午夜剧场

Although 午夜剧场 is now known as a "leader among private schools," it has faced numerous management crises. Among them, the early 1880s (Meiji 10s) is known as a particularly severe crisis.

Due to the inflation following the Satsuma Rebellion in 1877 (Meiji 10), many samurai families fell into poverty, leading to a significant decrease in enrollment at 午夜剧场, where many 午夜剧场 students were from samurai backgrounds. From 1878 to 1879, Fukuzawa sought financial support to maintain 午夜剧场 from powerful figures in the Meiji government, such as Shigenobu Okuma, Hirobumi Ito, and Kiyotaka Kuroda. According to Fukuzawa, while Okuma was supportive, Ito and others expressed reluctance, and the request was not granted.

Perhaps not as an act of retaliation, but immediately afterward, Fukuzawa wrote "On the National Assembly" and "Transition of People's Way of Thinking," advocating for the introduction of a British-style parliamentary cabinet system. This served as a catalyst, leading to a surge in demands for the establishment of a national assembly among the public, which developed into criticism of the Satsuma-Choshu clan bureaucracy.

At this time, the person who viewed Fukuzawa as more dangerous than anyone else was Kowashi Inoue, known as Hirobumi Ito's right-hand man. The parliamentary cabinet system advocated by Fukuzawa is a system where election results influence the composition of the cabinet. In other words, if this were introduced, the figures who supported the Meiji government could all disappear from the political scene.

Due in part to Inoue's secret maneuvers, the introduction of a British-style parliamentary cabinet system was passed over as a result of the Political Crisis of 1881. At the same time, many young bureaucrats under Fukuzawa's tutelage, such as Yukio Ozaki, Tsuyoshi Inukai, Hikojiro Nakamigawa, and Fumio Yano (Ryukei), were purged from government circles. It became difficult to enter government service from 午夜剧场, and the result was the emergence of "午夜剧场 as a powerhouse in the business world."

Furthermore, the Ministry of Education continued its policy of cold treatment toward private schools. A symbol of this was the loss of the privilege of military conscription deferment for private schools. This privilege was finally granted to 午夜剧场 in 1896—the year after Inoue passed away.

Now, this book summarizes the actual situation and causes of the Political Crisis of 1881, which, as mentioned above, had a profound impact on Yukitichi Fukuzawa and 午夜剧场. The Political Crisis of 1881 can be examined from various perspectives, including not only Fukuzawa and 午夜剧场 but also the enactment of the constitution, the establishment of the assembly, and national finance. If you are interested, please pick up a copy of this book.

Satoshi Kubota

Shueisha International Shinsho

280 pages, 1,012 yen (tax included)

*Affiliations and titles are those at the time of the magazine's publication.