First Japanese Visitor After Sakoku Describes European Life // 1862 Tokugawa Embassy Primary Source
More from Japanese national icon Fukuzawa Yukichi. After his groundbreaking trip to America, here we have the first detailed Japanese perspective of Europe, after the Sakoku period of isolation. England, France, Holland and Russia.
Extract from The Autobiography of Fukuzawa Yukichi translated by Eiichi Kiyooka, 1934 edition.
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Hello! So, continuing the adventures of Fukuzawa Yukichi. Here he is as part of the first Japanese embassy to Europe after the Sakoku period of isolation. Hope you enjoy it! Let me know if you would like to see a third and final part...because it's coming Saturday!
Good video
Absolutely fascinating.
You should do like an hour video just about this guy this is gold
What a ride! I am Completely Engaged in this character. Thank you! This gentleman has his head screwed on correctly. He is a kind of Marco Polo in a different setting and with higher morals. He exhibits such grace and wisdom. I ache that there is no video record of this man. Those living today will never experience the cultural divides this adventurous soul worked so hard to bridge. We know now about each other's peculiarities because of him and those of his mindset. His manner of thinking and action brings the world closer together wherever it happens.
Is there more to his story, or was this the end? This and the first European visitors to Japan have been my favourite stories so far.
"Nearly all the people I've talked to were eager to come to Japan " Them OG weeabos
I don't wanna be "that guy" but...eager, sorry.
@@nuralibolataev4474 lul
@@nuralibolataev4474 he's typing in accents
Sweetbutter Cupcakes Lol atleast they cared about Japanese traditional culture. Cant say the same about Weebs.
Wait so the whole weabo thing was heridetary all along
Dude went from “can i buy a house” to “I WILL CONQUER HOLLAND” way too fast.
it is never too fast
And the Dutch only understood the question in terms of trade (merchants). They used to have a saying 'God is good, but trade is better'.
@@heliotropezzz333 welk gezegde is dat?
Basically what we did in other countries, buy land from the locals, then build a fortress on it xd
@@DutchmanDavid It's the saying I quoted. 'God is good but trade is better'. I'm not sure who said it. I'll have to check. I can't find it on google but my husband told me of it. P.S. Apparently it is a Dutch proverb.
"Prussia...spreading like a rising sun." *foreshadowing*
Oof
Only a few years later Germany was formed when Prussia steamrolled France in the Franco Prussian war
yet, he didn't even visit it apparently : (
Literally paused the video to find such a comment. Was not disappointed lol
Claiming to be a prussian today is a revolutionary act.
"We were overburdened by the useless gear we brought so we shoved it off onto some poor sap and acted like it was a gift." and thus the rumors of Japanese being great gift givers began...
Sounds like half of the MMO players I know
Selling off common quality items
I mean if he meant a servant by a lesser member of the welcoming committee, it would legimately be a nice gift for his family and community.
@@AbsolXGuardian Seriously though, a diplomatic envoy's supply of food is probably pretty substantial, and given it's rice it could store well. Being suddenly given your family's grocery budget in a year, alongside trinkets that in Europe might sell for their novelty alone, that's quite the gift. Food and general goods are cheap in much of the modern world, but most don't appreciate that barely a century or two ago, even a full set of cutlery might be a luxury.
The stories of these diplomats honestly feel like period fiction, the fact that they're real makes it so wholesome
Remember it was written down considerably later, at a time everyone had a much better understanding of what was going on.
Gives you a really nice perspective on how things used to be like 100 years ago
Who said it's real?
@@growingmelancholy8374 that sir is by nature what calling something a primary source is. A historian is arguing that it can at least be used as source of what one person's view of the past was.
He mentioned an observing an arrogant Brit... I, an American have something in common with this long-dead Japanese man. And his surname is Alcock, to boot! I was a salesperson in a mall once, when I observed two English service members walking in step, with one another. Their demeanor was saying, we are English troops back on American soil, and there is nothing any of you Yanks can do about it. If I had not been on company time, I likely have approached the whole situation, rather differently.
*will it be fine for a foreigner to buy a piece of land to build a fortress*
Asking for a friend
As long as it is an unarmed fortress...
@@LuisAldamiz I geuss that does make sense. Just, allow them to build whatever they want, but make it illegal to station any troops there.
@@LuisAldamiz Not really, firearms were pretty much as unregulated as they were in the United States until roughly the 1890s
I think one of the reasons he asked that question was that in many colonies of European countries, many Europeans bought land then built fortresses on them, which sometimes caused conflicts.
3:45 Just imagine for a moment. Walking to get a cup of coffee to you and your companion waiting for you in your hotel room. Suddenly, a group of no less than ten samurai, confused and lost, face you in the hallway, swords, ponytails and all. Must have been quite a sight indeed.
damn my revolver only has 6 shots, i guess ill have to shoot the chandelier!
It's crazy today not to mention back then. Japan was and always be that awkward and weird cousin of the World.
The Lost Samurai, sequel to The Lost Vikings.
None of them were samurai. All of them were diplomats.
@@ShonaMcCarthy Those are not mutually exclusive. At all, and while they weren't all samurai, a significant number including Fukuzawa Yukichi were.
Japanese people in Paris: "Too many alleyways and doors" Japan Tokyo in 21st century: *HOLD MY BEER*
Guess they had to compensate
@Pikora Animation hold my ochinchin
@@hhero4841 👁️👄👁️
@hij hold my unko kek
Hold my biiru
What a humble fellow. When he receives his salary the first thing he does is give it to his parents instead of blowing it on something.
It astounds and disgusts me the amount of millionaire footballers today whose parents are left dirt poor because their own child doesn't see fit to give back to those that raised them. Honestly, I don't want much in the way of material possessions, I have pretty much everything I want or need, but if I ever became rich I can think of so many things I could do to make my parents' lives better. A new leg so my mother wouldn't be stuck in a wheelchair for the rest of her life would be a good start.
@@GiveMeBackMyUsernameKZhead honoring the older is a cultural thing. We in the West seem to have lost it or maybe never had.
@@GiveMeBackMyUsernameKZhead do you have examples? i have big doubts about your claim
@@GiveMeBackMyUsernameKZhead On the ther hand, consider the huge number of child actors whose education was destroyed because their parents wanted to make money off their children's talent, and were thus raised as penyless and uneducated adults because their parents did not give them ANY education, and got all the money from their children's contracts.
that like... what many of us would do. think if you suddenly received 1 mil of local currency, wouldnt you share some of it with close ones? yes, many would
Russian Evoys said they could claim the world by painting it red? They were truely ahead of their time xD
They were obviously bluffing. There is no way they actually had that amount of red paint.
@@DennisTrovato Arghm... Soviet... *Cough*
@@slavj no shit
But instead: communism and breadlines :^)
Lol...trully
lol his synopsis could've been "The people are nice, governments are annoying tho" Perfect description of Europe
Perfect example of the whole world honestly.
@@GlamStacheessnostalgialounge not america
@@dr282 nah not america
@@dr282 thats true, but not the part about "people are nice"
Yes, democracy does tend to be petty and annoying because you actually have to let people voice opinions. Imagine that.
“Napoleon III was the greatest statesmen of his time” Otto Von Bismarck: Halte mein bier
Life comes at you fast
German laughing*
@@northwestpassage6234 ein Volk! ein Kanzlerin! ein Rei... errr... Euro!
@@e.s.6275 woah man, did you come up with that yourself? What a profound take man, it’s like, the EU, is like totally the 4th reich man. Like it’s pretty much, like, the exact same thing as the third reich, man. Shut up, boomer.
@@northwestpassage6234 you're cringe
I like how the most confusing thing for him was understanding two-party politics and parliament. Watch a video from the house of commons today and it's still just a bunch of people yelling at each other.
Ooordah, oooordah!
I find it interesting that it was hard for him to see the difference between fighting with words and fighting wirh weapons.
While the presiding officer is screaming "Order!" in the most British manner possible and being a pompous git about...
@@LuisAldamiz oh.. i know that reference
@@juanzulu1318 - True. I guess that Japan was (and to some extent still is) such a hierarchical society that divergence of opinion within a common (national) framework was not conceived: either you agree with the Emperor or you agree with the Emperor, there's no choice.
This guy’s life was super rad, can’t believe I never heard of him before this series
@ Devon Palmer , Well you have now
That's the thing right? We never hear of non-western travellers (or even other important people besides the occasional Genghis Khan). We always see the world through the perspective of the Westerner discovering things.
天龍 Surprised only one movie has been made about him in the 90’s, this would be the perfect story to adapt. A reverse on the usual western traveler cliche would be nice to see
@@ConstantinKlose-sj4mb No, we flat out don't hear anything beside the most known ones and our own national figures, do you know about commandant Cousteau? He's reputed for his immense contribution to marine life research here in France, what about General Leclerc or Jean Moulin, the second and third most important leaders of the résistance, Moulin is even a martyr as he died from torture in the hands of the germans. And i couldn't get the name of any non pre-germany important figure, because i'm not German and i would have to actively search instead of opening school manuals (as far as what's asked in university) to know about it. There's no worldwide bias toward "westerners" there's bias toward our own ones and the ones that shaped history on the front scene.
@@scorpixel1866 I thought everyone knew about Jacques-Yves Cousteau. He did an English documentary series. He is probably less familiar with the younger generations. I loved his show and inspired by him.
I have absolutely fallen in love with Fukuzama Yukichi's writings. He feels so human, it really humanises the past.
I agree Tobias. I wonder how he would feel about us now in the future. It’s a very interesting listen.
Yeah, because going by progressiveness it was impossible that humans existed before 2008- I mean before we abolish all cops. Everything was just evil and demon and misery.
Go to your local bank (better if it's specialized for foreign exchanges), pay approximately $100 and boom! You have your own Fukuzawa Yukichi portrait in handheld size!!!
But he is detested by the other Asians as you can imagine. In part, because he realized rapidly that neither China nor Korea could modernize. Thus Japan had to become like the West, ultimately imperialist. It is hard to blame 100% the Japanese for that reaction to Korean and Chinese arrogance.
@@jceepf huh? Japan helped modernize China and South Korea because of the fear that Asia would become a prey to Europe. But it turned into a wrong choice when it could be done by colonization.
France: Bonjour Misure, enjoy your stay at our one of our greatest hotels and sample our fine foods Britain: Greetings sirs, let us debate political theory Holland: Hallo our friends from the east, make yourselves comfortable Russia: Hey kids wanna see a dead body
*Monsieur
An operated body isn't always dead I thought...
@@fatitankeris6327 just go with the joke, comrade.
Ancient Greek Philosophers: " too bad we never meet those japanese embassy to ask them deep ass question's : ( "
@Longface John Don't comment in English when you have nothing
The Japanese: *arrived to Russia* The Russians: Hey, wanna see me yank a stone out of this guy's kidney?
@Buddha Buddha How does "Masculine" have any relevance?
To be fair, the Japanese physicians seemed all for it.
@@KHtrinity1 Come on. Don't be a pathetic SJW.
@@Typhy7 it's a valid question
@@Typhy7 How is it pathetic to ask what a surgery has to do with masculinity. It's a matter of science and research, completely unrelated to gender. So the question is valid.
I like the inclusion of the anecdote at 7:55 This confusion was reflective of all Japanese attitudes at the time. The concept of public speaking and debate were utterly foreign to Japan. A feudal society doesn't have need for debate after all; one is expected to follow one's master without question. In order to try to explain this concept of public speaking, Fukuzawa had to invent an entirely new word, _enzetsu_ (演説). When Fukuzawa returned to Japan, he wrote a series of books called _Seiyo Jijo_ (Conditions in the West) describing how Western people lived. These were written in plain Japanese vernacular, as opposed to scholarly Chinese, allowing the common people of Japan to learn about these foreign lands. It was immensely popular.
Not quite. In a feudal society (as opposed to an absolutist one), there's lots of debate. Yes, you owe your allegienace to a lord, but the lord owes you equivalent amounts back in protection, it's a symbiotic relationship, in theory at least. No feudal society was entirely feudal, no absolutist society was entirely absolutist. Sparse public speaking and debate is a distintively asian trait, however.
Most interesting. I thought something on the line you say but you explain it better than I could.
@@Ruhrpottpatriot That's perhaps a better way to put it; it's the strict hierarchy of Japanese society that was responsible for the lack of public speaking and debate, not its feudal system.
I'm sure the members of the anti-foreigner movement for not happy about that
What do "enzetsu" translate to? Public argumentation?
I actually read this book when I studied at Hokkaido Uni for a year, it was so expensive you weren't allowed to take it out the library! Amazing read though, Fukuzawa is pretty funny even if he wouldn't admit it himself! Thanks for doing it justice
Keio Uni has a free pdf of the original book on their website now!
Tak Oshima Oh what! Where? I wanna read it! Gonna search for it rn
Found it!
@@Ennocb can you give a link?
@@simtak89 Link pls
Imagine walking around London at that time dressed like that and casually carrying... two Samurai swords 😆
dont forget they are trained in swords, they must have felt pretty save ;)
Jamie J in a country that had guns? Yeah no.
Sounds like the blks in london now.... Except our "diverse" people carry machetes instead. "Diversity is our strength" and all that bullshit.
@@michaelsrite822 Yeah, and the English people have no guns. Or butter knives.
In that times people walk with sabre.
Today Yukichi travels everywhere in this world as a paper currency
Ey that's a beautiful poetic point
That was beautiful. Thank you
Very fitting that he should be on the currency
He's the guy on 10,000 yen notes
Which note is he on?
There should be a movie based on this guy
Not enough action, it'd be "nouvelle vague".
I think there is. An old Japanese movie
I think you misspelled 5 Season Television Series
James Meyer the story of yukichis journeys or the Japanese diplomat either one works
A movie would be very cool. Of course, you would have to add a love interest. ;) I am curious, though, as to whether he met or had opinions about European women.
Japanese: Arrive in Europe Also Japanese: Where can I cook my rice?
What, did you forget to bring your Zojirushi?
In Spain
@@erent7455 We do care as much as Americans eat Burgers ;-)
I’m from Taiwan, and I might the only Asian student around my campus who don’t use a rice cooker because I learned to use my cooking pot to cook rice (WAY more difficult compared to a rice cooker though)
@@erent7455 couldn't they just cook it in a pot with boiling water? or microwave?
This guy was the man. Haters gone hate he just wants to do his thing and take care of momma, class act.
Jerry, get a job.
its kinda weird to hear a wholesome story of travelling in the past. Most stories that we hear(or that we remember most) are the ones of anger/hate/violence/wars. Here? Just some guys stepping into a world they have heard so much about, yet never experienced.
Yeah, people forget that life back then was mostly peaceful for normal people. Exploration and adventure were some of the few things they had to keep themselves from getting bored. Most young men in my country wanted to go sailing and see the world. Too many people only know about history from movies and documentaries and everyday life isn't prominently featured in those.
Percival Hans , I disagree All it takes to change the world, is the will of a single man. Nelson Mandela, Ghandi, Napoleon.(they changed the world, for better or for worse)
@@checkmate9099 Yet those men would've been as nothing without those that took up their will and stood beside them. Leaders can only lead when followers follow.
It's you that read less. Know about ibnu battuta? He's the most famous world adventurer.
Neion8, true But that still means that a single man can be a threat. Enough to change History, change the world. Butterfly effect.
I like this guy. He has an open spirit of adventure.
Sending his money to his mom, being embarrassed on his friend's behalf for not knowing european bathroom etiquette, dancing around admitting blood/gore scares him clearly being embarrassed about it... Dude was a cinnamon roll.
Chief Purrfect Hes A decent thinking human, unsure what you mean by cinnamon roll but I’m guessing you’re calling him a pussy or something?
Moriarty Vivaldi more so seems like infantilzation than that
@@More_Row I am not sure, but I think saying someone is a "cinnamon roll" is praise, like saying cute or heartwarming.
@@More_Row it means hes sweet and likeably
"The country in Europe which gave us the kindest welcome, was Holland." Mooi!
It's because we used to be the only country (apart from China) that was allowed to trade with Japan for 250 years before that point. See William Adams' fascinating story.
Just makes me love the dutch even more
"We don't want any foreigners!" "... except the Dutch. You gotta love those guys!"
Gelukkig ja ;)
apple's lover, wait. Is that a person who actually likes The Netherlands? Woah, don’t see much of those on the internet
Starting to think Napoleon could of just bought Holland with that loophole.
If he had, I'm convinced it'd be the most Dutch thing he's ever done
He didn't have the money, so he took the forts without paying.
Netherlands is small but do you really think he had enough money to buy all of the Netherlands...please
@@drpepper3838 Just enough of the Netherlands to build a strategic fort that would have given him Holland. Investment, my good man.
*could have
In the West, people ask how to move to Japan. In Tsarist Russia, people ask Japan ambassador to stay.
As far as I know there was a problem with teachers in russian school of japanese language - it worked for a century already but there weren`t a lot of well-educated native speakers of the language in russia. It was a century-long constant mission for the natives and cossacks of the russian far east to safely transport all japanese sailors from the shipwrecks to the authorities.
@@sodinc Interesting! The empire would have needed to open dialogue with the Japanese to compete with the west/US in trade. Thank you!
Technically, it would be Imperial Russia. By 1721, the Empire of Russia was founded to replace the entity of the Tsardom of Russia. Although the emperor still held the title of tsar in many regions, and has been informally referred to as tsar ever since, the highest sovereign title in Russia until the revolution was Imperator. And yes, I get the Soviet Russia joke, but still, precision is always necessary on History KZhead!
Tinky Winky they did that through the Cold War, too
@@ross6753 he probably would have been well taken care of by the Russian government. not treated like a typical/usual teacher i bet.
Fukuzawa Yukichi's Bizarre Adventure: Europe Arc
Today, Europe. Tomorrow, ZA WARRRRRRRRRRUDO!
Sadly they cut the Berlin Books :_(
Waltz like an Englishman
Fuyu's Bizarre Adventure
@@irongeneral7861 STAR PLACHINUM. ZAAA WARRUDDOOO.
Fukuzawa is an absolute legend in Japan and maybe its most influential intellectual, even though he never held any government position. This was a guy that defended things like free speech and gender equality when samurais with katanas still walked around and people thought the emperor was a literal god.
Well, what do you expect? You’re comparing one individual who had the chance to actually go overseas and experience western civilization for the purpose of researching to a group of warrior class(samurai) that never left their province. The existence of the emperor itself were almost like a myth to the common Japanese people, except for the few high ranking daimyos.
Probably most Japanese think of him as the founder of Keio University, one of the most prestigious private universities in the country. His picture is on the 10,000 yen note.
And to say that he “defended” western free speech and western “gender equality” is ridiculous since those things were almost foreign to Japan at that time. He didnt “defend” anything, he INTRODUCED them to Japan. Atleast learn a bit about Japanese history if you want to act like you know about my country.
@@kn2549 That is a very pedantic take, sure, say introduce instead of defend them, the argument remains the same, he was a champion of enlightenment values in a feudal society. P.S. I'm a research fellow at Waseda with a 文部科学省奨学金, for whatever it is worth...
@@fatosreaisdeverdade No, “defending” free speech and gender equality is completely different from introducing them to an almost isolated country. 研究が足りていないんじゃねえかお前？
"what if someone were to build a fortress" Dutchman: *Nervous sweating*
Why? They can let them build their fort......and then tax the ever lovin' hell out of it!!!!!
It’s genius
@Robert Campbell I think it's more like the "what about roads" phenomenon that happens today when the topic of libertarianism is debated. The Japanese were amazed at the dichotomy between morality and practicality. They were testing the idea of the free market in Amsterdam by challenging it with something they assumed would bring outrage, but the response they got was that it would of course be morally permissable and entirely legal, but in the real world why would any rational person have that concern?
Aidhog the Dutchman would be thinking how much money can be made from that?
@@HDrobveelben no, he lives in the reality of the chances of anyone doing that are slim to none because of the lack of economic sense
"Yeah I had some down time so I wrote a Japanese to English dictionary."
That made me lol
He made something useful
@•PikoraGhoul • *distracted, being lazy implies that you have the time and are not occupied yet do nothing anyway
@•PikoraGhoul • i guess but nowadays people are at least looking for information. even if it might be misinformation
No freakin KZhead, cellphones, text messages and other worthless activities. I read a book a month, I used to read a book a week. Too many interesting items steal your time - forever.
A ryo had a nominal value of about 15g of gold. 400 * 15 = 6000. So nominally, he was given 6kg of gold.
Wow!
That's pretty hefty even in today's society
Damn, that's a lot of gold.
Which, at current prices, is roughly $336,312.
yeah, my conversion gives that in reality 100 ryo would be at least 100 000 USD nowadays, probably even more. there is no way in knowing for sure though
"Ok, so let's say that some foreigner, from anywhere really, wanted to purchase some land" "Well that's quite alright" "Well what if, hypothetically, this was a very large piece of land, would they be able to do anything with it?" "Surely!" "Can I build a fort?"
Sure! Why not?
came from feudal Japan and immidiately asked if he could create feudalism
Pride in his culture, respect for others, humble, high self drive, love of his country and a great desire and dedication of learning new things and everything. Makes you understand why and how Japan was able to make such a big leap in a very short time
I really like how he discovers the geopolitical situation of Europe at that time, and how bizarre it is for him as he's coming from Japan. I'd like to see more of that honestly.
After all, Japan had mostly been at war with itself for most of its history. The closest neighbors were Korea and the immovable giant that was China. Rather different from the precarious peaces and endless rivalries in Europe.
Europe was already well on it's way to WW1 even though it was still 52 years away. The Franco-Prussian war happened 8 years afterwards in 1870, which resulted in an arms race. in 1888 Friedrich Engels said that the only war possible for Prussia was a world war, one in which all the devastation of the 30 years war would be condensed into 3 or 4 years. The entire continent would embroiled in this war, with famine and pestilence spreading everywhere, and the crowns being struck down. WW1 destroyed many feudal empires.
@@yaosio The trip depicted in the video happened during the last years of the Tokugawa shogunate, which means Japan itself was just about to enter its own civil war, resulting in the final collapse of the ultra conservative shogunate and the seek for the modernisation with the new Meiji era.
The tremendous political upheaval that was occurring was barely even documented by Fukuzawa here, and it still was so much for a feudalist envoy to process. He seemed to only talk with people who already had significant political or economic power during this trip, which means he completely missed the beginnings of radical socialism and syndicalism brewing among the workers. Very interesting times.
Jake4 Socialism was a very fringe thing until WW1.
In Spain there's a small village where the descendants of some Japanese samurai reside
@shishming Coria del Río
Is it related to this? kzhead.info/sun/dqyOdcaknqCtiWg/bejne.html
Yeah. Their surname is Japón if I remember correctly, as it seems that their original Japanese surnames were a mouthful for the locals. If I remember correctly, not long ago a really bad Spanish comedy was made about it, with the protagonist becoming the Emperor of Japan because he was the last person in the family line. Edit: Found it (site on Spanish, btw) www.filmaffinity.com/es/film463046.html
Those are from an earlier time, they left the samurai there and took some priests with them instead. Hasekura Tsunenaga wanted Japan to open up trade with Spain as well as converting the Japanese people to Christianity. When he went back to Japan, though, all foreigners were banned as well as their religions with exception of the Dutch.
I had no idea... this is awesome! :D
Someone really needs to make a movie about this guy’s life.
A Netflix series would be better. Season 1 America Season 2 Europe Season 3 ?
@@Novusod season 3 japan civil war to remove the shogunate and open up to the world. Yes it's real events.
@@anhduc0913 season 4: American mercenaries and weapons. Season 5: Why the fuck are there so many american samurai!? Season 6: modernization. Season 7: Mexico and becoming Cristian. Season 8: kickin' the bucket.
@@anarchyandempires5452 wait what happen between Mexico and Japan?
Hi, Yukichi is an very influential figure in Japan and his face is on the 10000 yen bill (like 100 usd or 80 pound). Keio University is made by him (one of the best private universities in Japan - although I want to say depending on the subjects, Waseda University by Okuma is the best). There are some movies made about his life (although not highly rated). But why not? We deserve a good Fukuzawa movie...
I wonder how Fukuzawa Yukichi would respond to his stories being enjoyed all across the world, broadcast in real-time, to devices as small as the palm of a hand. I suspect he'd shrug at the technological marvel, and instead ponder on the motivation of those indulging. Truly fascinating and insightful tales, a historical treasure.
This was a pleasure to listen to this. To be frank, he's far more pleasant, curious and open than I've grown to expect from the Japanese of this broad period. Obviously I already knew that not everyone within a culture is going to feel the same way as "the mainstream" permits, but I think this is the first time I've heard an account from a Japanese person from the pre-modern period that wasn't layered with a kind of condescending superiority. This is the kind of guy you want to be your ambassador
It was refreshing indeed!
Indeed a very unusual, remarkable, warm, open minded and free thinking person. He later on became the founder of the first japanese university. No wonder....
It would be interesting to place a man like that in a modern metropolis with buildings hundreds of meters tall.
I believe he was an interpreter. Often a difference to the people these professionals interpret for.
@@juanzulu1318 WOW. Thanks for that information!
What an intelligent, open minded and kind man he was. Truly beautiful human being.
I am so immensly impressed with Fukuzawa Yukichi. He was not only very intelligent, but has a level of curiosity, insightfulness and most of all humour that makes him truly stand out in history. I would have loved to get to know him.
@ST H In English, "not only very intelligent, but…" means "very intelligent, but that's not all, he was also…". It's a way to say the same thing with fewer words, and not in any way an insult.
Yes! Exactly my feeling too 🤗
My hear warmed so much when they talked about the Netherlands. As a person born and raised in the Netherlands it makes me very happy about the culture alive within this beautiful country for such a long time. 🇳🇱🇳🇱
I find it funny that, shortly after being shown that people in Europe have strongly diverse opinions on political actions, he finds the idea of a Parliament that represents these differing views to be incomprehensible. Well, I guess in reality Parliament is just a bunch of people shouting at each other on stage, then being friends afterwards, so I can see why that is so confusing...
@Weston Meyer what
His confusion makes more sense when you think about how Japan at that time just came out of one period of political violence/turmoil and was in another. Add on to that the traditional honor system of Japan, and it makes the who thing of politicians calling their opponents enemies, but then sitting down to have a meal with them externally confusing. It probably also didn't help that the two parties held many similar views (to his eyes) so their differences weren't as readily noticeable (I'm sure the language barrier didn't help in explaining the differences too).
It's amazing that a Japanese person 170 years ago fugured out that western politics is all one big clown show in just one visit
You misunderstood, I think. The liberal/ambiguous western use of 'fight' to refer to a figurative dispute was not really the case in the Japanese language at that time. The Japanese was demonstrably familiar with factional politics, after all, they just took combat and enmity rather seriously.
@@Guttlegob better than spilling each other’s guts all over the floor
It's sad to hear him talk so much about anti-foreigner sentiment when he clearly has a great interest in cultural exchange. I dunno why but his experience with the surgeon makes him seem so much more real
Well atleast he felt welcome in the us
@Al Strider good times
@wargent99 *everyone did
Japanese really disliked foreigners at this time. Well even now they dont really like foreigners settling down in there country. And people say white people are racists. Try most of east asia then.
@Al Strider societies have never been as homogeneous as we've been led to believe. japan is a bit of a different story but if you look around people have always moved around, lived with and married people from other cultures and countries. diplomats and ambassadors have been a thing for a looong time and even many common people picked up and moved to foriegn places. all over the world there are enclaves of expats, some of which have been there for centuries. a lot of people seem to think that nobody ever moved around in the past but it happened much more than we realize.
Yukichi was truly a man ahead of his time. Saw the isolation for the mistake it was, but never dropped his guard when there was a suspiciously good offer given to him and quickly realized Europe's delicate political situation.
Man, I hate when I go on a trip and the villagers decide to tell my mother I DIED.
lol.
that's how the village idiots get on no matter where you are
This dude could easily get an anime based on his life, dude sounds way too ahead of it's time.
I would love to see an anime of this. Like a serious adaptation
I'd watch that for sure.
Agree, add some comedy elements as well. This needs to happen! You reading this Japan! Make it happen!
You do know they'll immediately turn him into a teenage girl right?
@@scorpixel1866 It's already sorta happened. It's called Croisee in a Foreign Labyrinth.
I think someone has already said this, but this piece of history would make a great movie.
No, you and everyone else will get reboots and remakes of everything that came before. Sad times.
Anime
They probably HAVE in Japan...
8:33 "Beyond my comprehension what they were 'fighting' for." Still true today
The conversation between the Dutch and the Japanese over the purchasing of land for a fortress was basically A request to build an embassy. Hearing the events of history explained by those who travel the world are some of the best you will ever hear. Thank You for sharing this story.
For anyone who cares, 100 ryo would be at least 100 000 USD nowadays, probably even more
And it's also worth considering that this isn't "real buying power" yet, so not Big Mac units. Judging by other accounts of this envoy, where he describes meals costing 50x as much in the US as it did in Japan it might still be worth much more than that.
@@Marci124 Actually, i did the conversion from ryo to yen first and as rice would be much cheaper nowadays in yen, while other goods stayed more constant it would probably mean less buying power than 100k for food. (also, these are contemporary usd so you cant say 50x more in 1860 is 50x more now.)
@@Louiscare Coins were 57% pure gold so there was 8.55g of pure gold per single coin... so 100ryo =855g of gold now=$47,935.12
So basically, he sent his mum a house. Or several.
So. Pocket money for a wall street banksters.
The old Japanese map of Europe is funky as hell.
Pretty sure that big blob north of the Alps is supposed to be The Netherlands, lol.
old maps are funky in general
@@dinok7630 Well, you're not wrong there.
Most knowledge of the world was acquired from the dutch during their lockdown as only the dutch were allowed to trade with japan. So it might explain why the netherlands is so big
Columbus: Let me show you the most accurate map I just got.
-Guy shitting with the door open -Other guy squatting on the doorway with lamp -This guy slowly gets close and proceeds to *CLOSE THE BLOODY DOOR* What a mad lad! Loved it!
"Prussia is like a rising sun [and war is being prophesied]" hahaha little did they know
Dude really just took a shit with the door open while his samurai was guarding him haha!
Witness me!
@@roberthansson8222 hhhahahaha senbei!
What a mad lad XD
This guy should be in history books and discussed all over Asia. He just seemed like such a wholesome fellow. Are we going to get some accounts from Commodore Perry on how Japan was like? Great vid by the way! 😁
He is quite well known in Japan. His picture is on the 10,000 Yen note.
@@johnmuth3971 HAH! I did not know that. He's Ben Franklin.
The Marco Polo of Japan. What a civilized and pleasant chap he must have been. I think I would've enjoyed his company.
@@francisdrake6622 kzhead.info/sun/fqmJZqiFsHinbIU/bejne.html
I think he used to be sorta well known in China and Korea, too, because he represented ideologies of modernization and industrialization, and other Asian nations were struggling to achieve the same goals.
2:25 - Paris 6:33 - London 9:25 - Holland 11:55 - Russia
Small note: 2:52 - Is a misplaced picture of Amsterdam, you can see the Dutch style buildings and the Palace on the Dam behind them.
Once again Russians prove to be the Masters of ending conversations XD "If u think deciding lands by colors on a map, then we could just take over the whole world by painting it red" dayamn I think we all know what he meant by red. Russian: "U can stay here in Russia" Japanese: " I'm bound by my embassy, i don't think I can" Russian:"Ooh yes you can" 'wink' 'wink'. Damn Russia ! you scary.
Trying to recruit spies, even back then.
Haha as a Russian comments like yours are so hilarious to read. People like you know nothing about our country yet are scared shitless regardless it just puts a smile on my face everytime.
Billboard Braggins Russians have a history of trying to abduct visitors. One missionary almost disappeared forever because an agent thought she was a machinist. Good work, komrade. Stay and say you like it. You make machine go brrrrrr.
@@billboardbraggins1443 And seeing you thinking that we know nothing about Russia puts a smile on my face. Russia is one of the world's countries most subjected to foreign study. While our governments bickered, many ties such as academia remained healthy and strong. That you are convinced that Russia is some great mystery internationally is hilarious and says much about you.
@@xandercorp6175 I am not convinced of anything. I only talked about THESE types of comments. About a specific group of people who DON'T know anything about the country and yet judge as if they lived there for a lifetime. I never said it's a mystery. I know a lot of people study and research before talking but most don't. I commented on these people.
The first Japanese to visit Europe were members of an embassy of Tokugawa shogunate to Spain in 17th century (that travelled via Spanish colony of Mexico)
This is post Sakoku, as mentioned in the title. The embassy you are talking about will be covered next week EDIT: next month
16th century via Indian Ocean, not Mexico: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tensh%C5%8D_embassy
@@LuisAldamiz I was referring to en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hasekura_Tsunenaga I wasn't aware there was an even earlier one. Thanks.
The envoy’s purpose was Portugal, but since Portugal and Spain were in a personal union under the King of Spain, they went to Spain to see the King of Portugal.
@@lucas9269 this is a very important point to make and an important distinction between going directly to Spain.
The Russians wanted him to help set up an anime industry.
They failed
Back in the USSR days, they made excellent artistic animations, in all fairness.
@@deadby15 in fact, USSR animation cartoon called Cheburashka is more popular in Japan than in it's homeland country.
@@goldensp3038 Cheburashka was quite non-realistic in my eyes, he was cute but I liked Croco much more, he was like a greatest shield of Cheburashka and my childhood :)
In fact, Japanese anime was heavily influenced by Soviet animations. The 1957 Soviet Snow Queen set up an entire life choice as animator for Hayao Miyazaki.
Why does it feel so cool that the guy had a great time in the Netherlands and im dutch myself
Apparently you guys are always kind and welcoming to strangers even in the 1800s
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dejima This is why this man and most other Japanese people in the mission knew how to speak Dutch, but not English, French or Russian.
If you enjoyed that part, you should really check out his autobiography. He and his mates spend their student days trying to both self-learn Dutch, and then use that language try to extract as much information about western civilization as possible out of their collection of about a dozen Dutch books. It's a really fascinating to read about a group of young fanatical counter-culture dudes treating a couple of Dutch books as a font of almost unlimited knowledge that they could extract if they can learn to understand it. Of course, they must first learn the language, which they mostly learn from the same books that they will later extract knowledge from. So here you have about a dozen or so Dutch books, mostly about medicine and fortifications, some of them decades out of date, that have been copied hundreds of times by the students when they try to teach each other the language. Like, when they learn that some rich dude has an up to date Dutch book about scientific knowledge, that these students wouldn't be able to afford in their lifetime, one of their group asks if he can borrow the book for a couple of days to look at the interesting pictures. Then their entire dorm stays up for days without sleeping frantically trying to copy the entire chapter about electricity, since this is the subject they know almost nothing about, which they barely manage with diagrams and all, but they're still devastated when they have to return the book since they can only imagine how much of this new information they might never have a chance to read about again. Then this group of students, who now are fairly sure that they are by far the best Dutch speakers in the entire country, all get super depressed when it turns out that Dutch is not the one true Western language of science and knowledge. Here's a link to the entire book online: archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.172747/page/n285/mode/2up
Man, I always love to hear about the very special relationship Japan and The Netherlands had and have!
Please do a video on when the Siam embassy visit Frace in 1687 or when the France embassy visit Siam in 1684 as it's one of the first modern history visit between the east and west. Both the French and the Thais kept a very precise journal I believe.
It is indeed a fascinating story!
Seconding this!!!!
I'd like to bring this man to the present to see his reaction.
He already had more than enough cultural shock, don't you think? Anyhow, he'd probably shake his head as if somehow everything made sense to him, as if he could have foreseen all what has happened (not in the fine detail maybe but in general terms) from his vintage point of the late 19th century. Let's see: rising Prussia/Germany defeats France takes Alsace-Lorraine, then France defeats Germany and takes Alsace-Lorraine back, and then it happens all over again a few decades later. Already forecast in the halls of Paris hotels. Check. Let's see: rising Japan defeats Russia and paints the map their own color... for a while? Check. Let's see: Russia undergoes a revolution and becomes a global superpower under a Tsar-like figure who rules with a Parliament that has only one political party? Makes some sense if you are between Britain and Japan, I guess. Check. Maybe the hardest things to swallow would be not so much Japanese defeat (again) by the USA but Hiroshima and Nagasaki utter destruction by weapons unthinkable in his time. Or maybe the rise of China after experiencing a Russia-like revolution. But up to the 1940s he was savy.
yesss
He would be horrified
sees globalization: **Happy Japanese scholar noises**
I think he might like a great deal of it. It’s so much easier to explore the world and talk to new and various people, which seems like just what this guy wanted to do
This is one of the coolest history channels I have found. The inflection in the narrator's voice really helps pull me into the narrative.
this is literally the most interesting video i've ever seen. this is awesome.
this perspective was so interesting, and he seemed like such a well-spoken man. More of this kind of thing please.
Fukuzawa Yukichi is a great humble man. He saw the weakness and deficiency in his country, honestly pointed them out for his people, then he suggested them to change. Thanks to his contributions, Japanese people manage to avoid being colonized by Western Empires unlike many other countries.
Fascinating, thank you “Voices of the Past”. Also enjoyed your video on Fukuzawa’s first trip to California ("First Japanese Visitor to USA Describes American Life"). As a result I’m now reading his autobiography.
No way its fukuzawa!! He was first to America now Europe!! He lived a dope life -Yes I learned he wasnt first to Europe, just first as a Japanese ambassador-
He wasn't "the first" strictly speaking (there were Japanese embassies to Spain and Papal State centuries earlier).
@@peepingtom9342 why does this video say hes one of the first then? I've looked it up and you are right, it was a samurai back in the 1600's
Detheroc technically, the previous embassies didn’t represent Japan. They represented some Christian warlords (天正), or a local warlord who wanted to trade (Date-clan), respectively.
Japanese envoys visited Mexico and Europe in the early 17th century, so no, he wasn't the first by several centuries.
Hasekura Tsunenaga and his envoys were the first known and confirmed Japanese to travel to Europe. Their journey through the Americas lead to the establish of the Americas' first Asian community, in Mexico City.
I bought his autobiography after listening to your first video. His writing style is so personable and interesting
Did you buy a physical book or digital?
do you recomend me to buy it? i was wondering.thanks anyway:))
What version did you purchase and from where? I'm interested myself. And was it audio or literature. If it's audio who's the narrator and where did you buy it?
I'm also interested :). Let us know of your discoveries!
Title?
What a beautiful and fascinating moment in history. Thank you so much for uploading this.
You should definitely do a video about Jules Brunet, the French officer who inspired the movie "The Last Samurai". It would be a perfect continuation to this video with an European point of view on the Boshin War.
In case anyone is wondering, this man is on the 10000 Yen Banknote. He also founded Keio University. Bonus funny factoid: Yukichi Fukuzawa spent summers at his home nude kzhead.info/sun/fc2Kl8lwi4p-eok/bejne.html
I did not know that! Thank you very much!
Wait what...? Lol been to Japan a few times and only now I learn this! Thanks haha
This is all more intriguing than I can put into words. I'm Nigerian, but I grew up in Japan. I've always observed their culture from my perspective, but never really saw the world from their traditional perpective. This is truly fascinating.
What an interesting life you must lead!
@wargent99 That's not what's actually happening in America, either. So please do shut up.
@@AlleluiaElizabeth Every 1000th black american can expect to die at the hands of Police. So...
@@AlleluiaElizabeth I'm American and can confirm it is exactly what's happening in America
@@sean668 I'm American and can confirm it isn't. Cops are not just going around murdering black people. Since 2015, 5400 people have been shot by cops. 45% have been white, 23% black, 16% hispanic, 9% other. It is not open season on black people. Or anyone, for that matter.
"Food of the woods and the sea" - That is such a cool description! I love this guy
Easily my favorite video on you channel. Your voice truly brings Fukuzawa to life.
Sometimes i forget being nice was a real thing
I LOVE this guy. Please, have more of his tales if you have them.
After listening to the whole thing, I feel like I've just made a new friend :') thank you for the stories Yukichi, wherever you are. And to this channel for communicating them ^
What a fascinating trip report! Thank you, this guy was way ahead of his time.
wow 100 ryu, just think about how many nails you could buy with that
100 Ryu had the equivalent value of 1.5 kg of gold.
Underrated comment.
I think me and this Japanese guy would be friends. We'd get along.
@@ross6753 it sure sounds like it. I got that impression just from this reading. He seems like a wonderful man
You rarely here the simpler and more wholesome parts of history makes you realize they are all Humans
I'm so glad I found this series. Fantastic channel, I can't wait for the third part
He took care of his mother first? Such a good boy. T_T
The translator was smarter than the entire diplomatic envoy
Stuff like this is so cool. Thank you for creating it. Hearing about the past through someone's own words is so powerful.
Shan't lie, this mini-series following Fukuzawa Yukichi is incredibly fascinating. I hope you do more of his accounts in the future.
Ah yes France! The French [and probably Napoleon Bonaparte] influenced the Japanese Ambassadors to prefer "Préfecture" in the reorganization and renaming of Japanese Regional Subdivisions as Prefecture. These are probably the guys in the video that liked it. In contrast, they didn't like the US "states" being independent with each other and contradictory to their idea of a centralized nation and imperialistic views, unlike France and Napoleon Bonaparte as a powerful Central Figurehead like the Japanese Emperor. You can correct this if I got something wrong.
Ironically the French administrative divisions are called "départements", prefecture is the county-level administration (led by a prefect, from ancient Roman administrative vocabulary) but not the division itself.
@@LuisAldamiz actually at the time they were called prefectures and it was actually france who influenced japan in this way, name explain did a great video on it a week ago
It wasn’t Napoléon Bonaparte (later Napoléon 1st). In 1862 it was his nephew, Louis Napoléon Bonaparte (Napoléon 3d).
It's said that during the Modernization, the Japanese copied the french administration, the british navy and the army and school system of Prussia/Germany. Picking the best parts I guess. :D The japanese school uniforms (which are more or less worn until this day) were copies of prussian cadet uniforms, I believe.
@@untruelie2640 male uniforms where german influenced where as the female uniform where influenced by the british royal navy
Painting the map red... these guys unwillingly predicted the USSR.
Also the unification and rise of Germany
@arnold jayeola Anna Karenina published 1877 and depicting Emancipation Reforms of 1861 was already foreshadowing the February Revolution. This thing was growing for 200 yeras, even the "Journey from St. Petersburg to Moscow ", 1790, by Radishchev seen it coming, never mind numerous peasant uprisings happening every 10 or so years. Marx or not, it would had blow up one way or another, the name would be different, the results would be the same.
@@cianakril Yes but they teach Is in schools around the world like it happened out of nowhere and it was very long process actually.
@@carick235 that very stupid of schools to teach history out of context because Russian revolution was indeed a long brewing process, far longer than 200 years as it roots down to the very same moment a serfdom was introduced in the last years of the 16 century in the Tsardom of Russia. And considering serfdom in Russia was introduced to sway away nobility out of the Polish influence who had serfdom already, you may dig even further down in history.
@@cianakril But would the anthem of been as good?
I love your channel but hearing someone so much closer to the present was a mind blowing experience. Your narration was flawless and expressive. I hope you are adequately compensated for your efforts, and I cannot thank you enough for bringing a resource of this depth to the public.
Wow what an interesting expedition, I can't imagine how exciting it would be at the time to be involved with this wonderful cultural exchange. These are the greatest moments of our joined histories - when different worlds meet in fraternity.
It's hard to describe how much I love this, it's so interesting hearing about this man's story and his perspective on things
I love these Fukuzawa Yukichi episodes. I'd be happy to see more of them.
Oh my gosh... this is so fascinating. Thank you bringing this beautiful perspective to my attention.
I love the series and the fact that you bring these writings to us. Keep up the good work!