Kiroku Hayashi

Image: Kiroku Hayashi (Collection of the Keio University Fukuzawa Memorial Center for Modern Japanese Studies)

Eikichi Kamada served as President for 25 years, the longest in the history of Keio University after the death of Yukichi Fukuzawa. Shinzo Koizumi was the President who supported Keio University before and during the war. Sandwiched between them, Kiroku Hayashi supported Keio University as President for 10 years from the Taisho to the Showa era. He steadily built the foundations for the future, including the reconstruction from the Great Kanto Earthquake and the initiation of the campus expansion plan to the Hiyoshi Campus.

As a scholar, he was the author of works such as "History of Modern European Diplomacy," which is described as the pioneer of European diplomatic history. He was such a great orator that Sei'ichiro Takahashi remarked, "There is probably no such orator among the teachers of Keio University," and he was a "liberalist" who demonstrated his power in the political world as well.

Kiroku Hayashi was born in Meiji 5 (1872) in Tano Village, Higashimatsuura District, Nagasaki Prefecture (now Karatsu City, Saga Prefecture) as the fourth son of Seishiro Nakamura. Around the age of 10, he was taken to Tokyo by his older brother, who ran a Juku for French studies. However, he caught the eye of Takizaburo (Chikudo) Hayashi, who ran a Chinese classics Juku nearby. In the spring of his 11th year, he accompanied Chikudo to Takamatsu, Kagawa Prefecture, where he received seven years of instruction. Receiving Chikudo's favor, he studied in a position like a head student, "learning and teaching" unlike other students. Partly because Takamatsu was active in the theory of democratic rights, he became interested in political theory from the age of 16 or 17, occasionally attending those meetings and sometimes appearing at speech meetings "cheekily." It is said that his interest in politics was greatly nurtured during this childhood.

In Meiji 22 (1889), following the advice of his brother Yoshizaburo, who worshipped Yukichi Fukuzawa, and with the approval of Chikudo, he entered Keio University. He later recalled that the announcement of the college establishment plan at that time was "unprecedented for a private school" and was a great stimulus. During this period, Kiroku became the adopted son of Chikudo and took the surname Hayashi.

In his "Record of Upbringing," Hayashi mentions that a characteristic of Keio University at the time was the Japanese composition assigned twice a month. These topics were set by the top executives, and by addressing real-world issues, students developed the habit of reading the "Jiji Shinpo" every day as if it were a textbook, nurturing living common sense. Furthermore, the Mita Public Speaking Event held twice a month, where seniors and students mingled, "was truly an important institution in the education of the Juku." He also recalled that Yukichi Fukuzawa's lectures there were "more important than anything else."

After graduating from the regular course in Meiji 25, Hayashi went on to the Department of Literature in the college, which had been established in Meiji 23. Since many Keio students at the time thought the traditional curriculum was sufficient, Hayashi was reportedly the only one among his 27 classmates to proceed to the college.

After graduating at the top of the Department of Literature in the college in Meiji 28, Hayashi became a teacher at Keio University. At that time, the college was underperforming and the relationship between the traditional curriculum and the college remained complicated. According to Hayashi, "Educational reform and the renewal of academic affairs were actively discussed among the young teachers, and I was one of them." He even visited Yukichi Fukuzawa alone to "greatly present various opinions."

Ultimately, through educational reform, a 16-year integrated education system was established in Meiji 31, consisting of 6 years of Yochisha, 5 years of ordinary subjects, and 5 years of university subjects (the following year, the ordinary subjects were renamed the Keio Futsubu School and the university subjects were renamed the college). In the flow of that reform, the generation of Tokujirō Obata and others who supported the founding period stepped back from the front lines, and personnel were refreshed with Eikichi Kamada as President and a new generation of college graduates at the center. Academic deans were appointed as heads of each department, with Kiroku Hayashi becoming the head of the Keio Futsubu School, and Torajiro Kanbe, Teiichi Kawai, and Kanju Kiga becoming the heads of the Department of Law, Literature, and Economics in the college, respectively.

Hayashi later reflected, "Having just reached the age of 27, I strove to be a pioneer and plan all progress as the person responsible for being the head. I must have looked quite cheeky," and "That Yukichi Fukuzawa gave the position of head to such a youngster... looking back after growing old, I feel deep gratitude that he was able to carry it out."

A famous episode from his time as head of the Keio Futsubu School is his reading of the "Address for the Turn of the Century" at the Century Greeting Ceremony held on the night of December 31, 1900, at Mita Hilltop Square. According to Masafumi Tomita, this address was an extraordinary piece of writing that "spoke of the political, military, social, and cultural changes of the 19th century and the figures who emerged like a kaleidoscope, overflowing with the passion of youth and chanting the spirit of Keio University as the chosen warriors of a new civilization," and it captivated the entire audience.

It was also during his time as head that the "Shūshin Yōryō: Fukuzawa's Moral Code," which summarized Yukichi Fukuzawa's thoughts into "independence and self-respect," was announced. Since it differed from the reactionary and Confucianist "Imperial Rescript on Education," it received much criticism from the public. In response, Hayashi published "Reading Mr. Tetsujiro Inoue's Criticism of the 'Shūshin Yōryō'" in the "Keio Gijuku Gakuho." Against Inoue's criticism that "independence and self-respect" might cause one to lose the virtue of following others, Hayashi argued that it is most important to "first recognize one's own independence and self-respect" and then act with "the judgment of free will," and that one must not "confuse servile blind faith with free choice."

In Meiji 34, he left his position as head of the Keio Futsubu School and was sent to the "École Libre des Sciences Politiques" in Paris (today's Sciences Po) as a Keio University overseas student to study European diplomatic history. This was a system that had just begun with the aim of nurturing college faculty members from Keio University, as the college had previously relied on visiting lecturers. His study in Europe was originally planned for three years, but because Keio University later added comparative constitutional law to his research subjects, it was extended by one year, and he returned to Japan in Meiji 38. After returning, he became a professor in the Department of Politics in the college.

Hayashi became a member of the House of Representatives in Meiji 45. Thereafter, he was elected four consecutive times until Taisho 9 (1920), when he was appointed President. He was also deeply involved in politics, participating in the Paris Peace Conference in 1919, serving as a counselor for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in the Hara Cabinet in 1920, and attending the Washington Conference as part of the plenipotentiary's suite in 1921-22.

Among his political activities, his questioning speech to Prime Minister Gonbei Yamamoto is of great significance in Japanese political history as a turning point from clan politics to the era of party cabinets. Hayashi pursued the limits of the party cabinet by pointing out to Yamamoto that the appointment of Army and Navy Ministers being limited to active-duty generals was "an obstacle to the operation of constitutional government." As a result, the eligibility for appointing military ministers was expanded, and the atmosphere of the political world shifted.

It was also Hayashi's first speech in the Diet, but later Kikuo Nakamura, a professor in the Faculty of Law, evaluated it in a paper titled "The Taisho Political Crisis and Kiroku Hayashi": "His intention was to establish a party cabinet system within the framework of the Meiji Constitution. (...) This was only possible for him, who had acquired liberal intelligence and culture at Keio University. What made Hayashi make such a resolution was his liberal culture and intelligence, but what made him boldly stand up and make this demand was the power of the masses who rose up to impeach the Katsura Cabinet."

Furthermore, this liberalist thought did not change during the period of World War II. Yasunosuke Hoshino recalled in a memorial that at the "Hayashi-kai," a group of volunteers who admired Hayashi, he would always abuse Hitler, saying, "I cannot die until I see Hitler's end," and "he did not compromise his principles as a liberalist."

In November Taisho 12, Hayashi became President, replacing Eikichi Kamada, who had resigned as President the previous year to become Minister of Education. However, according to Sei'ichiro Takahashi, there seemed to be internal dissatisfaction, and it was a somewhat unpleasant inauguration drama, with a cooling-off period intentionally created by briefly placing Ikuonoshin Kadono and Ichitaro Fukuzawa in between.

In his inauguration speech, Hayashi listed three points of Keio University's educational policy since Yukichi Fukuzawa: "independence of learning," "practice of learning," and a "free and steady academic style." Furthermore, in terms of practical matters, he spoke specifically about wanting to resolve issues such as the reorganization of Mita Hilltop Square, the relocation of the Commercial and Industrial School, the improvement of research laboratories, the addition of new university faculties, the expansion of the School of Medicine, and the recovery from earthquake damage. In fact, he took the step of issuing Keio University's first school bonds to recover from the damage suffered within Keio during the Great Kanto Earthquake, and he made great efforts to open a new campus in Hiyoshi, breaking the fixed idea that Keio University meant Mita.

However, the councilors at the time were active in expressing their opinions, so he had many worries, and he reportedly told Takahashi, "I felt truly painful being sandwiched between the two elders (Kamada and Kadono)." He stepped down from the position of President in Showa 8 (1933), and Takahashi notes that at this time too, there was pressure from "old seniors" who "got tired of him being too straightforward."

Finally, I would like to touch upon the character of Kiroku. First, as a teacher, he was extremely enthusiastic, researching and preparing until late at night for every lecture. Takahashi notes that although his lectures were very fast-paced, they were in a "masterful tone" and "truly interesting." On the other hand, he was so meticulous and read student research reports and exam answers so closely that "the students were practically surrendering and in awe of him" (Tsunetada Oikawa).

This meticulous nature seemingly did not change even after he became President. For example, he not only wrote most of the documents sent out from Keio University himself, but even for those written by administrative staff, he always added corrections, which reportedly made the staff in charge feel very small.

Also, Kogoro Yoshida, who later served as the head of Yochisha, wrote that after the President changed to Hayashi, "for every spring and autumn excursion, we had to submit the schedule to the President, and he would start meddling annoyingly, saying things like 'this is too far, make it somewhere closer'" ("History of Yochisha"). While this is an extreme description, it suggests a personality that paid attention to small details.

Even after resigning as President, Hayashi continued to give lectures on diplomatic history while serving as the chairman of Kojunsha and a director of the Toa Dobun-kai. After the war, he served as a Privy Councilor and the first president of Aichi University. During this time, he evacuated to Shikoku at the end of the war, where he completed "Recent European Diplomatic History," which Shinzo Koizumi praised as the "vigor of a scholar in old age." He passed away in Showa 25, three years after its publication, at the age of 78.

In Meiji 40, Kiroku wrote in the "Keio Gijuku Gakuho," "Looking at the personality of Yukichi Fukuzawa, the word 'liberal' is the most appropriate description," and "the most appropriate word to describe the academic style of the Juku is 'liberal'." He then stated, "It is precisely the vocation of our party to send the fresh and refreshing new air of liberalism toward our country's society, where the awakening from narrow-minded and bigoted thoughts has not yet finished." What would Hayashi, who cherished that mission throughout his life, think of today's society?