[Special Feature: Keio Year 4—150 Years Since the Naming of the Gijuku] Keio Year 4 as Sung in the Juku-ka

This year marks the 150th anniversary of the Meiji era, and interest in the first year of Meiji (1868) is growing. In the history of Keio University, 1868 was also the significant year of Keio 4. Two episodes from Keio 4 are sung in the first and second stanzas of the Juku-ka.

In contrast to the old Juku-ka, which began with "Ten ni afururu bunmei no," a proposal for a new Juku-ka arose in 1926 (Taisho 15). Since then, prize competitions for students and requests to Hiroshi Yosano and Shinobu Orikuchi were made, but none yielded satisfactory lyrics. Consequently, in 1936 (Showa 11), Masafumi Tomita was newly commissioned, partly due to the trust of Shinzo Koizumi, who had served as President since 1933 (Showa 8). Tomita had been engaged in compiling the four-volume "Biography of Yukichi Fukuzawa" (1932) and the seven-volume "Continued Collected Works of Fukuzawa" (1933–34) under Motoaki Ishikawa. Upon completion, he became a staff member of the Gijuku, serving as the editor for the Mita-hyoron.

The lyrics for the Juku-ka were completed in the fall of 1940 (Showa 15) and were premiered by the Wagner Society at the celebration of Yukichi Fukuzawa's birthday on January 10 the following year. Additionally, the lyrics were included in the February issue of the Mita-hyoron, accompanied by a brief explanation by Tomita titled "Regarding the Juku-ka." Based on this, I have researched the two historical anecdotes Tomita had in mind when writing the lyrics, which I would like to introduce.

Behold

Our flag ringing in the wind

Fluttering in the storm

Of the dawn where new tides surge

A loud defense of culture

The pride of having stood firm

Let us raise it, this flag

Strongly and bravely let us raise it

Ah, our Gijuku

Keio, Keio, Keio

In Keio 4, the country was in chaos due to the momentum of the Sonno Joi movement and the Boshin War. Even as academic schools, both public and private, were closing and scholars were disappearing, Keio University continued its daily classes. It is famous that on May 15, the day of the Battle of Shogitai in Ueno, Yukichi Fukuzawa lectured on Wayland's book on economics while listening to the sound of cannon fire. In his explanation of the first stanza, Tomita noted that at that time, "it was truly only our Keio University that maintained the lifeblood of our country's learning and protected the banner of Japanese civilization." He wrote that he expressed the fact that "Yukichi Fukuzawa encouraged the 18 young students remaining at the school, saying that as long as this school exists, Japan's literary fortune has not yet fallen to the ground, and urged them to strive—a story to be proud of in the history of our country's academic education." The episode of Yukichi Fukuzawa's encouragement at that time was later recounted by the teacher himself in the "Fukuo Jiden" under the heading "Only Keio University in All of Japan" as follows.

"Looking back at society, the Tokugawa schools had naturally collapsed, and even their teachers' whereabouts were unknown. Furthermore, the Restoration government was in no position to worry about schools. In all of Japan, the only place where people were actually reading books was Keio University, and I once spoke to the members of the school at that time.

"'Long ago, during the Napoleonic Wars, the fate of the Netherlands was severed; not to mention the homeland, even the Indian regions were all taken, and there was no place left to raise the national flag. However, one single spot in the world remained. That was Dejima in Nagasaki, Japan. Dejima had been a residence for the Dutch for years, and the influence of the European wars did not reach Japan. The national flag of Dejima always fluttered atop a hundred-foot pole, and the Dutch still boast that the Kingdom of the Netherlands never perished. Looking at it this way, for Western learning in Japan, this Keio University is just like the Dutch Dejima. No matter what turmoil or rebellion occurs in the world, the lifeblood of Western learning has never been extinguished. Keio University has not closed for a single day. As long as this school exists, Great Japan is a civilized nation of the world. Do not worry about the world,' I said, encouraging the many young men."

In other words, the "flag" in "Behold our flag ringing in the wind" does not simply refer to the blue-red-blue Keio School Flag, but is sung with the spirit of that time recounted in the autobiography superimposed upon it.

Incidentally, this event took place at the school in Shiba Shinsenza. It was just after the school had moved from Tsukiji Teppozu.

Ten years earlier, in 1858 (Ansei 5), when Yukichi Fukuzawa was summoned from Tekijuku in Osaka by order of his domain and opened a Dutch studies school in the Nakatsu Domain middle residence in Tsukiji Teppozu, he had a temporary feeling that it would only be for "three or four years." However, as he became familiar with the situation in the West, he came to strongly recognize the importance of education based on Western learning for the civilization and independence of Japan. Gradually, the school began to take shape.

Under such circumstances, the Tsukiji Teppozu area was designated as a foreign settlement, and the school had to move. It was on December 25, Keio 3—the day the Satsuma Domain residence was burned down—that approximately 400 tsubo of land was purchased in Shiba Shinsenza. The school building was constructed and the move completed in April, Keio 4. Right in the middle of the Edo disturbances, while being viewed as eccentric by those around him, he proceeded with the relocation of the school with composure.

When the relocation was completed, he wrote the "Keio Gijuku no Ki (Notes on Keio Gijuku)," which could be called the naming document and declaration of independence for Keio University. There, too, he detailed the lineage of Western learning and showed a strong sense of mission as one who inherits that lineage. This is also an important background for the lyrics of the first stanza.

Yukichi Fukuzawa cherished the anecdote of protecting the lifeblood of Western learning, sung in the first stanza of the Juku-ka, throughout his life and emphasized it at every milestone of Keio University. The same is true of his final speech, in which he spoke of "The Mission of Keio University," famous for the words "source of honorable character" and "a paragon of intellect and morals for the entire nation." In it, he spoke as follows.

"In a world of total darkness, we alone light the torch of civilization to show the way, and simply move forward despite a hundred hardships. Before and after the military disturbances, not to mention the Western schools of the old Shogunate, other private schools and home schools quickly vanished without a trace, and the educational affairs of the new government could not easily be established. If one speaks of Western learning, there is only one place in all of Japan: Keio University, namely the Shinsenza school in Tokyo."

He then introduced the aforementioned episode of the Dutch flag in Nagasaki Dejima and concluded as follows.

"Let like-minded people tell these stories and say that our Keio University is no different from Dejima, which flew the Dutch flag, and is the one that maintains the academic lifeblood of Japan."

Go forth

On this boundless path

No matter how far you seek

The torch held in our hands

The light of wisdom clearly

Illuminates the way ahead correctly

Let us go forth on this path

Far and distantly let us go forth

Ah, our Gijuku

Keio, Keio, Keio

The opening part comes from the phrase "Iyoiyo kiwamete iyoiyo toshi" (The more one seeks, the further it becomes), which Yukichi Fukuzawa often wrote in calligraphy. Also, the part "The torch held in our hands" corresponds to the line from the aforementioned speech on "The Mission of Keio University": "In a world of total darkness, we alone light the torch of civilization to show the way, and simply move forward despite a hundred hardships."

In other words, it sings that although the path of learning is further and more distant the more one pursues it, the direction to proceed will continue to be shown without error, no matter how dark the era, and let us continue to walk calmly toward that goal.

So, what is that path to be taken? What Tomita had in mind was the anecdote of Jinzaburo Obata. Tomita wrote, "The spirit of research and devotion to the country that the Keio Gijuku Shachu has held firmly since the founding of the school points the way clearly across the wilderness of arts and sciences that we are opening up. The second stanza has this meaning." Looking only at the words "devotion to the country," one must be careful not to misunderstand their meaning given the times. When Tomita wrote of the "spirit of research and devotion to the country," he was always telling the story of Jinzaburo, and it comes from the words Yukichi Fukuzawa used when speaking of that matter.

Jinzaburo Obata was the younger brother of Tokujiro, who later became a trusted partner to Yukichi Fukuzawa. In the early days of the Gijuku, he was not only excellent in practical matters and played a major role in the relocation from Shiba Shinsenza to Mita, but also contributed greatly to reforming the school's manners, which until then had been disorganized and undisciplined. His talent was highly anticipated, and he went to study in the United States in 1871, but he died in a hospital in Philadelphia in January 1873. He was a person whose death Yukichi Fukuzawa continued to lament and regret throughout his life.

What was this anecdote of Jinzaburo? I would like to look at it through "The Words of a Deceased Member Still Live in Spirit," which Yukichi Fukuzawa wrote in the Jiji Shinpo. I will introduce the meaning in modern language.

In the midst of the Boshin War, when the government army was attacking from the west and the city of Edo was about to be engulfed in war the next day, the citizens of Edo were in a great panic trying to ensure their own safety. Among Western scholars, some fled to the foreign settlement in Yokohama, believing that the government army would surely not want to cause trouble with foreigners, and some even temporarily took Western citizenship. Others who had connections tried to obtain certificates stating they were employees of foreign legations to help protect themselves. Someone even kindly offered to arrange an employment certificate from the American legation for the school.

At that time, Jinzaburo ran out into the hall and spoke to everyone as follows. That is, even if the Eastern and Western armies fight, it is ultimately a war within Japan, a civil war. Although we are engaged in learning and have nothing to do with this war, we must not forget the distinction between domestic and foreign. The purpose of our founding this Gijuku and studying hard together is to achieve personal independence and extend that principle to the entire nation of Japan. To forget this great cause and try to escape under the protection of foreigners is to mistake our purpose and sever the lifeblood of our Gijuku.

The expression of Jinzaburo as he spoke was said to be: "He said such seals should be thrown into the fire immediately, his voice was solemn and resolute. Those who heard him were awestruck and did not utter another word." Because of Jinzaburo's firm attitude, the people of the school not only refused the offer but also regained their composure and devoted themselves to their studies. It is said that the spirit of the Shachu became even more certain and never wavered thereafter.

Yukichi Fukuzawa spoke in this way and wrote, "Devotion to the country is the spirit of our Shachu." In his later years, in the "Foreword to the Collected Works of Fukuzawa," where he looked back on his own writing activities, he specifically introduced this anecdote before explaining his works, writing, "The words of Jinzaburo Obata are a model for civilized and independent men, and they are passed down in the school forever, with no one forgetting them."

Tomita mentions this anecdote of Jinzaburo in "The Life of Yukichi Fukuzawa," written around the same time as the Juku-ka, and continues by introducing the following passage: "Let us glimpse the teacher's state of mind at that time by quoting a passage from his autobiography on the left."

"My feelings at that time were truly lonely, and I have never spoken of it to anyone, but I will confess and repent now. Seeing the reckless situation around the time of the Restoration, I thought it would be difficult for the country to be independent in this state. One day in the future, we might suffer some insult from foreigners; however, looking at the east, west, south, and north of the entire country today, there is no one to talk to."

"Yet, I am Japanese; I cannot remain idle. Politics aside, I will leave that to its course, and I myself will teach the Western learning I have slightly mastered to the younger generation, and strive to write and translate as long as my patience lasts, in the hope that by some stroke of luck I might lead these people to civilization—this was the solitary stance I took with little support."

Considering that Obata's anecdote occurred in such a situation, the "spirit of research and devotion to the country" can be thought of as the determination to persistently pursue the learning one believes is important for the true future of this country, without catering to the trends of the times or behaving in a way that loses the pride of independence. It can also be said to connect to the "spirit of independence" in "Gakumon no susume (An Encouragement of Learning)," which states, "When the individual is independent, the nation is independent," and "Those who lack the spirit of independence do not care deeply for their country."

The third stanza of the Juku-ka sings "Shunju fukame yuruginaki," meaning that even as the years pass, the spirit of the Gijuku does not waver in the slightest. What kind of era was 1940 (Showa 15), the year the Juku-ka was created?

At that time, Keio University was being subjected to various false accusations by the military and its associates as a school of Yukichi Fukuzawa, who introduced Western civilization, and as a school of liberalism. Washichi Konno, a staff member of the Gijuku, wrote of that time: "From out of nowhere, attacks on Fukuzawa and theories for the eradication of Fukuzawa's thought were powerfully disseminated. It was not in newspapers or magazines, but rumors bred rumors, and for Keio University graduates, it was something they couldn't help but worry about... it was a situation where they felt it affecting their daily lives."

Although the Gijuku was placed in such a difficult position, it did not lose its resolute stance. For example, when the Thought Bureau of the Ministry of Education demanded the punishment of teachers for ideological reasons, President Koizumi stubbornly refused the Ministry's demands until the end. Tomita was responsible for the negotiations with the Ministry of Education and later recalled, "(Koizumi) Sensei was truly strong at such times. He often said things like, 'I won't let some official from the Ministry of Education tell me what to do.'" Furthermore, because he continued to open the library even to professors who had been driven out of other universities due to thought problems, it is said that plainclothes police officers trying to monitor the situation would sometimes hide behind the ancient cedar trees next to the library.

Knowing the meaning of the lyrics and further understanding the atmosphere of the times, the Juku-ka feels like a song with a hidden spirit of resistance at its core. When the social conditions of Keio 4 described in the explanation of the first and second stanzas are reread by replacing them with the wartime situation, one cannot help but feel deep emotion at that courage.

However, the Juku-ka does not shout the spirit of resistance loudly; combined with Kiyoshi Nobutoki's composition, it is aloof from the trends of the times, and its characteristic is that it is never trivialized into mere resistance to the current situation. It is truly "Far and distantly let us go forth" and "Highly and newly let us live." This is likely because the two anecdotes of Keio 4 sung in the Juku-ka were things that Tomita consistently cherished even in the peaceful eras before and after the war, and because Tomita worked on the lyrics with the awareness that they would be sung for a long time in the future.

Furthermore, the Juku-ka was born only because of Shinzo Koizumi's resolute stance and trust in Tomita, Tomita's accumulation of sincere and precise research on Yukichi Fukuzawa, and the Keio University-style writing style polished within that. In the postscript when Koizumi presented Tomita with a mounted letter from Yukichi Fukuzawa to his father Nobukichi Koizumi in gratitude for Tomita's daily hard work, Koizumi wrote:

"Mr. Tomita previously assisted Mr. Motoaki Ishikawa in writing the biography of Yukichi Fukuzawa, and later entered the Keio University Administrative Office to take charge of the Gijuku's writing. That his writing contains a fierce spirit that moves people within its clear and simple words is surely what our school's writers since Yukichi Fukuzawa have valued most."

In his explanation of the third stanza, Tomita wrote, "Our hearts, which protect this stronghold of learning that has established an unwavering foundation, are filled with boundless pride, but those who hold this pride must also bear the responsibilities that go with it." On the occasion of the 150th anniversary of the naming of Keio University, I would like to reconsider the meaning of the fact that two anecdotes from Keio 4 are sung in the Juku-ka, and that it was created aloof from the trends of the times, without catering to them, in a difficult era when Yukichi Fukuzawa and the Gijuku were falsely accused as traitors. When singing with these things in mind, I feel a different weight in the passage of the third stanza: 'The pen we hold, the glory of the emblem on our brow, let us spread it to the world.'

*Affiliations and titles are as of the time of publication of this magazine.