The autobiography of Yukichi Fukuzawa

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Bibliographic Information

The autobiography of Yukichi Fukuzawa

revised translation by Eiichi Kiyooka ; with a foreword by Albert Craig

Columbia University Press, c2007

  • : cloth
  • : paper

Other Title

Fuku-ō jiden

福翁自伝

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Note

Revised translation originaly published: New York : Columbia University Press, 1966

Includes index

Description and Table of Contents

Description

Yukichi Fukuzawa (1835-1901) was a leading figure in the cultural revolution that transformed Japan from an isolated feudal nation into a full-fledged player in the modern world. He translated a wide range of Western works and adapted them to Japanese needs, inventing a colorful prose style close to the vernacular. He also authored many books, which were critical in introducing the powerful but alien culture of the West to the Japanese. Only by adopting the strengths and virtues of the West, he argued, could Japan maintain its independence despite the "disease" of foreign relations. Dictated by Fukuzawa in 1897, this autobiography offers a vivid portrait of the intellectual's life story and a rare look inside the formation of a new Japan. Starting with his childhood in a small castle town as a member of the lower samurai class, Fukuzawa recounts in great detail his adventures as a student learning Dutch, as a traveler bound for America, and as a participant in the tumultuous politics of the pre-Restoration era. Particularly notable is Fukuzawa's ability to view the new Japan from both the perspective of the West and that of the old Japan in which he had been raised. While a strong advocate for the new civilization, he was always aware of its roots in the old.

Table of Contents

  • Foreward by Albert Craig Acknowledgment Preface to the 1899 Edition I Childhood II I Set Out to Learn Dutch in Nagasaki III I Make My Way to Osaka IV Student Ways at Ogata School V I Go to Yedo
  • I Learn English VI I Join the First Mission to America VII I Go to Europe VIII I Return to Anti-Foreign Japan IX I Visit America Again X A Non-Partisan in the Restoration
  • The Growth of a Private School XI The Risk of Assassination XII Further Steps Toward a Liberal Age XIII My Personal and Household Economy XIV My Private Life
  • My Family XV A Final Word on the Good Life Notes Afterword. Fukuzawa Yukichi: The Philosophical Foundations of Meiji Nationalism Appendix I. Chronological Table Appendix II. Encouragement of Learning: The First Essay, 1872 Index

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