Fukuzawa Yukichi — The Enlightenment Thinker Who Urged Japan to Learn
Fukuzawa Yukichi moved his age not with the sword but with words and learning. As an enlightenment thinker who carried Western knowledge to a wide public, he left a deep mark on modern Japan.
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Study at the Tekijuku
Fukuzawa Yukichi was born at the very end of 1834 (early 1835 by the Western calendar) at the Nakatsu domain's warehouse residence in Osaka, the son of a domain samurai. Drawn young to Dutch learning, he studied under Ogata Kōan at the Tekijuku in Osaka.
The Dutch language and Western knowledge he gained there were his starting point. When he found that Dutch was of little use at the newly opened ports, Fukuzawa shifted his energies to English — a flexibility in rethinking what to learn that marked his whole life.
Seeing the West
Fukuzawa seized chances to travel to Europe and the United States as part of shogunal missions. His experiences abroad — including a voyage to America in the same period as Katsu Kaishū — deepened his thought.
Institutions, education, the lives of ordinary people: Fukuzawa sought to understand Western civilization not just on the surface but in its workings and ideas.
Founding Keiō Gijuku
On his return, Fukuzawa opened a school to teach Western learning — the future Keiō Gijuku. Setting aside status and prizing practical knowledge, he educated many young people.
To make learning the property not of a privileged few but of a broad public — his vision anticipated the shape of modern education.
An Encouragement of Learning
In the Meiji era, Fukuzawa preached the importance of study through works such as An Encouragement of Learning (Gakumon no Susume).
Written in plain language, his arguments were widely read and gave momentum to the spirit of civilization and enlightenment. That independent individuals raising themselves through learning would enrich the nation — Fukuzawa's enlightenment shaped the spirit of a new age.
From the age of the sword to the age of knowledge: Fukuzawa Yukichi was a figure who embodied that turn.
The learning that underpinned Japan's enlightenment is explored in Bakumatsu Culture; the people, in Bakumatsu Figures.
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