| Spouse | |
| Children | 9, including Ichitarō and Sutejirō |
Fukuzawa Yukichi (Japanese:福澤 諭吉; 10 January 1835 – 3 February 1901) was a Japanese author, educator, and philosopher. He is known for his efforts to introduce and promote Western ideas and institutions in Meiji Japan.
Born into a low-rankingsamurai family, Fukuzawa became critical of the feudal class system ofTokugawa Japan. He studied Dutch (Rangaku) and later taught himself English, eventually becoming an official translator for the shogunate. He traveled abroad with thefirst Japanese mission to the United States in 1860 and thefirst mission to Europe in 1862.
After theMeiji Restoration of 1868, Fukuzawa became a leading promoter of theBunmei-kaika (Civilization and Enlightenment) movement. He declined all government positions, choosing to remain an independent educator and writer. His writings, including the bestsellersSeiyō Jijō (Conditions in the West) andGakumon no Susume (An Encouragement of Learning), explained Western civilization and advocated for social change. InGakumon no Susume, he famously wrote, "Heaven never created a man above another nor a man below another," arguing that social status was determined by education and practical knowledge (jitsugaku). He foundedKeio Gijuku and the newspaperJiji Shinpō.
Fukuzawa's views on foreign policy evolved from idealism to a pragmatic acceptance ofSocial Darwinism, arguing that military strength was essential for national survival. In his influential 1885 editorial "Datsu-A Ron" ("Leaving Asia"), he advocated for Japan to align itself with the "civilized" nations of the West and distance itself from its "hopelessly backward" Asian neighbors. He became a strong supporter of theFirst Sino-Japanese War. His portrait appeared on the10,000 yen note from 1984 to 2024.
Fukuzawa Yukichi was born on 10 January 1835 inOsaka, Japan, into a low-ranking but respectedsamurai family of the Okudaira clan ofNakatsu.[1][2] His father, Fukuzawa Hyakusuke, held the rank ofnakakosho with a low stipend of a little over thirteenkoku of rice, and served as the domain's overseer of the treasury in Osaka.[1][2] The family's position, though clerical, provided some material comforts beyond their small official stipend.[3] Fukuzawa was the youngest of five children, with one older brother and three older sisters.[3]
His father was aConfucian scholar who opposed his children learning practical skills like mathematics, considering them the "tool of merchants" and demeaning to theirsamurai status.[4] Hyakusuke died in 1836, forcing the family to return to their home castle town of Nakatsu in Kyushu.[3][2] The move was difficult for Fukuzawa's mother, O-Jun, who had grown accustomed to city life. The family faced a significant reduction in income, living on their small official stipend.[3][5] As the younger son, Fukuzawa had no prospect of inheriting the headship of the family and its associated stipend, which would go to his older brother. His options were limited to being adopted into another family, becoming a priest, or remaining at home and supporting himself through odd jobs.[6]
Nakatsu was a small, provincial castle town governed by the Okudaira clan, loyal vassals of the rulingTokugawa shogunate.[7] Society was rigidly stratified by law. Thesamurai class was at the top, followed by peasants, artisans, and merchants.[7] Within thesamurai class, strict feudal discipline reinforced the lower samurai’s inferiority to the upper. A lower samurai had to use honorific language, speak with a different accent, and in some cases, prostrate himself on the ground when in the presence of an upper samurai.[8] The Fukuzawa family was of lowersamurai status, living in a district far from the central castle, a physical indicator of their social standing.[4] Advancement beyond one's inherited rank was nearly impossible; as Fukuzawa later wrote, there was as much chance of promotion as a "four-legged beast [might] hope to fly like a bird."[9][8] This rigid class system instilled in Fukuzawa a lifelong resentment of the feudal system, which he declared he hated "as though it were my father’s murderer."[10][2]
Poverty forced many low-rankingsamurai families, including the Fukuzawas, to engage in side jobs to survive, such as making sandals or umbrellas, despite the official disdain for commercial activities.[4][2] Education was also stratified; uppersamurai studiedConfucian classics and military strategy, while lowersamurai were primarily instructed in practical skills like writing and arithmetic.[11] Fukuzawa did not begin his formal education until the age of fourteen, but he quickly excelled, leading discussions and debates on Chinese philosophy.[12][5] Encouraged by his liberal-minded mother, he developed a desire to leave the "narrow stiffness" of Nakatsu.[10][13]
In February 1854, at the age of nineteen, Fukuzawa left Nakatsu forNagasaki, one of the few places insecluded Japan with contact with the West.[10][13] He traveled there to study Dutch (Rangaku), then the primary language for Western learning, and the technical operation of modern weaponry. This was shortly after CommodoreMatthew C. Perry's "Black Ships" had arrived inEdo Bay, signaling the end of Japan's long isolation.[14] In Nagasaki, Fukuzawa lived in the home of abakufu official and quickly progressed in his language studies.[15] However, his success aroused the jealousy of his patron, who concocted a false story that Fukuzawa's mother was ill to force him to return home.[16]
Seeing through the ruse, Fukuzawa decided not to return to Nakatsu but instead to travel toEdo. On his journey, he stopped in Osaka in March 1855, where his brother Sannosuke was now the domain's storehouse manager.[17] Sannosuke persuaded him to stay and continue his Dutch studies at the renownedTekijuku, a school run by the physician and scholarOgata Kōan.[18][19] The students at Tekijuku worked with fanatical zeal, studying physics, chemistry, and medicine from the few Dutch books available.[19]
Fukuzawa's studies were interrupted in 1856 by the death of his brother, which forced him to return to Nakatsu to become the head of the Fukuzawa family. He detested the boring life of a lower-levelsamurai and, after three months, received permission from the domain lord to return to Tekijuku.[20] He became a boarder at the school, where he excelled, eventually becoming the head student.[21][5] During this time, he developed a disdain for Chinese studies, which he saw as impractical, and fully embraced Western learning.[22]
In 1858, the Nakatsu domain ordered Fukuzawa to move to Edo (modern Tokyo) to establish a Dutch studies school for the domain's vassals.[23][24] Shortly after arriving, he visited the new treaty port ofYokohama and was shocked to discover that most Westerners there spoke English, not Dutch. His years of Dutch study were suddenly obsolete.[24] He immediately began to teach himself English.[25]
In 1860, as part of theTreaty of Amity and Commerce, the Tokugawa shogunate sentits first diplomatic mission to the United States. While the main delegation traveled on an American warship, a second ship, theKanrin Maru, was purchased from the Dutch to serve as an escort, crewed entirely by Japanese sailors.[26][27] Determined to be part of this historic voyage, Fukuzawa volunteered his services and was accepted as the personal steward to the ship's captain,Kimura Yoshitake.[26][27] TheKanrin Maru reached San Francisco after a harrowing journey.[28] While most of his fellow travelers were disoriented by the foreign culture, Fukuzawa sought to learn as much as possible. He was not surprised by Western technology, which he understood from his studies, but was struck by social and cultural differences, such as the apparent wastefulness of American society and customs like ladies and gentlemen dancing together at parties.[28][27]
Upon his return to Japan in June 1860, Fukuzawa was hired by thebakufu as a translator of diplomatic documents.[29][30] The period was one of intense anti-foreign sentiment, and those associated with Western learning risked their lives. Fukuzawa remained cautious but determined to continue his work.[29] In 1861, he married Toki Okin, the daughter of an upper-ranking Nakatsusamurai.[31]
In 1862, Fukuzawa joined anothershogunal mission, this time to Europe, as an official translator.[27] The goal was to negotiate a delay in the opening of further ports to foreign trade.[29] The mission traveled through France, Britain, the Netherlands, Prussia, Russia, and Portugal over the course of a year.[32] In London, the group visited the1862 International Exhibition,Woolwich Arsenal, and theHouses of Parliament.[33] Fukuzawa was an indefatigable note-taker, inquiring about hospitals, banks, the postal system, and the party system.[34] This journey solidified his belief that Japan needed to adopt not just Western science but also its social and political institutions to achieve equality and strength. He began writing his famous workConditions in the West in 1864, with the first volume published in 1866.[30]
Fukuzawa returned to Japan in 1863 to a country in turmoil. The struggle between the weakening Tokugawa shogunate and pro-imperial forces was escalating into civil war.[35] As a translator for thebakufu, Fukuzawa was a fierce partisan of the Tokugawa cause until shortly beforeits overthrow in 1868.[30] He saw the shogunate's government as "bureaucratic, oppressive, [and] conservative," but considered the imperial forces "still more anti-foreign and violent in their action."[36] He believed both sides were ignorant of the need for fundamental reform.
While fighting raged in Edo in 1868, Fukuzawa remained focused on his educational work. At the very time the city was in chaos, he purchased a large estate in theMita district of Edo and moved his small school there.[36] He renamed itKeio Gijuku after theKeio era name, and it became the foundation for the modernKeio University.[37] He continued lecturing onFrancis Wayland'sElements of Political Economy during theBattle of Ueno, a testament to his belief in the primacy of education and enlightenment even in times of political upheaval.[38][39]
With the establishment of the newMeiji government in 1868, Fukuzawa was repeatedly offered government positions but declined them all, choosing to remain an independent private citizen.[40][41] He became a leading voice of theBunmei-kaika (Civilization and Enlightenment) movement.[42][43] His understanding of the concepts of "civilization" and "enlightenment" was first shaped by American geography textbooks bySamuel Mitchell and Sarah Cornell, which outlined a theory of societal development through stages such as "savage," "barbarous," and "civilized."[44]
His first major work after the Restoration wasSeiyō Jijō (Conditions in the West), published from 1867, which described Western political, economic, and social institutions in simple terms. It became an immediate bestseller, selling around 250,000 copies.[45] Even more influential was his series of pamphlets,Gakumon no Susume (An Encouragement of Learning), published between 1872 and 1876.[46][47] Its opening line, "Heaven never created a man above another nor a man below another," became a frequently quoted phrase when advocating for social equality in the new era.[48][49] In the work, Fukuzawa argued that differences in social status were not inherent but arose from differences in education. He advocated for practical, scientific learning (jitsugaku) over traditional Confucian scholarship.[50][51] The book sold millions of copies and was instrumental in shaping the Meiji government's 1872 Fundamental Code of Education.[48][52]
In 1875, he publishedBunmeiron no Gairyaku (An Outline of a Theory of Civilization), a more scholarly work that analyzed the stages of civilization and applied them to Japan's history. Drawing on the work of European historians likeFrançois Guizot, Fukuzawa argued that Western civilization was characterized by a "balance" of diverse elements, whereas Japan's development had been "unbalanced" by the dominance of political power.[53][54] He was also a founding member of theMeirokusha, an intellectual society established in 1874 to promote enlightenment ideas through its journal, theMeiroku zasshi.[55][43]
Fukuzawa was a staunch advocate for a representative government modeled on theBritish Parliament.[56] He argued that the relationship between government and the people was a contractual one, where the government's sole function was to protect the people's rights—to life, property, and honor—in exchange for taxes.[57] He criticized the traditional Confucian model, which granted rulers unlimited power over their subjects, a concept he termed "preponderance of power."[58]
His relationship with theFreedom and Popular Rights Movement of the 1870s and 1880s was complex. While the movement's leaders drew heavily on his writings, Fukuzawa himself became critical of their methods, which he saw as disruptive and muddleheaded.[59][60] He believed that political change should come about through gradual enlightenment and discussion among the educated elite.[61] He was a key behind-the-scenes advocate for the establishment of aNational Diet, writing an influential series of articles in 1879 that helped galvanize public opinion and led to the emperor's promise in 1881 to establish a constitution.[62]
Fukuzawa was one of the Meiji-era advocates for women's rights. He condemned traditional practices such asconcubinage, which he viewed as barbaric, and argued for monogamous marriage based on equality between husband and wife.[63] He believed that women should receive an education, not just in domestic arts but also in economics and practical sciences, to ensure their independence.[64][65] He argued that the unequal status of women within the family was a major impediment to Japan's national progress.[66]
However, Fukuzawa's views had limitations. His advocacy for equality was largely confined to the husband-wife relationship within the family. He did not support political rights for women or careers outside the home.[67] There was also a notable contradiction between his public pronouncements and his private life. While his sons received an elite Western-style education, his five daughters received a traditional, home-based education, with their upbringing left entirely to their conservative mother. They were not permitted to express opinions, go out alone, or speak to guests, and were married off in their late teens.[68][69] His primary goal for them was a stable and prosperous marriage, reflecting the conventional values of the time.[70]
Fukuzawa's views on foreign policy evolved significantly. An initial faith in a universal "rational principle" governing international relations gave way to a pragmatic acceptance of power politics.[71] Influenced bySocial Darwinism, he came to believe that "might is right" and that military strength was essential for national survival.[72] He argued that "a few cannons are worth more than a hundred volumes of international law."[73]
This shift began earlier than is often thought. In the final chapter of his 1875 workAn Outline of a Theory of Civilization, Fukuzawa argued that in the current international environment, Japan's national independence had to take precedence over the pursuit of civilization as an abstract ideal.[74] He saw Japan's neighbors,Qing China andJoseon Korea, as hopelessly backward and stagnant, incapable of modernizing to resist Western encroachment.[75][76] In his famous 1885 editorial "Datsu-A Ron" ("Leaving Asia"), he argued that Japan should mentally and politically distance itself from its "bad friends" in Asia and align itself with the civilized nations of the West.[77] He became a fervent supporter of theFirst Sino-Japanese War (1894–95), which he considered a war for civilization against barbarism.[78] Through his influential newspaper,Jiji Shinpō, which he founded in 1882, he promoted a jingoistic nationalism that helped rally public support for the war and for Japan's subsequent imperial expansion.[78][79]
By the 1890s, Fukuzawa was an influential figure in Japan, though he held no official title. His school, Keio, was producing graduates who would become leaders in business, finance, and journalism.[80] His newspaper,Jiji Shinpō, was a major voice in national affairs.[81] He had also become a successful entrepreneur and a kingmaker in the business world through his network of Keio alumni.[82]
Fukuzawa suffered his first stroke in September 1898, which left him partially disabled. It was after this event that he dictated his autobiography,Fukuō Jiden (The Autobiography of Old Fukuzawa), which remains a classic of Japanese literature and a key historical document.[83][47] He suffered a second stroke on 25 January 1901, and died on 3 February.[84][85] His funeral was a major public event, attended by thousands, and theLower House of the Diet passed an unprecedented resolution recognizing his profound contributions to the nation.[84][86]
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Fukuzawa's legacy is immense and multifaceted. Keio University remains one of Japan's most prestigious private universities. His ideas on education, independence, and practical learning fundamentally shaped the modernization of Japan. He is regarded as a thinker who dealt with complex Western ideas more extensively than most of his contemporaries, logically extendingEnlightenment thought to analyze Japan's situation and plot its future.[87] At the same time, his legacy is complicated by his later embrace of nationalism and imperialism, which provided an intellectual foundation for Japan's expansionist policies in the 20th century.[88] In 1984, in recognition of his central role in the nation's development, his portrait was placed on the10,000 yen note, the highest denomination of Japanese currency.[89]
Fukuzawa's childhood home in the Rusui-cho neighbourhood of the city ofNakatsu inŌita Prefecture still exists. It is located on the lower reaches of the Nakatsu River, almost due east ofNakatsu Castle (33°36′26″N131°11′27″E / 33.60722°N 131.19083°E /33.60722; 131.19083). Fukuzawa was born in 1835 in the Nakatsu Domain warehouse in Osaka and the family returned to Nakatsu after his father's death when he was 18 months old. He lived in this house in Nakatsu until age 19. The structure is a typical samurai residence of the late Edo Period and is a one-story wooden, thatch roof building with two 6-tatami, one 8-tatami, and one 4.5tatami rooms. The north of the main building is a two-storykura storehouse with a tile roof. In 1971 this former residence and the ruins of a former residence across the street were designated as aNational Historic Site.[90][91] The house and the adjacent Fukuzawa Yukichi Memorial Hall, which displays the original manuscript ofGakaku no Susume and Fukuzawa Yukichi's personal belongings, are the major tourist attractions of this city.[92] It is located approximately a 15-minute walk fromNakatsu Station on theJR KyushuNippō Main Line.
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