K. Haraguchi – Rutgers Meets Japan: Early Encounters

A Short Sketch of My Life
(Transcribed by Lavanya Attavane and Evan Feldman )

July 14th, 1874

My dear teacher,

I send you a shirt sketch of my life which you requested us to write. It may not be so interesting, for I wrote it (quiet) as I experienced, without any addition but you will see from this how I received the previous education although there may be great many mistakes in English and writing.

Ever yours, truly

K. Haraguchi.

A Short Sketch of My Life

I was born in Hizen in the year 1853. At the age of five I begun to read and write the Chinese characters and I was allowed to play with various kinds of toys, such as to fly a kite, two hours a day; and the next year I begun the fencing, riding horses, and shooting the bow, continuing the study of Chinese. The last was, however, the principal task at that time, so I was in a school every day from 8 to 12 A.M. The method of studying Chinese is somewhat different from what we do in English school. First we learn how to read the book; after this, the teacher explains the meaning of the whole book and when this is completed each scholar begins to recite. At the time of the recitation all the scholars congregate in the room and when all the scholars are in their proper seats the teacher comes in, and some one of the scholars commences the reading and explanation of a few pages. When he has finished the explanation others begin to ask several questions on the subject and if all his answers be correct the next one reads the subsequent part of the book, but if his opinion be different from others they begin to argue with each other on the subject and finally the teacher judges which is correct and he who is right receives a good mark, hence it sometimes happens that they get angry and begin to fight with each other. In this way I was studying the Chinese and Japanese histories, poetries, etc.

At the time, there were no one, in my province, who studied any foreign language, except physicians who were sent to Nagasaki to study the Dutch language. So it was the general opinion among us that the foreigners knew nothing more than we, Japanese, did, except the Physiology and Anatomy.

At the age of nine I was appointed as attendant of the lord of my province and my business was to attend him every day, sitting at his side with his long sword when at the event, and at his private room I had to read the book with him, as he was of the same age as I, and to ride, to fence, whenever he wished to. I was often told by some old officers that I should sometimes to fail intentionally at these exercises, so that the lord might always be victorious; but as I disliked to do such thing I was fencing and reading as much as I could, so he was always inferior to me and at last I was blamed by something else, the origin of which I supposed to have come from the above causes. After two weeks, however, I was recalled and received the same office as before.

In this way I spend three years, when there was a little revolution in the school system and it was agreed that the government should select some number of students and send them to other districts where the Chinese study was better improved, so I and two others were appointed to go to Nagasaki where we found more suitable teachers and we changed our (?-0099 Haraguchi p. 3) to Higo. In Higo we found several good Chinese teachers and we greatly improved in the studies of history and poetry. At the end of three years I was called back and after an examination I was appointed as friend and teacher of my lord. Afterward, I and one other student were sent to visit all the provinces in Kiushiu to see how the educational system was established in other provinces, how was the general impression about the foreigners. When I returned from the journey the lord was ready to start to Tokio and allowed me to accompany him. I was exceedingly glad to see Tokio but at each time I met foreigners in Nagasaki or Yokohama I was thinking how to drive them away. As I met several men who were of the same opinion as mine, we were continually talking about the long bearded fellow. When my lord returned I was at liberty to do what I wished to, whether remain in Tokio or go to Osaka, but as I had never been in Osaka before, I preferred to go there. After finding a good teacher there, I entered his private school where I met two or three scholars who asserted the necessity of studying foreign languages and sciences. As I was of quite different opinion from theirs we were continually quarrelling about the foreigners but because my party was in majority we were always victorious. It was our opinion that there is no necessity of establishing commercial intercourse with foreign people, for we had everything necessary for food, clothing, and for all other purposes, so we did not desire any exchange with other nations; and by these intercourses we should lose all our valuable things and get a little of useless articles in their stead, hence the only question was how to drive them away.

At the end of one year I was called back as there was a great revolution in the province and the lord was abolished and he became Chiji or a temporary ruler of the province. At this time Chiji was called to Tokio but as he was suffered from some disease, my father was appointed the substitute for him and I was also allowed to accompany my father, so I got to Tokio, the second time. As my object was to enter Seido, the largest Chinese school in Tokio I went there as soon as I arrived and after a little more than one year I was in the graduated class, so I was obliged to teach some of the lower classes. But I was not willing to teach I was about to leave the school and go to some other; at this time I found some advantage of studying foreign languages although I had no inclination to begin it myself.

When my father proposed to return home leaving me in Tokio, he told me ‘I am very glad that you have already got the perfect knowledge of Chinese, so you are somewhat distinguished even in Seido, the largest school in Tokio and it may not be necessary for you to continue the study the but I think it would be necessary for you to study the language of some of the Western nations, as well as the interesting sciences which we have never had before. If you do so you have now a good imperial school Nanko in Tokio, where you can study either English French or German, you wish to. I was not, at all, willing to begin the study of any of these sciences, but as I could not disobey my father, moreover the study was found to be somewhat beneficial to me I determined myself to begin and entered Nanko where I have studied several interesting sciences and am still continuing the learning.

When I commenced the study of English all my friends who are in the province hated me and no one communicated me with letters although before this time they were sending them to me without intervals. At present, however, they seem to have discovered the necessity of study and many of them restored the communication with me.

K. Haraguchi.


: In this autobiography, K. Haraguchi writes of his experience in education through his life, and his gradual appreciation towards studying as he matures. He demonstrates a very common concept felt by the Japanese people in the early years after the Meiji Restoration. Like many, he did not see the use in studying Western languages or sciences, nor did he believe trading with the West was beneficial to Japan. This behavior is not surprising considering the culture of Japan that he was born and raised by. As Haraguchi continued his education in Nagasaki and Tokyo he likely interacted with foreigners, but as he described, he felt the need to “drive them away.” Other essays from Willliam Griffis’ students reveal the same impressions of foreigners. Many even regarded non-Japanese as beasts. This mindset was likely caused by the lack of interaction between the Japanese people and the few foreigners in Japan.

Haraguchi must have been a bright student, because only top students were sent to study in Nagasaki and Tokyo. A curious note that Haraguchi made was that because he read independently, his intelligence surpassed the lord he was appointed to serve. Interestingly, Haraguchi’s education slowly became more Westernized as he continued on, much like the country of Japan as a whole. He describes how he initially learned Chinese classics and followed the traditional Japanese style of education, but in Nagasaki he became more exposed to Western education. As expressed above, he was not initially interested in studying foreign language or science because he held the common belief that foreign interaction was not beneficial to Japan and that they were self-sufficient. As Haraguchi states “because my party was in majority we were always victorious,” revealing that at the start of his education, this was a widely held belief.

Haraguchi’s interest in Western education did not occur voluntarily, rather his father instructed him that it would be beneficial for him to study science and English. This may be due to his father being an important samurai; he might have had interaction with those who rank above him and anticipated the coming changes to Japan. This may have prompted him to send his son to experience Western learning. Thus Haraguchi was exposed to a Western curriculum, and likely began to interact more directly with foreigners.

We know for sure that he interacted with William Griffis, who likely instructed him in both English and the sciences. As a student of Griffis, Haraguchi likely began to realize the biases he held towards foreigners. Haraguchi does not comment on how he feels towards foreigners at the time of writing this essay, but we can see he is fond of Griffis, evidenced by the short introduction he writes to him. He writes this essay contrasting his current beliefs with his past. Haraguchi writes with respect towards Griffis, and he also notes that he wrote the essay “as he experienced” it. The stigma around Western education is obvious when Haraguchi states the people that he knows stopped talking to him when he began to learn English. And as the idea of learning Western education became normalized in Japan, they began to speak to him again. This small change in interactions mirrors the larger change in the mindset of Japan as a whole: slowly becoming more accepting of foreigners and Western education as they realize the benefits to them as the country modernizes.

As American, British, and German officials interacted with high-ranking Japanese officials to discuss implementing a national system of education, there was a wave moving through the nation that brought Western ideas and influence to Japan. The wave came along with more interaction with foreign teachers and travellers, and these interactions slowly led to the dispelling of myths and prejudices the Japanese people had, which can be observed on a personal scale through the autobiography of Haraguchi.