Freedom（自由）

Background

Neesima loved and sought freedom. We can find the word “freedom” in many of his writings. The word also expresses Neesima’s aspiration and desire to become a free man through Christianity. According to a draft of his speech titled “The Four Elements that Compose Civilization” (1882, JNE, p. 283), “freedom” was one of the four essential pillars of civilization, along with knowledge, property, and conscience. The spirit of freedom is also an element of the founding spirit. Therefore, the word freedom, which he loved throughout his life and entrusted to posterity for the cultivation of his spirit, is to be found in the above three texts.
　The first quote is from an English letter that Neesima sent to his “American parents,” Mr. and Mrs. Hardy, in 1872. In the letter, Neesima describes an episode in his life when, while a student at Andover Theological Seminary, he went to Washington, D.C., at the request of Arinori Mori (later the Minister of Education, 1847–1889), the Meiji government’s diplomat in the U.S., and met with Fujimaro Tanaka (1845–1909), a senior bureaucrat on the Iwakura Mission to Europe. In these words, Neesima describes his delight when he was allowed to cooperate with Tanaka’s investigation of the educational situation, not as a subject with a hierarchical relationship, but as an equal free man based on a contract, that is, as one who has been set free by Christ. Neesima was so grateful to the couple for their support that he turned down Tanaka’s generous offer; if he became a vassal receiving order, his previous studies would be regarded as a government-sponsored study abroad program, and he would be reimbursed for his expenses. Neesima never served the Meiji government and continued to secure his freedom from the Empire of Japan throughout his life, and he worked hard to establish a private university, Doshisha University, in the private sector.
　The second quote is from a letter written by Neesima to Foreign Minister Munenori Terashima (1832–1893) in 1876. He makes full use of his background in classical Chinese literature and speaks passionately about his career, his educational aspirations, and his passion for education. He also wrote that he would “respect the laws of the government” and follows the government’s fundamental policy in promoting the Meiji Restoration. Neesima promises to take responsibility for striving to eradicate the evil old customs that are beyond description. As a counterpoint to the filth of the “old customs,” Neesima refers to the “energy of freedom” and seeks its expansion. The freedom that Neesima refers to is a vitality to be enjoyed and adored, in other words, the source of spirit. Neesima believes that education expands the spirit of freedom and fills the nation with truth (“The truth will set you free,” Gospel of John, chapter 8, verse 32). However, freedom does not mean free spending without regard for others, i.e., a selfish and self- centered way of thinking, but rather, Neesima believes that self-discipline based on a spirit of faith, justice, and humanity, consideration for others who enjoy the same freedom as oneself, observance of the law, and social formation through close interaction among free peoples, in other words, respect for the freedom of others, are also necessary. He emphasizes that it is necessary and that this will create an earthly paradise.
　This understanding of freedom was significant then and is still important today.
　The third quote is a sentence from Neesima’s last will, which Neesima dictated to Soho Tokutomi in 1890, which were his last words on his deathbed in Oiso, Kanagawa Prefecture. He had longed to establish a university to provide specialized education. No matter what specialized field of education was offered, Neesima believed that its purpose would converge with “training men and women who love the freedom with sincerity and who should serve the nation.” The nation here is considered to be the nation of the people. In 1878, Neesima had already written, “To cultivate a spirit of freedom, perhaps no schools are better than private schools,” and in 1889, in his “General Idea for the Establishment of Doshisha University,” he clearly stated, “The doors of our university shall be wide open, and the atmosphere of our university shall be free.” In a letter sent by Neesima to Yasutada Yokota in the same year, he wrote, “During my absence, I would like to express my sincere appreciation for all the efforts you have made inside Doshisha, and even though there are rules and regulations in each district, I hope that a spring breeze of autonomy and freedom will be blowing among the students.”
　In Japan, too, the word “freedom” is of ancient origin, originating in the Chinese language, and until the Edo period, it was often used to mean self- indulgence. It seems that Neesima first wanted to clarify that Doshisha’s educational objective differed from this. The freedom that Neesima refers to was also fundamentally different from the freedom that was the goal of the liberal civil rights movement in Japan, which flourished until the promulgation of the Constitution of the Empire of Japan. Neesima criticized the freedom advocated by the civil liberties activists as “freedom without moral principles” that would corrupt and destroy the individual and the nation. The freedom that Neesima referred to was freedom backed by Christianity and based on clear moral principles. It was neither a political tool nor an expedient for political advancement, but rather the very freedom of citizenship in the mature civil society of New England where he lived and learned. From the very beginning, Doshisha, with its atmosphere of freedom, also enrolled Buddhists. We can glimpse religious tolerance there as well. This was the dawn of the diversity-oriented campus which we are aiming for.

Contemporary Significance

Neesima first won his freedom from the Empire of Japan in the democratic republic of the United States of America (the first quote). There he acquired the values of individualism to be respected and of a civil society composed of equal people. Therefore, the freedom that Neesima gained there was not only stated in his educational objectives, which should be oriented toward expansion (the second quote) but was also reiterated in his last will, which survives even after his death, so to speak (the third quote).
　In the case of Doshisha, the spirit of freedom was an excellent founding spirit and educational objective that anticipated the future. This is because Neesima was a rare educator in Meiji Japan who had experienced postwar Japanese civil society firsthand, so to speak, in New England. In other words, to the surprise of contemporary Japanese, Neesima founded Doshisha in the period before the enactment of the Constitution of the Empire of Japan in 1898, based on the civic spirit of American democratic society, which was the source of the present Constitution of Japan (enacted in 1946), and the civic sense and spirit of self-government of a mature, self-governing civic society. The Doshisha was founded based on the civic sense and spirit of self-government of a mature and self-governing civic society. Neesima, who did not know contemporary Japan, already had a vision and aspiration during the Meiji period to nurture citizens who could support a democratic society under the new postwar Constitution, as if it were a democratic society under the current Constitution, although sovereignty was not vested in the people at that time. In this sense, he was a time traveler who lived in the future during the Meiji period, and his spirit of freedom, which is still alive today, should be recalled once again.
　Many people today live in a free society and state system without realizing the value of freedom daily. Sadly, however, it is not uncommon to see people misunderstanding the meaning of freedom, and the free market as envisioned by modern economics is doubtful of its existence. Fake news undermines the foundations of free and right decisions upon which democracy rests, and the Internet society certainly constrains individual freedom through information management. Even free access to and control of one’s information is inadequate. In the name of freedom, social disparities are widening, and even free access to the courts, which are still the legal redress system of last resort, may be restricted.
　In general, it is also important to be aware that the realization of one’s freedom inevitably requires respect for the freedom of others.
　Article 97 of the current Constitution of Japan clearly states that “The fundamental human rights by this Constitution guaranteed to the people of Japan are fruits of the age-old struggle of man to be free; they have survived the many exacting tests for durability and are conferred upon this and future generations in trust, to be held for all time inviolate.” With the enactment of this constitution, it can be said that Japan has finally caught up with Neesima. His desire for freedom was also broadly based on the development of citizens with a spirit of freedom to support constitutionalism, citizens who would properly exercise their right to vote and substantiate constitutionalism, as well as citizens who could “aspire toward the bottom of society (be conscious of the margins of society)” and realize an “equal society” for the “improvement of society” (see “Improvement of Society”). It was oriented toward “cultivating citizenship” through education.
　Doshisha, which will soon celebrate its 150th anniversary, is expected to become a campus that attracts a diverse range of individuals who, by returning to the founding spirit, will reaffirm the value of “freedom with sincerity” and contribute to building a truly free society while looking further ahead.

(Shiro Kawashima)