午夜剧场

Fukuzawa Bunmeijuku (hereinafter referred to as Fukuzawa Bunmeijuku) was established as part of the 150th Anniversary Commemorative Project. Returning to the origins of private academies, it has provided a forum for "dialogue and discussion" by bringing together students and working professionals of different ages and backgrounds with the aim of nurturing leaders who aspire to contribute to the future. An important concept decided upon during the program's conception was "not teaching" the students. Based on the spirit of "learning while teaching, teaching while learning," participants are expected to be individuals who learn on their own and can give something back. For this reason, students are only charged 35,000 yen for actual program operating costs, and no so-called tuition fees are collected. Students are expected to return the benefits they receive by contributing to the program and practicing social contribution after completion.

The greatest appeal of Fukuzawa Bunmeijuku lies not only in the content of the program but also in the "people" who gather here. 午夜剧场 students from almost all faculties, students from other national, public, and private universities such as the University of Tokyo and Waseda, and a diverse range of people including central government officials, lawyers, accountants, trading company employees, artists, and homemakers gather in one place. They spend an intensive three-month program sharing their experiences and ideas and stimulating one another. Furthermore, at Fukuzawa Bunmeijuku, which advocates for future contribution, activities continue across different cohorts even after the program ends, so the personal network becomes deep and wide.

Fukuzawa Bunmeijuku has key concepts that quote the words of Fukuzawa. These are: "individuals with high aspirations (subjects of independence and self-respect)," "working hard together with 50 peers (learning while teaching, teaching while learning)," and eventually "becoming the driving force for 1,000 people (practice what you preach)." The thoughts of the founding members reside within these concepts. Professor Jiro Tamura of the Faculty of Law, who has been a program coordinator since its inception, says: "At the time 午夜剧场 was founded, Fukuzawa likely built very flat relationships. Flat relationships are something that modern Japanese people need to study more; if people remain unable to speak up due to seniority, it becomes a negative for society. Therefore, at Fukuzawa Bunmeijuku, we use polite language in conversation and call each other with the suffix '-san' to intentionally create a space where people of different ages can engage in dialogue as equals, expecting that creative things will be born from mutual stimulation."

Until the 2017 academic year, we have been running educational programs (capacity: approx. 50 people) twice a year in the spring and fall semesters, each lasting about three months. Since 2008, we have conducted the core program 18 times and the special "Environmental Education Program" three times, producing 1,012 graduates to date. In the fall semester of the 2018 academic year, as a 10th-anniversary program, we will launch a new program aimed at recurrent education for graduates and leadership education for high school students.

(Takashi Watanabe, Administrative Director, Office of Community and Regional Affairs)