1835-1901. Educator. Fukuzawa studied at Tekijuku (a school of Western studies), run by Koan Ogata, in Osaka, and he opened the Rangaku Juku (also a school of Western studies) in 1858, in Edo. He mastered English on his own and sailed to the United States on the Kanrin-maru, accompanying Shogunate emissaries, in 1860. He mastered English on his own and sailed to the United States on the Kanrin-maru, accompanying Shogunate emissaries, in 1860. He wrote Seiyo Jijo (Conditions of the West) after his visit to Europe and his second visit to America, and strove to introduce European and American cultures in Japan. In 1868 he changed the name of Rangaku Juku to Keio Gijuku and continued to spread and advocate Western studies even after the Restoration. He disliked officials who still had the strong notion of discrimination between nobles and commoners and devoted himself passionately to education based on “independence and self-respect.”

Keiko Gijuku in Mita was a place of learning for independence and self-respect

Rangaku Juku, which Fukuzawa had opened, was initially in Tsukiji, but in 1868 it was moved to Shiba Shinzenza. The school was renamed Keio Gijuku after the name of the Keio era. A monument marks the site of the school on the old site of the former Shinmei Elementary School. The school again moved to its current location in Mita in 1871. Fukuzawa was very pleased with the land, which belonged to the Shimabara clan: “The area is about 46,280 square meters, and it is high, dry, and flat. It faces the sea with nothing obstructing the view, and besides the very pleasant view, it has clean air”.

Fukuzawa, who thought speech training should be provided following the examples of speech in Europe and America, built Japan’s first speech hall, Mita Enzetsukan, with his own money in 1875 and held a speech meeting there almost every month. Because his home was on the hall’s property, there is a stone monument on Mita Campus of Keio University that marks the place of his death. His tomb is in Zenpuku Temple in Azabu, and many students visit it on the day of his death, February 3, even to this day.

References
Nihon Jinmei Daijiten (Japanese Biographical Dictionary) (Kodansha)
Fukuo Jiden (Autobiography of Yukichi Fukuzawa) (Yukichi Fukuzawa / Keio University Press)

Site of Shiba Shinzenza Gakujuku (1-3-1 Hamamatsu-cho)
Mita Enzetsukan (Keio University, 2-15 Mita)

Gakumon no susume (Encouragement of Learning) (Iwanami Bunko)
Fukuo Jiden (The Autobiography of Yukichi Fukuzawa) (Iwanami Bunko)
Bunmei-ron no gairyaku (A Summary of Civilization) (Iwanami Bunko)

Fukuzawa Yukichi no Tetsugaku. Hoka 6-hen (Yukichi Fukuzawa’s Philosophy, and 6 other works) (Masao Maruyama / Iwanami Bunko)
Fukuzawa Yukichi no Shinjitsu (The Truth About Yukichi Fukuzawa) (Yo Hirayama / Bunshun Shinsho)