Fukuzawa Sparknotes

In 1875, Fukuzawa published An Outline of a Theory of Civilization which reflects his own theory of civilization that was influenced by two historians, Guizot and Buckle. The dominant theme of the ten chapters of the book is on the superiority of the Western civilization. Fukuzawa believed that Japan’s traditional historiography was dominated by Confucian texts, and that the teaching heavily conveyed ethical bias. This, Fukuzawa believed halted progress in Japanese civilization. He asserted that history itself could justify why the West was advanced and Japan was backward. Fukuzawa commented that the “imbalance of power” in which the rulers controlled learning and never permitted any branch of Japanese thought to become independent of government,

Fukuzawa was born into an impoverished low level samurai family in a small town in Kyushu. The oppressive circumstances that Fukuzawa grew up led him to become an advocate of Western civilization. Fukuzawa Yukichi played an important role during the Meiji Restoration in 1868, which is the period in which Japan was experience a modernization of culture and politics (“Fukuzawa Yukichi”, n.d.). Similarly, Fukuzawa, at the age of 19, had a rare opportunity to study Dutch in Nagasaki, but he soon realized that just mastering the Dutch language was not substantial, as most of the European merchants’ native tongue was English. This led Fukuzawa to embark on his acquisition of the English Language. The knowledge of English language opened many doors for Fukuzawa to the European civilizations. Fukuzawa Yukichi, who is the face of Japan’s 10,000 note had a strong belief that all citizens are equal, and should have the equal opportunity to education regardless of their social background (“Yukichi Fukuzawa”, n.d.). Subsequently, Fukuzawa released a series of writings that focused on the status of women, the virtues of Western civilization. In his writings, Fukuzawa also mentioned the inadequacy of the customs, institutions, and beliefs of old