An Encouragement of Learning

Yukichi Fukuzawa, David Dilworth

• Publisher: Columbia University Press
• Year: 2013
• ISBN:
  9780231536615
• Topic: History
• Subtopic: Japanese History
• Index: History

The intellectual and social theorist Yukichi Fukuzawa wrote An Encouragement of Learning (1872–1876) as a series of pamphlets while completing his critical masterpiece, An Outline of a Theory of Civilization (1875). These closely linked texts illustrate the core tenets of his philosophical outlook: freedom and equality as inherent to human nature, independence as the goal of any individual and nation, and the transformation of the Japanese mind as key to advancing in a rapidly evolving political and cultural world.

In these essays, Fukuzawa advocated for the adoption of Western modes of education to help the Japanese people build a modern nation. He also believed that human beings' treatment of one another extended to and was reflected in their government's behavior, echoing the work of John Locke, Thomas Jefferson, and other Western thinkers in a classically structured Eastern text. This volume translates the full text into English and includes a chronology of Japanese history as it relates to Fukuzawa and his work. An introduction provides additional background on the life and influence of this profound thinker, and a selection of representative writings and suggestions for further reading fully introduce readers to the rare brilliance of his thought.

Section

ONE

HEAVEN, it is said, does not create one person above or below another. This signifies that when we are born from Heaven we all are equal and there is no innate distinction between high and low. It means that we humans, who are the highest of all creation, can use the myriad things of the world to satisfy our daily needs through the labors of our own bodies and minds and, as long as we do not infringe upon the rights of others, may pass our days in happiness freely and independently. Nevertheless, as we broadly survey the human scene, there are the wise and the stupid, the rich and poor, the noble and lowly, whose conditions seem to differ as greatly as the clouds and the mud. Why is this? The reason is clear. In the Jitsugo-kyō^† we read that if a man does not learn he will remain ignorant, and such an ignorant man is stupid. Therefore the question of the difference between wise and stupid is traceable to the degree of learning.

Again, there are difficult and easy professions in society. The person who performs difficult work is regarded as a man of high station whereas one who performs easy work is called a person of low station. Because work involving intellectual effort is considered more difficult than work done through one’s own physical strength, such persons as doctors, scholars, government officials, merchants who manage large businesses, or farmers who employ many hands, are considered nobler and of higher station. Being such, their households naturally prosper, so that they seem to tower above and out of reach of the lower levels of society. But when we inquire into the reason for this, we find that these differences are entirely the result of whether they have or have not acquired the powers which learning brings. It is not because of some decree of Heaven. As the proverb says: Heaven does not give riches and dignity to the person himself, but to his labors. And so, as I said above, there are no innate status distinctions separating the noble and base, the rich and the poor. It is only the person who has studied diligently so as to have acquired a deep knowledge of things who becomes noble and rich, while his opposite becomes base and poor.

In essence, learning does not consist in such impractical pursuits as study of obscure Chinese characters, reading ancient texts which are difficult to make out, or enjoying and writing poetry. These kinds of learning may be useful diversions, but they should not be regarded as highly as the Confucian and Japanese Learning scholars have esteemed them since ancient times. Among the Confucian Learning scholars, those who have been skilled in practical matters have been few indeed. Rare also has been the chōnin (townsfolk) who, if he was well versed in poetry, was also successful in business. Consequently we still observe that thoughtful townsfolk and peasants, when they see their own children concentrating on books, fear as good parents that they will eventually bring the family fortune to ruin. This is not without reason. And it proves that such forms of learning are ultimately without practical value and will not serve daily needs.

Such impractical studies should be relegated to a secondary position. The object of one’s primary efforts should be a practical learning that is closer to ordinary human needs. For example, a person should learn the 47-letter kana syllabary, methods of letter writing and of accounting, the practice of the abacus, the way to handle weights and measures, and the like. And there is much additional knowledge to be acquired. Geography is the guide to the climates not only of Japan, but of the many countries of the world. Physics is the science which investigates the properties and functions of the myriad things of the universe. History books chronicle in detail the conditions of the countries of the past and present. Economics explains the financial management of self, family, and the state. Ethics expounds the natural principles of personal moral cultivation and of social intercourse. For the purpose of studying each of these areas, a person should investigate translations of Western books. In many cases he can use kana. But a lad who is young and talented in letters should be taught to read in the Western languages. By grasping the practical matters of each science, which vary in subject matter and content, he can search for the truth of things and make them serve his present purposes.

The above-mentioned subjects are ones common to mankind, matters which everyone should have an interest in, irrespective of rank or position. After acquiring learning in these areas, individuals can go on to do their duties or manage their family businesses, with independence redounding to the individuals, families, and the nation alike.

But in the pursuit of learning it is necessary that each person knows his capacity. We are born unrestricted and unbounded, and full-fledged men and women are free to act as they wish. Nevertheless, many will become selfish and fall into dissipation if they assert only their own freedom and do not know their place. “Place” or capacity means to achieve one’s own personal freedom without infringing upon that of others, based on natural principle and in harmony with human feeling. The borderline between freedom and selfishness lies at the point where one does or does not infringe upon the freedom of others. For example, as far as a person spends his own money, it appears as if he can indulge in pleasures and dissipation to his heart’s content. But this is hardly true: his dissipation becomes an example to others. In the long run, it will harm public morals and become an obstacle to public education. Therefore, even though such a dissolute person spends his own money, his offense is still reprehensible.

Again, freedom and independence refer not only to the private self, but to the nation as well. Japan is an island country separated eastward from the Asian continent. From ancient times it has not had relations with foreign countries. It has relied on its own products and has been self-sufficient. But foreign trade began after the coming of the Americans in the 1850s, creating the situation which has continued up to the present. Even after the opening of the ports there have been various debates. Some factions made a great deal of noise about “national seclusion” (sakoku) and “expulsion of the foreigners” (jōi). But their views were short-sighted. They were narrow-minded like the proverbial frog at the bottom of the well, and their arguments were not worth listening to. Japan and the nations of the West are peoples who live between the same heaven and earth, feel the warmth of the same sun, look up at the same moon, share the same oceans and air, and possess the same human feelings. Therefore, nations which have should share with those which have not. We should mutually teach and learn from each other, without shame or pride. We should promote each other’s interests and pray for each other’s happiness. We should associate with one another following the laws of Heaven and humanity. Such an attitude, based on reason, implies acknowledging one’s guilt even before the black slaves of Africa; but it also means standing on principle without fear of the warships of England and America. It further implies that if this nation is disgraced, every Japanese citizen, to the last man, must sacrifice his life to prevent the decline of her prestige and glory. National independence entails all of these things.

By contrast, nations such as China has behaved as if there were no other countries in the world but their own. Whenever they see foreigners, they call them barbarians, and revile and scorn them as animals. Without calculating the power of their own country, they have recklessly attempted to banish the foreigners, only to be rebuked by the foreigners in return. Such a situation can be said to have come about because they did not truly understand the “place” of a single nation. If their case be compared to that of an individual person, they have been like someone who has fallen into selfish and dissolute habits because he has not attained natural freedom.

In our own case, since the Meiji Restoration the ways of the Japanese government have been greatly improved. In foreign affairs, we have regular relations with foreign nations in accord with international law. Internally, the government has promulgated the independence of the people, and has already allowed the use of family names and horse riding to the commoners. These changes are among the most commendable since the founding of the nation. It must be said that here the basis of social equality between the four former classes—samurai, farmers, artisans, and merchants—has finally been established. From the present day forward, there will be no such thing as hereditary class rank among the Japanese people. A man will have rank only by dint of his talents, virtues, and accomplishments.

As a case in point, while it is natural that we show deference to a government official, this is not because of the dignity of that person’s status. He is accorded that respect only because he performs that important role through his talent and virtues, and because he deals with weighty laws for the sake of the people. It is the laws which have dignity, not the man. Everyone knows about the notorious processions of the shogun’s tea vessels along the Tōkaidō^† during the period of the Tokugawa shogunate; not only the tea vessels, even the shogun’s hunting hawks had greater dignity than men. Travelers along the highway had to get off the road at the coming of the shogun’s horses. Everything to which the shogun’s use was attached, down to the stones and tiles, was invested with awe and dignity. While the people hated these things in their hearts since time immemorial, they naturally perpetuated these practices. Both high and low observed these terrible customs. In short, this was not because of the dignity of the laws or the intrinsic value of those things. It was because the government used craven methods to swell their prestige, and thereby to make men cower, and to prevent their freedom. They were false and vainglorious practices. Today such wretched institutions and customs have all been abolished throughout Japan. Therefore people should be relieved and if ever they harbor any feeling of injustice against the government, they will not have to swallow their resentment and hate the government in silence. They can seek out the office or authorities concerned, quietly lodge their complaints, and discuss them openly. If their case is in accord with natural principle and human feeling, they should not hesitate to fight for it even at the risk of their lives. These are now the “responsibility” of the citizens of the nation.

As indicated above, the principle of Heaven grants freedom from bondage to each individual person, and each individual country is free from bondage as well. Consequently, if there is some threat which might infringe upon a country’s freedom, that country should not hesitate to take up arms against all the countries of the world. Analogously, if there is someone infringing upon another person’s individual freedom, the threatened party should not fear even the officials of the government. Now that in these times the basis of the equality of all classes of society has been established, each and every citizen can enjoy peace and do his own work to his own liking in accord with natural principle. On the other hand, since every person has his own individual “place,” each person must also have the virtues and talents appropriate to it. It is necessary to know the principles of things in order to possess requisite talents and virtues. And it is necessary to study in order to know the principles of things. This, in short, is the reason for the urgency I have placed upon learning.

Surveying the developments of recent times, we see that the peasants, artisans, and merchants have risen in dignity a hundred times over their former social statuses, gradually reaching the point of standing on equal footing with the ex-samurai. Today even employment in government service is open to men of character and talent among the formerly nonsamurai groups. Therefore they must be aware of their own personal dignity and place a high value on it, not acting in a base manner. But again, there are no individuals more pitiable and despicable than the ignorant and illiterate. The height of ignorance is to be shameless. When such people, through their own ignorance, have fallen into poverty and are hard pressed by hunger and cold, they recklessly hate the rich around them instead of blaming their own stupidity. In the extreme, they form cliques and mount rebellion and insurrection to press their demands. Such solutions can be said to be shameless as well as law-defying. If people who relied on the laws of the realm to preserve their own security and to conduct their own businesses were to follow only those laws which suited their purposes while breaking those which did not accord with their selfish ends, would not the former and latter practices be contradictory? In addition, there are cases of people secure in fortune and from respectable families who know how to amass wealth, but do not know how to educate properly their own children. Since their young have not been properly educated, it is no wonder that they are ignorant. They gradually sink into idleness and dissipation, and there are not a few who in short order ruin the family estate of their ancestors.

The method of rational persuasion is useless to control such stupid people. The government is forced to use power to intimidate them. It is because of this that a Western proverb says that there must be a harsh government over stupid people. It is not that the government is harsh; the stupid people have invited this misfortune upon themselves. Conversely, it is reasonable that there should be good government over good people. Therefore in Japan, too, we will have this kind of government if the people are this way. If the morality of the people sinks below its present level and ignorance and illiteracy increase, then the laws of the government must correspondingly become harsher. Conversely, if the people pursue learning, understand the principles of things, and follow the way of modern civilization, then the laws of the government will also become more generous and compassionate. The severity or leniency of the law will naturally be in proportion to the virtue of the people. Who would cherish a harsh government, and dislike a good one? Who would not pray for the wealth and prestige of his own nation? Who would tolerate the contempt of foreign nations? These are ordinary feelings of human nature.

One who is patriotic of mind in contemporary society should not be anxious to the extent of disturbing his body and soul. His important aims should be as follows: to let each person conduct himself correctly on the basis of human nature, then diligently pursue learning and broaden his knowledge, and thirdly possess knowledge and virtue appropriate to his station in life. Both government and people should have the common purpose that each function in its proper capacity, so that the peace of the country can be maintained, the government smoothly administering the affairs of the state, and the people not suffering under its rule. The learning which I am now exhorting has this sole end in view.

POSTSCRIPT

On the occasion of the opening of a school in my old town of Nakatsu, I wrote this piece encouraging learning to present to some old friends there. One of them persuaded me that it would be of greater benefit if I published it widely instead of just cir...