Nakagawa Kojuro (中川小十郎)
Kojuro NAKAGAWA (February 18, 1866 - October 7, 1944) is a former member of the House of Peers, official of the Ministry of Education, and the founder of Kyoto Hosei School (present Ritsumeikan University).
He was born at Umaji-mura, Minamikuwada District, Tanba Province (present Umaji-cho, Kameoka City, Kyoto. Prefecture)
Sculptor Masayuki NAGARE is his son.
Historical trail and personality
School days
He was born in the Nakagawa family, which was Goshi (country samurai) that served Kinmochi SAIONJI since the Boshin Civil War. He went to Tokyo at the age of 13, recommended by Kenjiro NAKAGAWA, who was a brother of his mother Saki and was the principal of Tokyo Women's Higher Normal School (present Ochanomizu University). Since then he made himself at home at Kenjiro's house and lived with Ryohei OKADA and Kitokuro ICHIKI, who later became senior officers, among others. After studying at Hibiya High School, Tokyo, and Daiichi High School (the first old-education-system high school) he entered the Department of Political Science, School of Law, Imperial University (later Tokyo Imperial University, present the Faculty of Low at Tokyo University). He studied with Soseki NATSUME, Kumagusu MINAKATA, and Shiki MASAOKA among others at the University Preparatory School (Yobimon).
It is said that he had a particularly friendly association with Soseki, of which his commensality with NAKAGAWA was mentioned in Soseki's work "Rakudai."("Failure")
In Tokyo, after getting acquainted with Kinmochi SAIONJI, Kojuro NAKAGAWA frequently visited the residence of SAIONJI. The close relationship between Supreme Order Prince SAIONJI and Kojuro was due to the following facts: since his adoptive father Buheita NAKAGAWA and Rokuzaemon NAKAGAWA served on active duty for Kinmochi SAIONJI in the Boshin Civil War, the Saionji family and the Nakagawa family had a master-subordinate relationship; and his uncle Kenjiro NAKAGAWA enjoyed a close association with Kinmochi SAIONJI since the initial year of the Meiji Period to the Taisho Period.
Entering the Ministry of Education
When he was a student at the Imperial University, he wanted to enter the (Japanese) Ministry of Agriculture and Commerce. However, at the job interview, he became angry with the vice minister' manner, and although he was admitted to the Ministry, he turned down the offer. Then he talked to his mentor Hiroji KINOSHITA, and upon being recommended to the Ministry of Education, on July 27, 1893, he entered the Ministry of education. On August 27, 1895, only two years after entering the Ministry, he was appointed with unprecedented speed to be the Executive Secretary to the Minister of Education, Kinmochi SAIONJI. This was an exceptional promotion that was due to SAIONJI owing a special favor to him. During the period of the Executive Secretaries to the Ministry of Education, he was involved in the foundation of Kyoto Imperial University (present Kyoto University) as SAIONJI's right hand, and was assigned as the first executive secretary to Kyoto University. In addition, when SAIONJI took charge of the promoter to establish the Japan Women's University, he took the post as chief secretary of the foundation preparatory secretariat of the university with Yasuie TOGAWA and Shozo ASO, and made efforts to establish a higher educational institute as a government official of the Ministry of Education.
Education philosophy of Kojuro NAKAGAWA
Kojuro NAKAGAWA's philosophy on education was to place the importance on women's education and this seems to have been largely influenced by his uncle Kenjiro NAKAGAWA, who was the principle of Ochanomizu University. NAKAGAWA's strong passion toward the enhancement of women's education can be traced through his activities at that time, such as his participation in the 'The Vernacular Movement' from the earlier stage of the movement, and involvement in the establishment of Japan Women's University promoted by Jinzo NARUSE.
Advocacy of 'writing style reform theory'
In 1888, while still a student, Kojuro presented an article titled 'The method to establish the common writing style between men and women' with Naohiko (Masahiko) MASAKI, who was his close friend and later became the principal of Tokyo Fine Arts School (present Tokyo University of Arts) in the educational journals "Dainihon Kyoikukai Zasshi "(Vols. 73 and 74: March and April) and "Kyoshi no Tomo" (Vols. 10 and 11: March and April). They applied the article to a prize essay contest organized by Dainippon Kyoiku Kai (Great Japan Education Society) and won 'first' prize while Arinori MORI was the Minister of Education. In this article, NAKAGAWA advocated his theory that if a uniformed writing style could be adopted to elaborate on texts, 'this would lead to the disappearance between difference in men and women's writing styles,' and his theory attracted people's attention as a unique opinion for its time. In later years, he recalled 'Although nowadays the colloquial style is widely practiced, at that time this idea did not gain approval by the public in general.' ('Hakuun sanso zakki' (Miscellaneous record at Hakuun sanso villa) in "Ritsumeikan Gakkai-shi" (Ritsumeikan University Bureau) Vol. 9: March, 1917).
Participation in the publication of "Iratsume"(Young Women)
NAKAGAWA was one of the members deeply involved in the publication of a literary magazine 'Iratsume.'
With Kojuro, Ryohei OKADA, Kitokuro ICHIKI, Banji SHINBO, Naohiko (Masahiko) MASAKI, and Bimyo YAMADA among others made efforts to publish 'Iratsume.'
In "Bimyo Senshu"(Selected Works of Bimyo) (Vol. I) published in 1935, Nakagawa wrote in the foreword as follows, advocating that 'women's education' and 'the nation's development' were closely interlinked.
There is no doubt that the process and the contents of women's education largely relate to a nation's culture, and I believe that no one can be opposed to this.'
In general, women's education and a nation's development affect each other, and therefore, the perfect education for women can not be achieved if society does not have a higher level of culture, and without achieving what could be considered a satisfactory education for women, real development can not be expected.'
('Concept of the publication of Iratsume,' "Iratsume" Vol.1 (July 1887: Publishing Department of Ritsumeikan Foundation).
Relationship with Jinzo NARUSE
While he was an officer of the Ministry of Education, NAKAGAWA also associated with Jinzo NARUSE, who established Japan Women's University. About his relation with NARUSE, he said that 'when I was serving as the executive secretary at Ministry of Education, at my house I was often visited by a person called Jinzo NARUSE, who scrambled to establish a women's university at today's Mejiro, and a person called Shozo ASO' which was representative of the fact that NARUSE and another person visited NAKAGAWA to discuss an idea to establish a school ('Nakagawa Socho Kowa (II)' (Nakagawa Headmaster's talk), "Nakagawa-ke Bunsho" (Document of the Nakagawa Family). As an official of the Ministry of Education, NAKAGAWA served as the executive secretary of the foundation secretariat of the Japan Women's University on non-regular bases, and supported Kinmochi SAIONJI who actively backed the establishment of the university.
Speech on 'the enhancement of women's education'
In 1929, he made a speech titled 'The enhancement of women's education.'
The draft handwritten by himself had as many as 31 pages, and he advocated the necessity to take 'the wise decision to totally eradicate state-regulated prostitutes.'
He said that the introduction of 'the women's suffrage system' was too early, saying that '[s]till there is no women's education, and women in general lack consciousness as citizens,' and insisted that the enhancement of women's education was a top priority. Moreover, he declared that 'the biggest objective in the Showa new administration' was to enhance women's higher education, and developed his theory of absolute equality of the sexes, insisting the 'equal right of men and women' was the highest ideal of the cultured nation.
Establishment of Kyoto Hosei School
In January 11, 1897, he was appointed to be the Councilor for the Ministry of Education under the Minister of Education Mochiaki HACHISUKA (The second Matsukata Cabinet). The next year, when the Minister of Education Kinmochi SAIONJI, who succeeded the charge of the newly appointed Minister of Education Hamao (the third Ito Cabinet), resigned from the ministry for the reason of his illness, NAKAGAWA also left his official job. He then entered the business world and actively dedicated himself to reconstructing Kashimaya (present Daido Life Insurance Company), as well as, taking charge of the auditor of Dojima Rice Exchange, Osaka, and the vice president of Asahi Life Insurance Company.
However, when he noticed the restricted reality that Kyoto Imperial University, in the establishment of which he himself was involved as an official of the Ministry of Education, was unable to accept other than those who graduated from the old-education-system high schools as its system and that it was far from the educational ideal advocated by Kinmochi SAIONJI, that is, 'the nation should offer the opportunities to those who have ability and will,' he decided to establish a private school by himself. The next year, he set up a preparatory office for to establish Kyoto Hosei School within the building of Asahi Life Insurance Company, and received cooperation in educational affairs from ex-professors at Kyoto Imperial University, Yorozu ODA, Hisoka INOUE, and Santaro OKAMATSU among others, cooperation in office procedure to establish the school from Yoshi NISHIDA (Senior managing director, Asahi Life Insurance Company), Atsushi Hashimoto (Directing manager, Daido Life Insurance Company), Yoshinao YAMASHITA (Member of Kyoto Prefectural Assembly), Kashiichiro KAWARABAYASHI (Executive director, Toyo Rayon Co., Ltd.), and Kametaro HAMURO (Directing manager, Keishin Densha (Keishin Electric Tramway), among others, and also received support from prominent figures in the Kyoto business circle (Ninsaburo UCHINUKI, Kotetsu HAMAOKA, Gentaro TANAKA, Eisuke NAKAMURA, Kikutaro AMEMORI, Bunpei TAKAGI, and Yoshio KAWARABAYASHI) as patronage members.
NAKAGAWA also consulted with Hiroji KINOSHITA, about the establishment of Kyoto Housei School, who was his teacher and the first president of Kyoto Imperial University.
According to him, KINOSHITA liked this plan very much and said that ' as a fundamental principle, Kyoto Housei School should have a sense of oneness with Kyoto Imperial University.'
In the provision for the 'act of endowment' of the 'Ritsumeikan Foundation,' the entity established with Kyoto Housei School as its parent organization, there was a clause that clearly mentioned that when the foundation would be dissolved, all properties would be donated to Kyoto Imperial University, and this clause was representative of a certain connection with 'the sense of oneness' towards Kyoto Imperial University which KINOSHITA indicated.
On May 4, 1900, 'Request for establishment of private Kyoto Housei School (Kyoto law and politics technical school)' was submitted to the Kyoto governor. On May 19, 1900, the establishment was successfully admitted, and the inauguration ceremony of the school was held on June 5 of the same year. The first principal was a professor at Tokyo Imperial University Masaaki TOMII, who was born in Kyoto Prefecture and was one of the writers of the Civil Code. TOMII took charge as principal of Kyoto Hosei School as well as the president of Ritsumeikan University (private) until August 31, 1927.
Returning to government service
In 1903, at the request of Hiroji KINOSHITA, NAKAGAWA returned to government service as Secretary of Kyoto Imperial University. In 1906, when the first Saionji Cabinet was set up, he took the post of Secretary of the Cabinet and Executive Secretary to the Prime Minister at the same time. In July 4, 1908, when Saionji's entire cabinet resigned, he went over to Karafuto as the administrative official of Karafuto Government Office. At that time, by the Treaty of Portsmouth, the southern half of the island of Karafuto was incorporated into Japanese territory. It seems that SAIONJI wanted to fend off the army's intent of virtually establishing a military regime by placing a military administrator in Karafuto, and sent Nakagawa, a faithful person to him, to Karafuto in order to block the army's plan. In September 1911, Kojuro NAKAGAWA, far from the capital, had been smoothly promoted to 2nd senior official and then to imperial appointee, and practically reached the top as civilian personnel.
Getting a position at Bank of Taiwan as 'Amakudari'
On September 11, 1912, NAKAGAWA was relieved of his position at his own request, and was instead placed in the position of vice president at the Bank of Taiwan. This is known as 'Amakudari,' and at the time it was a post that all retired government officials wanted to be placed in.
This year, he was granted the rank 'Jushii' (Junior Fourth Rank) and also received 'the Order of the Rising Sun, Gold Rays with Rosette.'
As vice president of the Bank of Taiwan, he worked actively, setting up branch offices in the eastern areas of Taiwan and New York, and in 1919, he took charge as adviser for 'Hua Nan Bank' and 'Nanyo Soko' (The South Seas Warehousing Company), and the following year he became 'the president' of the Bank of Taiwan. While he was the president of Bank of Taiwan, as he had more spare time, he associated more frequently with upper management in political and financial society, and backed by Kinmochi SAIONJI, he gradually set foot into the world of politics.
Election to become Mayor of Kyoto City
In July 1916, Hisoka INOUE, who was the Mayor of Kyoto City and also NAKAGAWA's friend (professor at Kyoto Imperial University and the assistant principal of Kyoto Hosei School) resigned in order to receive treatement for his illness. In September in the same year, Kyoto City Assembly elected Kojuro NAKAGAWA as the first candidate for mayor of Kyoto City, while he was staying in Taiwan. On September 16, the councilors who recommended NAKAGAWA insisted to vote and he was finally elected in an anonymous vote.
Knowing this result, the Ritsumeikan University 'Kyoto Koyu Club' (Kyoto Alumni Club) expressed its welcome, holding the alumni general assembly on September 23. The members of the Alumni Club were so enthusiastic that the city councilor Kozaburo HASHIMOTO and the lawyer Shigetaro IKEDA even went to Taiwan as representatives of the club to persuade him to accept the post. However, NAKAGAWA did not listen to the advice of his friends and acquaintances, and declined the request to be the mayor. Hearing this, Kyoto City Council members, the chairman of the City Assembly and others adjusted their opinion and once again asked NAKAGAWA to take the post, however, he informed them via telegraph that of his refusal to take the post. In 1927, there was an intent to field him in the election of Kyoto City Mayor, however this again failed.
Member of House of Peers
In 1925, NAKAGAWA, who resigned his post as vice president of Bank of Taiwan at the termination of his term, and on December 1, was chosen to be a member of House of Peers by Imperial command, based on the application of the article 1-clause 4, 'those who contributed to the nation or those of knowledge.'
Prior to chosing a member of the House of Peers by Imperial command, the cabinet was supposed to make a recommendation, however at that time, it was none other than Kinmochi SAIONJI who recommended NAKAGAWA to the cabinet.
On his appointment, in January 17, at Ritsumeikan University, the Alumni Club, Tokyo Branch held a celebration, and 45 persons in total, including the university president Masaakira TOMII, dean Kinji TAJIMA, and bunkocho (library director) Sadajiro ATOBE, and on January 18, the following day, it held a celebration at Kyoto Municipal Hall, inviting more than 1,600 persons including alumni, teachers and staff members, and students. As a member of the House of Peers, NAKAGAWA took charge of the petition council of the 3rd department of the standing committee.
When he stepped into the world of politics, he was considered to be close to Rikken seiyukai (a political party organized by Hirobumi ITO). However, when Korekiyo TAKAHASHI took the post of president of SEYUKAI after the assassination of Takashi HARA, he started to proceed down his own independent path. In 1935, through his close friend Kiichiro HIRANUMA, he began to associate with the generals of Kodoha (the Imperial Way group) of the army, such as Sadao ARAKI and Junzaburo MASAKI, taking a stance which was not always compatible with the political policy of Kinmochi SAIONJI. It is also known that being invited by 'Jinmukai' (the Society of Jinmu), a new nationalist organization set up by Shumei OKAWA and others with the support of Hiroichiro ISHIHARA, he showed a positive attitude to take part in it for a while. ISHIHARA intended to expand the society by incorporating prominent figures in the political and economic circles as well as the military, and besides NAKAGAWA, he also invited the lieutenant general (army) and baron Takeo KIKUCHI, major general (navy) Jiro NANGO, lieutenant general (navy) Tomojiro Chisaka, general (army) Kunishige TANAKA, general (navy) Michita HARA, and the diplomat Kumataro HONDA among others, to participate in the society. As the police, cautious about the participation of the radicals like OKAWA, gave warning, many people cancelled their membership to 'Jinmukai' one after another, and NAKAGAWA himself pressed Okawa to disolve the society, and even cut relations with him for a while.
Zagyo-So' and Kojuro NAKAGAWA
The elder statesman Kinmochi SAIONJI spent his latest days at his villa 'ZAGYO-SO' located at Okitsu, Shizuoka Prefecture. NAKAGAWA, who was working for Bank of Taiwan at the time, visited 'ZAGYO-SO' and stayed with SAIONJI with considerable frequency when he returned to Japan. At that time the secretary in political affairs for SAIONJI was Baron Kumao HARADA, and according to the record, it was revealed that NAKAGAWA visited most frequently after HARADA. Considering the circumstances that HARADA was living in Oiso, and the difficult transportation condition on those days, NAKAGAWA's visit was extraordinarily frequent compared to others. In addition, NAKAGAWA always accompanied SAIONJI when he moved to Tokyo or to Kyoto, and this fact was representative of their relationship whereby SAIONJI trusted NAKAGAWA as a private secretary. In fact, communications from Imperial Household Minister Nobuaki Makino were made to SAIONJI through NAKAGAWA. After the 'February 26th Incident', when Hiroichiro ISHIHARA asked him to 'request SAIONJI the recommendation' of Duke KONOE, as 'there is no other person except for him,' he transferred this message to SAIONJI, and played an important role in issuing an Imperial command to appoint Fumimaro KONOE. After all, KONOE did not listen to SAIONJI's words of persuasion and respectfully declined the request of the cabinet.
NAKAGAWA was at Okitsu on November 24, 1940, the day on which SAIONJI died. SAIONJI had a bout with fever on November 12, and NAKAGAWA, who heard of this, left Kyoto taking the night train. When NAKAGAWA arrived in the afternoon of the next day on the 13th, 'the Duke asked him to stay during a certain time (the article dated November 13, 1940 of 'The collection of letters' in "Nakagawa Bunsho" (Nakagawa Document)' and never left OKITSU to the end. On the day of SAIONJI's state funeral, at Ritsumeikan University, the people commemorated SAIONJI, by displaying the flag of the Saionji family, which was dyed with the family emblem 'Left Tomoe' (a pattern of one ore more curled tadpole shapes inside a circle), at half-staff at the school gate of Hirokoji Campus, while the music was performed by drum and fife band of the Imperial guards, all while ringing the bells of the ship, Sakura maru, which was used to close the Port Arthur, that was donated by SAIONJI. NAKAGAWA said, 'When Duke SAIONJI passed away, I submitted my resignation to leave the House of Peers, but it was not processed and finally rejected due to my colleagues' opinions and others' ("Nakagawa Bunsho").
Demise
On October 7, 1944, Nakagawa, who left home to go to Ritsumeikan University as usual, worked at the office until after 5 o'clock and returned home. He went to bed in the evening, but soon suffered a heart attack and passed away. He was 78 years old. The next day, the Emergency Board of Administration of Ritsumeikan Foundation was held and decided to celebrate the 'foundation funeral' with the university president Motooki MATSUI as the director of the funeral ceremony, and on October 15 of the same year, the 'foundation funeral' was led by chief funeral servant, Buddhist monk Seisetsu SEKI, was solemnly celebrated. As NAKAGAWA was actively involved in political and economic circles, many prominent figures sent their condolences and telegrams to his funeral. Kitokuro ICHIKI, who was his intimate friend and chairman of the Privy Council, and other following figures participated in the memorial service: from the political circles and the official circles; Ministry of Education, House of Peers, Gakushikai (academia), German Consular Offices (Osaka and Kobe), Rentaro MIZUNO, Yosaburo TAKEGOSHI, Kanji ISHIHARA among others, from the educational circle; President of Waseda University Tomio NAKANO, President of Doshisha University Toraji MAKINO,President of Kwansai Gakuin University Kiichi KANZAKI, President of Kansai University Sho Takeda, Dean of Faculty of Law, Kyoto Imperial University Sotaro WATANABE, and from the business circle; President of Daido Life Insurance Company Kyuemon HIROOKA, President of Nippon Yusen Kabushiki Kaisha (NYK Line) Hisanobu TERAI, President of Osaka Shosen Kaisha (OSK Line) Eitaro OKADA, Board Chairperson of The Asahi Shinbun Company Choken Murayama, President of Mainichi Shinbun Shingoro TAKAISHI, President of the Yomiuri Shinbun Matsutaro SHORIKI, President of the Kyoto Shinbun Harunosuke USHIROGAWA, Sumitomo Zaibatsu (financial combine) Kichizaemon SUMITOMO, and others.
Kojuro NAKAGAWA was buried in the graveyard of Tojiin Temple beside the Kinugasa Campus of Ritsumeikan University.
The epitaph engraved on the tombstone reads 'Kotokuin-denen-oujukyo-daikoji.'
Brief personal history
July 1893: Graduated from the Department of Politics, Faculty of Law, Imperial University.
January 1898: Secretary of the Ministry of Education and the executive secretary to the Minister of Education, as well as the director of Kashima Bank,
April 1899: Vice President of Asahi Life Insurance Company
June 1900: Established Kyoto Hosei School
June 1903: Secretary of Kyoto Imperial University.
March 1905: Dean of Ritsumeikan Foundatioin
April 1906: Executive Secretaries to the Prime Minister, The 1st Saionji Cabinet
July 1908: The 1st Department Director of Karafuto Government Office
September 1912: Vice President of Bank of Taiwan
February 1913: Director of Ritsumeikan Foundation (until March 1928)
August 1920: President of Bank of Taiwan
December 1926: Member of the House of Peers (Japan) (appointed by Imperial command, until October 1944)
April 1928: President of Ritsumeikan University (until October 1944)