Masae Fukuzumi

Image: Collection of the Fukuzawa Memorial Center for Modern Japanese Studies

Today, Hakone is one of Japan's leading historic hot spring resorts, and due to its convenient transportation, it has become a famous destination visited by many tourists from both Japan and abroad.

In 2019, posters were displayed at Odakyu Line stations and other locations to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the opening of the Hakone Tozan Railway between Hakone-Yumoto and Gora. These posters read:

"Dear Professor Yukichi Fukuzawa, it has been 100 years since the railway began running through the mountains of Hakone."

"I plan to run rickshaws through the Hakone mountains, and in a few years, I intend to break through the mountains to build a railway."

These are the words of Yukichi Fukuzawa, who envisioned the future of Hakone during the Meiji era. (Omitted)"

This was written on the posters. Almost 100 years ago, on June 1, 1919 (Taisho 8), the mountain railway opened in Hakone. In Hakone Town, from the end of the Edo period through the Meiji Restoration, modernization in transportation, tourism, and culture—which continues to this day—began to progress. It was Masae Fukuzumi (1824–1892) who, receiving advice from Yukichi Fukuzawa, contributed greatly to this development.

Masae Fukuzumi was born on August 21, 1824 (Bunsei 7), in Kataoka Village, Osumi District, Sagami Province (now Hiratsuka City, Kanagawa Prefecture), as the fifth son of the village headman, Ichizaemon Osawa. His childhood name was Masakichi. In 1827 (Bunsei 10), he was adopted by Katsugoro Mori, the headman of Minamikaname Village, but later returned to his original home following the death of his adoptive parents. Subsequently, in 1830 (Tenpo 1), at the age of seven, he received teachings from the Confucian scholar Toin Chiga. Having experienced the "Great Tenpo Famine," one of the four major famines of the Edo period that lasted from 1833 to 1836 or 1839, Fukuzumi came to aspire to be a doctor who could help farmers in poverty.

However, his biological father advised him: "A first-rate doctor heals the nation, a second-rate doctor heals people, and a third-rate doctor heals diseases. Currently, there is a great doctor healing the nation. That is Master Ninomiya. Master Ninomiya is a first-rate doctor. Rather than becoming a doctor who heals people's illnesses, you should become a doctor who heals the nation's illnesses." He was thus urged to study "Hotoku," the economic philosophy spread by Sontoku Ninomiya as a doctor who heals the nation's illnesses.

In order to study under Sontoku, Fukuzumi went to Edo in 1842 (Tenpo 13), but was unable to achieve his goal at that time. In October 1845 (Koka 2), he finally entered the Ninomiya Juku. Even after Sontoku moved from the Sakuramachi Jinya to the Togo Jinya (both in present-day Moka City, Tochigi Prefecture), Fukuzumi lived with Sontoku, taking care of his master while receiving various teachings for about five years. He recorded these numerous teachings in a work titled "Nyozegamon-roku" (Records of What I Have Heard). Fukuzumi later compiled the "Ninomiya-o Yawa" (Evening Talks of Old Man Ninomiya) based on these records.

Part of what Sontoku taught Fukuzumi included keeping in mind to establish and maintain a "single-minded determination," to "be prudent in one's personal conduct" so as not to fall into degradation, and not to mistake the true essence of one's duties. These lessons learned during his life with Sontoku became the foundation that supported Fukuzumi's later activities.

In October 1850 (Kaei 3), Fukuzumi left the Ninomiya Juku and was adopted into the Fukuzumi family, which had operated a hot spring inn in Hakone-Yumoto for generations since the early Edo period. He married in December and succeeded to the name Kuzo X. Around this time, the Fukuzumi family needed to be rebuilt due to the effects of a fire that had spread to their property, and Fukuzumi first set about the restoration. His method involved practicing Sontoku's Hotoku teachings, such as "bundo" (living within one's means) and "suijo" (sharing surplus). As a result of his efforts to improve business operations, maintain "honesty" and "low prices," and not discriminate between the high-born and the lowly, the family business flourished, and Fukuzumi's reputation grew.

Due to this achievement, Fukuzumi was appointed as the headman of Yumoto Village at the age of 27. He worked diligently, keeping Sontoku's teachings in his heart, to restore and revitalize the devastated village. Additionally, Fukuzumi commissioned Hiroshige Ando (Utagawa), who stayed at the Fukuzumi Inn, to create ukiyo-e maps to promote not only the Fukuzumi Inn but also Hakone, such as "Views of the Seven Springs of Hakone," "Illustration of the Residence of Kuzo Fukuzumi in Hakone-Yumoto," and "Simplified Map of the Seven Springs Directions."

In 1865 (Keio 1), in recognition of his achievements in restoration, Fukuzumi was granted permission by the Odawara Domain to wear a short sword (wakizashi) and hakama, and to use a surname.

After the Restoration, Fukuzumi considered ways to achieve "national wealth" from the private sector level to adapt to this new era. He submitted petitions to open a school in the Odawara Domain to promote national learning. Meanwhile, as the Odawara Domain and Odawara Prefecture had strong ties with Fukuzawa regarding educational reform, his interest in Fukuzawa undoubtedly deepened naturally.

Fukuzawa contracted typhoid fever in 1870 (Meiji 3). There is a record that for his post-illness recuperation, he visited Yumoto and Tonosawa in Hakone for hot spring therapy on his way back from Atami between late September and October. This was his first stay in Hakone, during which he stayed at the Fukuzumi Inn in Yumoto.

Unlike today, where railways and roads are well-maintained, road conditions in Fukuzawa's time were inconvenient for traveling over the Hakone mountains, yet Fukuzawa visited Hakone frequently thereafter. His regular lodgings were the Fukuzumi Inn in Yumoto and the Tonosawa Fukuzumi, which was a branch house. Looking at the records, his stays were long, ranging from several days to several weeks, perhaps because they also served as rest for himself and his family. Incidentally, it is said that Fukuzawa preferred the Tonosawa hot springs, which were "warm and light in feel" ("Shiori of the Seven Springs"), over the Yumoto springs, which were "cold and tasteless."

It is said that every time Fukuzawa stayed at the Fukuzumi Inn, he looked forward to talking with Fukuzumi. Letters from Fukuzawa to Fukuzumi remain; the first is from 1873 (Meiji 6), in which Fukuzawa notes that while he had planned to visit Fukuzumi in Yumoto while staying in Tonosawa, he was unable to do so due to urgent business in Tokyo and expressed his regret, also mentioning that he was sending five copies of "An Encouragement of Learning" to Fukuzumi.

What kind of inspiration did the meeting with Fukuzawa provide for Masae Fukuzumi? Fukuzumi, who sympathized with and deepened his awe for Fukuzawa (who was about twelve years his junior), and Fukuzawa, who respected Fukuzumi's spirit and practical ability in restoring Yumoto Village. Fukuzumi, based on Hotoku thought, and Fukuzawa, who had early on aspired to Western studies, together considered the state of the region in the new era, and their mutual affinity led to the realization of Hakone's modernization.

Fukuzumi handed over the family headship to his eldest son in 1871 (Meiji 4), and from then on, Kuzo Fukuzumi X changed his name to Masae Fukuzumi. In 1872 (Meiji 5), Japan's first steam locomotive began running between Shimbashi and Yokohama. In March of the following year, Fukuzawa, believing that the development of transportation infrastructure connecting the seven springs of Hakone (Yumoto, Tonosawa, Dogashima, Miyanoshita, Sokokura, Kiga, and Ashinoyu) was an urgent necessity for regional development and modernization, wrote a proposal titled "Consultation on Hakone Road Construction" at Tonosawa Fukuzumi (now Fukuzumiro) and submitted it to the Ashigara Shimbun. The proposal published in the 6th issue of the Ashigara Shimbun was as follows:

"In the path of human life, it is most important to set aside immediate greed and plan for future profits. If a new road is built from Yumoto in Hakone to Tonosawa, rounding the foot of the mountains to the southeast, it will make travel convenient and naturally bring prosperity to the land, and Tonosawa and Yumoto alike will receive the same blessings. Yet the people of the bathhouses, in their ignorance, have deep immediate greed; they have left the temporary bridge on the lower path as it was after being washed away by last year's flood, forcing travelers to go through the mountain passes. This is not only a hardship for travelers but ultimately a loss for all the bathhouses. When I asked how much it would cost to build the new road, I was told it would not exceed one hundred ryo. I hear that the temporary bridge on the lower path is built two or three times every year, and each time it costs more than ten ryo. Ten ryo three times is thirty ryo. They grudgingly pay thirty ryo every year but do not know to pay one hundred ryo at once; I have no words for such foolishness. (Omitted) While Yukichi Fukuzawa is staying in Tonosawa this time, if the new road at the foot of the mountain is built within twenty days, I shall donate ten ryo. What say the bathhouse association?"

Fukuzawa posted the following text the next day as well, which was published alongside the first in the same issue.

"Do not worry about having no friends in the world. When I began the consultation of the previous text yesterday, I met with Mr. Tomita from Ushigome, Tokyo today. When I showed him this text, he finished reading it and simply deemed it good; without spending a moment's thought, he immediately produced ten ryo and donated it for the road construction. (Omitted) Not only for this road between Yumoto and Tonosawa, but I also intend to run rickshaws through the Hakone mountains, and in a few years, I intend to break through the mountains to build a railway. I leave this volume with the bathhouse association of Tonosawa."

Triggered by this first article, which could be called provocative, and the second article calling for support for donations, the development of carriage roads by the people of Hakone became active.

In the following year, 1874 (Meiji 7), in a letter addressed to Tadatoshi Kashiwagi, the Governor of Ashigara Prefecture who was enlightened and trusted by Fukuzawa, he wrote, "I am consulting with the master of the inn, Kuzo of Yumoto (referring to Masae Fukuzumi), and talking about road construction." This shows that he had selected Fukuzumi as the driving force for road excavation and was seeking Kashiwagi's assistance for that purpose.

翌明治7年には、開明的で福澤が信頼していた足柄県令柏木忠俊に宛てた書状の中で、「宿の主人湯本の九蔵（福住正兄のこと）へも相談、道普請の話いたし居候」とあり、道路開鑿の推進役として福住に白羽の矢を立てていたことも、柏木にその助力を求めている様子もうかがえる。

First, as the first step in Hakone's carriage road development, in July 1875 (Meiji 8), road excavation work began between Odawara and Yamazaki in Yumoto Village to allow horse-drawn carriages and rickshaws to pass, and it opened in September. In February of the following year, it was extended to Yumoto, allowing rickshaws to enter, and in 1882 (Meiji 15), horse-drawn carriage services also began. This road was Japan's first toll road where road fees were collected.

In 1879 (Meiji 12), Fukuzumi completed the three-story "Kinsen-ro" and "Bansui-ro," which fused Western and Japanese architecture. Before this construction, Fukuzumi traveled to the Tokyo and Yokohama areas accompanied by carpenters. They likely inspected pseudo-Western style architecture by master carpenters and Western architecture designed by foreign engineers.

In 1879, shortly after these two buildings were completed, a British man named Reed reportedly stayed at the Fukuzumi Inn, but Fukuzumi generally seemed reluctant to accept foreign tourists. In this regard, his management policy differed from that of Sennosuke Yamaguchi of the Fujiya Hotel, which had opened in Miyanoshita Onsen the previous year.

Furthermore, in July 1887 (Meiji 20), seven volunteers including Fukuzumi submitted a petition to Kanagawa Prefecture for the construction of a horse-drawn tramway (between Kozu and Yumoto), which opened in October of the following year. A horse-drawn tramway is a railway where horses pull carriages along tracks laid with rails.

Fukuzumi ended his life at the age of 69 on May 20, 1892 (Meiji 25). Even after Fukuzumi's death, Fukuzawa visited Hakone many times with his family and students, staying at the Fukuzumi Inn. One wonders with what feelings Fukuzawa viewed the landscape of Hakone as it modernized and changed.

Neither lived to see the opening of the Hakone Tozan Railway, but looking back at their lifetime achievements, it can be said that the origin of today's Hakone Town—visited by many people and full of vitality—lies in the great contributions of Masae Fukuzumi and the interaction between Fukuzumi and Fukuzawa.

The Fukuzumi Inn continues to operate today as Bansuiro Fukuzumi, and in 2002 (Heisei 14), its old building became the first operating inn to be designated as a National Important Cultural Property.

福住旅館は現在も萬翠樓福住として営業を続けており、平成14（2002）年にその旧館は、営業する旅館として初めて国の重要文化財となった。