The Autobiography of Fukuzawa Yukichi

The Autobiography of Fukuzawa Yukichi

Fukuzawa Yukichi is a renowned educator with lots of intellectual knowledge. He lived and was most influential during the Meiji period in Japan. His autobiography came to completion during the period nearing his demise and carries much information to reflect on his life experiences. Since Yukichi lived in the time of Tokugawa rule, he was deeply engaged in advocating for social issues and equal political platforms for people from different spheres. Yukichi’s autobiography serves as an excellent memoir to help in understanding the changes that occurred in the earlier periods. For instance, the autography gives an overview of the changes that occurred in Japan in the late Tokugawa periods and the start of the Meiji periods. From Fukuzawa’s autobiography, it is clear that Japan’s Tokugawa era was characterized by feudalism and the people of Nakatsu had a loose connection to people who ascribed to the western culture; however, Fukuwaza championed for the Meiji rule through education.

Japan’s Tokugawa era was characterized by feudalism which the majority of the people opposed. The institution of feudalism was not in favour of the majority of the Japanese as it denied them access to western influence, which would open Japan to the world. The people had to discern it for them to lead a fair and happy life. According to the autobiography, Fuuzawa’s father was not in good terms with the rule of feudalism. The institution denied him the opportunity to live a life he yearned for an extended period. In the autobiography, Fukuzawa states that his father was determined to assume a life of the monastery. While in this life, he believed that one would have a broader platform to think widely(8). Here, it is clear that feudalism found no favour in the lives of the ordinary Japanese and they, therefore, needed a change. Whitney and Jansen (3), describe the feudalism as an institution of leadership that fragmented the political authority and privatized human rights possession. Due to the vices connected to this rule, the Japanese pushed for the removal of the feudalism rule. They enacted another form of ruling that had respect for human rights. It is at this juncture that the Tokugawa era saw it end and welcomed the Meiji period.

There was a loose connection between the Nakatsu and the people of Osaka. These people had started to subscribe to the different style of life. The Nakatsu people accorded high adherence to the Tokugawa rule. Those who saw the government as unfair and unsuitable for Japan earned no favour to the Nakatsu people and hence found it uncomfortable living that life. According to the autobiography, Fukuzawa states that it was hard for him to get along well with the Nakatsu children and had to play with his family members. The Fukuzawa had lived and accustomed to the life of Osaka, a prosperous city in Japan(2). There existed a relationship between the people of Nakatsu and those who had accustomed to alien life. This relationship prompted the need for foreign sensitization. This sensitization could only happen through the gain of intellectual knowledge. The intellectual experience at that time differentiated the livelihood of the people of Nakatsu and those who had gained an education in Osaka. During the Tokugawa era, the lords who ruled the land seemed to take advantage of the lack of intellects in the nation. The leadership, therefore, led a ruling that was not favourable to many (Ravina 59). Being a scholar who had inherited the need for intellectual knowledge from his father, Fukuzawa decided to educate his people. The education would lead them to denounce the feudal rule and adopt a system of leadership that would put Japan in the rhyme of the modern world.

Fukuzawa’s autobiography enlightens about the impact that education had on the transformation from the Tokugawa era to the modern’s Meiji period. Fukuzawa lived at a time when the nation of japan went through extraordinary changes in its leadership institution framework. During this period, Japan which had for an extended period been under the feudal rule of the Shoguns, changed and adopted the Meiji ruling system. Feudal, Japan was thriving in a state of low education and intellectual level. It was isolated in the global limelight, and this rendered its people unsatisfied in their livelihoods. From the autobiography, it is clear that Fukuzawa was interested in learning western education at the Osaka school. He was much interested in educating others to gain knowledge in the western livelihoods and the need for exposing Nakutsi to the entire world(22). As Fukuzawa puts it, Nakatsu was a land that treated education with a lot of hostility. Although these people seemed to resist western education, they may think to have done that out of their ignorance on the power of information. He was doing his best to ensure that he gets out studying and not only becoming civilized but getting some exposure to the western culture and globalization(23).

By the time Fukuzwa was completing his foreign education, he was in a position to influence his schoolmates. Working in the same vigour, Fukuzawa would be able to change his people in Nakutsu and satisfy his urge for a globalized and westernized Japan. The start of the Meiji regime came as a relief to the people of Nakutsu who were yearning for education and modernization. Education played an essential role in the changes that the country went through. It is through the information gained through education that the country was able to send troupes to tour the western countries. The tours were for the benefit of Japan in that it changed from being in its own confinement and built links with other countries ()79. Even after the change from the Tokugawa to modernized Japan, the Meiji rule was still faced with the need for enlightenment on the matter to do with civilization. This urge came at a time when Fukuzawa was working tirelessly to champion the westernization of his country Japan. He played the role of encouraging the people of Nakatsu on the need for education and more so the western education.

Conclusively, it is clear that Japan had gone through a series of steps in its journey to civilization. Like any other nation, its political, social, and economic changes were not easy, and active intervention was needful. Since the people living under the Tokugawa rule of Nakutsu were not educated and civilized, it was challenging to convince them to buy the concept of changing into the Meiji government. However, Fukuzawa came to the rescue of his people. Despite the intense resistance, Fukuzawa sold the people the importance of education; he was much concerned with gaining it initially for his benefit and to satisfy the dreams of his father. From his autobiography, the transition between the two regimes is clear; here, education and awareness creation serve as the intermediary between the two eras.