Juneki Takahashi

Close friends from student days are an irreplaceable asset. You can associate with them without regard for self-interest or profit. Even as one grows older and assumes a position of social responsibility, meeting an old friend instantly returns you to your younger self, allowing you to behave without reserve. This is even more true for those who have shared the same experiences. Yukichi Fukuzawa also had such close friends. One of them was Juneki Takahashi.

Takahashi was born in Miyazu, Tango, in 1832 (Tenpo 3), three years before Fukuzawa. Miyazu is known for Amanohashidate, one of the three most scenic views in Japan, but as the poem by Koshikibu no Naishi says, "the road to Ikuno is far," although it now belongs to Kyoto Prefecture, it is very far from the capital of Kyoto. Takahashi left his rural town facing the Sea of Japan for Osaka to study Ranpo (Western) medical sciences, and entered Koan Ogata's Tekijuku on August 6, 1854 (Kaei 7). Fukuzawa entered seven months later, but the two likely became very close as playmates after Fukuzawa became a boarder at Tekijuku and began living and eating there. In "Fukuo Jiden" (The Autobiography of Yukichi Fukuzawa, hereafter "Autobiography"), the scenes of students engaging in pranks are vividly depicted, as if Fukuzawa were reminiscing about his happy student days. Takahashi appears three times in these prank scenes.

The first instance. When officials came to inspect the theaters in Dotonbori, they would be treated with great arrogance and watch the plays for free before leaving. Takahashi, learning of this, imitated the officials and showed up at a theater, successfully receiving the treatment. Fukuzawa, who did not originally watch plays, was worried about Takahashi and warned him, "It will be serious if something goes wrong." Takahashi replied, "Oh, it's nothing, I have my own ways," and boldly repeated this until he finally ran into the real officials. There were no "ways" to be found, and the resulting uproar was somehow settled by asking for mediation, but it was an event that caused Fukuzawa "great worry for a time, rather than being funny."

The second instance. Among the Keio students was a man named Ryoan Tezuka (later Ryosen). Tezuka had a bad habit of hanging around Kita-shinchi, and Fukuzawa, who admonished him for this, obtained a written pledge from Tezuka that he would study from then on, and if he broke the promise, he could have his head shaved. After that, Tezuka began to study diligently, but then Fukuzawa, joined by Takahashi and Yuki Matsuoka of the Choshu Domain, decided it wasn't interesting enough and wrote a fake letter posing as Tezuka's favorite courtesan to call him out. It was Takahashi who deliberately misspelled the address as "Tetsukawa" in an Osaka accent, showing the elaborateness of the prank. Unaware that the conspirators were watching, Tezuka read the letter, became restless, and eventually disappeared from the Juku, only to find Fukuzawa waiting for him with scissors upon his return. Then, a mediator appeared (of course, a conspirator) saying "Now, now," and Tezuka ended up being forced to treat them to sake and chicken instead of having his head shaved. Incidentally, the manga artist Osamu Tezuka is a great-grandson of Ryoan.

The third instance. When Fukuzawa quit drinking, believing it was of no benefit to his studies, it was Takahashi who kindly recommended smoking, saying, "You must have some form of pleasure." Behind the scenes, there seems to have been a plot by the students to involve Fukuzawa, who had previously hated tobacco and criticized smokers, in the smokers' side. Fukuzawa, taken in by the smooth talk of Takahashi and other students who recommended tobacco so kindly, could not continue his abstinence from alcohol either, and eventually "ended up becoming a dual user of both alcohol and tobacco."

There are several other scenes where, although his name is not mentioned, Takahashi must have been beside Fukuzawa during his strange tales and failures.

It seems that many of the people Fukuzawa deepened his acquaintance with were, like himself, individuals whose "conduct was pure and innocent, with nothing to be ashamed of before heaven and earth," but the Takahashi who appears in the "Autobiography" seems like a mischievous boy who simply grew up. I imagine that while Takahashi was cheerful and playful, he was also dedicated to his studies and never neglected them. I speculate that this is where he and Fukuzawa got along so well.

Fukuzawa went to Edo and opened a Rangaku Juku in October 1858 (Ansei 5), but Takahashi seems to have arrived in Edo before that. At the time, Rangaku scholars in Edo felt the need for a vaccination center (a facility for smallpox vaccination) and submitted a petition to the Shogunate, while 83 Ranpo doctors signed a list of founders and collected 580 ryo in construction funds. Takahashi, along with Ryoan Tezuka, is listed among these founders. The Otamagaike Vaccination Center opened on May 7, Ansei 5, and later came under the jurisdiction of the Shogunate and was renamed the Institute of Western Medicine (later Koan Ogata became its head), becoming the predecessor of today's University of Tokyo School of Medicine.

Also, in the notes for the dictation of the "Autobiography," there is the following sentence: "Friend Takahashi Jun (sic) eki was in Edo before, often laughed at for blunders at tea houses" (The Collected Works of Yukichi Fukuzawa, Vol. 19). The story related to this sentence was not included in the "Autobiography." Since Fukuzawa was a poor student at Tekijuku and only used low-class restaurants, he had developed the habit of ordering by looking at the wooden tags common in such restaurants that listed the day's menu. There is a story that when he went to a restaurant in Edo, Fukuzawa inadvertently said, "Bring the tags," and the waitress replied, "We don't do that here," leaving him embarrassed (Mikiaki Ishikawa, "Biography of Yukichi Fukuzawa"). It is imagined that there were similar blunders.

When Fukuzawa moved to Shiba Shinsenza (now Hamamatsucho), Takahashi said, "I'll go near Fukuzawa too," and found a rented house in Shiba Gensuke-cho (now Higashi-Shinbashi) to open a medical clinic. The two also frequently visited the home of Kimura Settsu-no-kami, who lived in Shinsenza, together. One day, seeing Kimura's wife bake and serve waffles, an amused Fukuzawa borrowed the equipment the next day to try cooking them. Then, the eggs splattered and popped, hitting Takahashi who was peeking in from beside him. Kimura described their interaction: "When Takahashi started his usual complaining, the Master (Fukuzawa) said, 'Be quiet and watch; in exchange, I shall treat you to eel and rice.' Takahashi accepted the treat and left, saying his anger was somewhat soothed by this" ("Remembering Mr. Fukuzawa"). It is said the two joked and played around, making those around them laugh, so one can imagine how pleasant Fukuzawa was when he was with Takahashi. Kimura described the two as having "a friendship beyond compare" (a relationship that is intimate and extremely close).

Takahashi also frequented the Toki family of the Nakatsu Domain and gained the trust of the master, Tarohachi. It is said that for the marriage between Fukuzawa and Tarohachi's daughter, Kin, the rice merchant Shuzo Buzen-ya and his wife, who were purveyors to the domain, mainly acted as intermediaries, but Takahashi also stood between them and played a role as a bridge ("Biography of Yukichi Fukuzawa"). At Takahashi's marriage two years later on December 21, 1863 (Bunkyu 3), it is recorded in the "Kaki" (Family Record) diary of Sugiyama Yoshihisa, a Kofu Kinban Doshi and father of his wife Fudeko, that Kendo Ishii, a close friend of Fukuzawa since Tekijuku, attended as if he were a relative (Shigetomo Koda, "Extra Biography of Aizo Sugiura").

Takahashi also appears in the "Nitteiki" (Daily Record) of Shindayu Oowara, a Sendai Domain official with whom Fukuzawa was "very close." On September 17, Bunkyu 3, Fukuzawa visited Oowara, but after lunch, Oowara fell ill with a cold. Four days later, likely through Fukuzawa's introduction, he "requested an examination from Juneki Takahashi."

In May 1865 (Keio 1), Takahashi went to Kyoto on a mission as a precursor for the Miyazu Domain Lord Munehide Honjo (a member of the Shogun's Council of Elders), who was following the Shogun to Kyoto for the Choshu Expedition, and returned to Edo slightly ahead of Munehide. On June 18, Oowara visited Takahashi, and four days later on the 22nd, Takahashi visited Oowara together with Fukuzawa, and they drank sake together. However, Takahashi fell ill in July, and because he pushed himself to work before recovering, his fever and diarrhea worsened, and he began to talk in his sleep. He was examined by Ishii and Sosetsu Kumagawa, who had studied at the Institute of Western Medicine. Despite Fukuzawa's overnight nursing, Takahashi passed away before 10:00 PM on the night of August 15, even though "Ishii and Kumagawa had their prospects and were prepared" (Letter 24). Fukuzawa's grief was deep, and "his discouragement was just like losing a brother" ("Remembering Mr. Fukuzawa").

Worried about Takahashi's bereaved family, Fukuzawa immediately consulted with Ishii and Aizo Sugiura (also known as Yuzuru, who worked hard to establish the postal system), the older brother of Takahashi's wife Fudeko, the next morning. At that time, Takahashi's younger brother Kenzo (who seems to correspond to "Kanzo" in Fukuzawa's letters) and younger sister Aiko were in Edo, and Fudeko was pregnant. Fukuzawa and the others decided that Kenzo would return to Miyazu to establish a medical practice, the assets would be split between Aiko, who was also Ishii's fiancée, and the child's upbringing costs, and the house in Gensuke-cho and the pharmacy equipment would be entrusted to Kumagawa until the child grew up (Letter 24). Almost the same content is recorded in the "Kaki," and it was also arranged that "the widow may be free after childbirth" ("Biography of Aizo Sugiura"), meaning Fudeko could do as she pleased after giving birth.

However, a letter to Kumagawa dated October 19 of the same year states, "Even after Takahashi's death, it is truly outrageous..., the only unborn child also died..." (the squares indicate illegible text), showing Fukuzawa's disappointment: "I am at the height of disappointment" (Letter 26). Fudeko returned to the Sugiura surname, as noted in Aizo Sugiura's brief biography: "In February of the following year, younger sister Fudeko returned home" ("Biography of Aizo Sugiura").

The younger sister Aiko married Ishii, with Fukuzawa's house serving as her parental home (foster parents). For a while during the Meiji era, Ishii took in Mine, the daughter of Rangaku scholar Hoshu Katsuragawa, into his home. According to Mine, Fukuzawa frequently visited the Ishii residence, and she heard that "Mr. Ishii also helped correct parts of 'Sekai Kunizukushi' (All the Countries of the World) from the side. They seemed to be consulting and creating it together happily." Mine said she used to hum the song in the 7-5 syllable meter that goes "The world is wide, all nations are..." while carrying the Ishii couple's child on her back, even before it was sung by the public (Mine Imaizumi, "Dreams of Remnants").

When Ishii was transferred as the principal of Osaka Medical School and hospital director, Fukuzawa sent a letter to his cousin Senzan Fujimoto in Osaka, asking him to look after Ishii's wife and children (Letter 103). The relationship between the two families continued thereafter, and a letter from Fukuzawa to Ishii in Osaka (Letter 115) contains a thank-you for a letter sent from Aiko to Kin, and a message asking Kin to send her regards since she had not yet been able to write a reply. Furthermore, when Ishii died of illness in 1882 (Meiji 15), Fukuzawa took charge of everything, including the funeral and dealing with the bereaved family.

In writing this, the author visited Takahashi's hometown of Miyazu. However, no traces of Takahashi or materials introducing him as a local figure could be found in Miyazu. Kimura praised Takahashi as "a person well-versed in Western studies with a promising future." If Takahashi had lived a long life, what kind of person would he have become, and what kind of influence would he have had on Fukuzawa in the latter half of his life? Takahashi's early death is truly regrettable.