Datsu-A Ron
Encyclopedia
Datsu-A Ron was an editorial
Editorial
An opinion piece is an article, published in a newspaper or magazine, that mainly reflects the author's opinion about the subject. Opinion pieces are featured in many periodicals.-Editorials:...

 which was first published in the Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...

ese newspaper Jiji Shimpo on March 16, 1885. The writer is thought to be Japanese
Japanese people
The are an ethnic group originating in the Japanese archipelago and are the predominant ethnic group of Japan. Worldwide, approximately 130 million people are of Japanese descent; of these, approximately 127 million are residents of Japan. People of Japanese ancestry who live in other countries...

 author and educator Fukuzawa Yukichi
Fukuzawa Yukichi
was a Japanese author, writer, teacher, translator, entrepreneur and political theorist who founded Keio University. His ideas about government and social institutions made a lasting impression on a rapidly changing Japan during the Meiji Era...

, but the original editorial was written anonymously. The editorial was contained in the second volume of Fukuzawa's complete works in 1933. The title Datsu-A Ron has been translated variously as the argument for “Good-bye Asia,” “de-Asianization,” “shedding Asia,” “escape from Asia,” “leaving Asia,” or “On departure from Asia.”

Abstract

The article first declared that the “Wind of Westernization
Westernization
Westernization or Westernisation , also occidentalization or occidentalisation , is a process whereby societies come under or adopt Western culture in such matters as industry, technology, law, politics, economics, lifestyle, diet, language, alphabet,...

” was blowing through the east and either countries would adopt the movement to “taste the fruit of civilization” or be left without a choice in their own destiny. “Civilization is like the measles. And it is better than the measles that it can bring interests.” It was therefore Fukuzawa's assertion that in order to develop personal and national self-determination, one must sail on the aforementioned winds of civilization. Impeding the road to civilization lay a conservative government (Tokugawa Shogunate
Tokugawa shogunate
The Tokugawa shogunate, also known as the and the , was a feudal regime of Japan established by Tokugawa Ieyasu and ruled by the shoguns of the Tokugawa family. This period is known as the Edo period and gets its name from the capital city, Edo, which is now called Tokyo, after the name was...

); only when this government was overthrown could civilization be realized in Japan. The key to get rid of the old, and gain the new would be “Leaving Asia”. During the Meiji Restoration
Meiji Restoration
The , also known as the Meiji Ishin, Revolution, Reform or Renewal, was a chain of events that restored imperial rule to Japan in 1868...

 Japan was seen as spiritually “Leaving Asia,” since its two neighbors, China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...

 and Korea
Korea
Korea ) is an East Asian geographic region that is currently divided into two separate sovereign states — North Korea and South Korea. Located on the Korean Peninsula, Korea is bordered by the People's Republic of China to the northwest, Russia to the northeast, and is separated from Japan to the...

, did not appear to be embracing such reformation. Unless there were pioneers to reform these countries, they would be conquered and divided by external forces, as evidenced by the unequal treaties and threat of force pushed on Asian counties by the U.S.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 and other Western powers.

A corroborating passage from Datsu-A Ron reads:

Historical background

"Datsu-A Ron" has been said to be Fukuzawa's response to a failed attempt by Koreans to organize an effective reform faction, an attempt he had supported. He had invited young Korean aristocrats to his school. He supported Yu Giljun who is the first foreign student of Korea, and one of his disciples, Kim Okgyun
Kim Okgyun
Kim Ok-gyun [김옥균; 金玉均] was a reformist activist during the Joseon Dynasty of Korea. He served under the national civil service under King Gojong, and actively participated to advance Western ideas and sciences in Korea...

, tried a coup d'état
Gapsinjeongbyeon
The Gapsin Coup was a failed 3-day coup d'état which started on 4 December 1884 in the late Joseon Dynasty of Korea. It takes its name from the year designator in the traditional sexagenary cycle system of dating, "gapsin" here referring to the year 1884.-History and background:The Gaehwapa group...

 but failed. These failures pushed Fukuzawa to develop his “Leaving Asia” ideology. Neverless, the assistance provided to radical Koreans during this era was generally not intended to lead to complete independence for the peninsula, but rather sought to bring Korea under ever greater Japanese influence. This culminated in the cynical power-plays undertaken in Korea by both Koreans supported by Fukuzawa and the Japanese Imperial Army during the Sino-Japanese War
First Sino-Japanese War
The First Sino-Japanese War was fought between Qing Dynasty China and Meiji Japan, primarily over control of Korea...

.

His enthusiastic support of the Sino-Japanese War
First Sino-Japanese War
The First Sino-Japanese War was fought between Qing Dynasty China and Meiji Japan, primarily over control of Korea...

 had much to do with his opinions about modernization. Like many of his peers in the government, Fukuzawa ultimately believed modernization in Asia could best be achieved at the point of a gun. He believed that China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...

 suffered from archaic and unchanging principles. At the time of the war, foot binding
Foot binding
Foot binding was the custom of binding the feet of young girls painfully tight to prevent further growth. The practice probably originated among court dancers in the early Song dynasty, but spread to upper class families and eventually became common among all classes. The tiny narrow feet were...

 was still the practice in China as well as cruel punishments like torture that Japan had already outlawed, opium was sold on the street, and political institutions were failing to fend off foreign incursions, and interests like railroads and taxation were sold to pay debt. Japan, similarly, suffered the humiliation of having to endure unequal treaties with the Western powers, and Fukuzawa hoped a display of military prowess would sway opinion in the West towards treaty revision. In his hopes for a strong Japan, Fukuzawa saw the Asian countries around Japan as potential deterrents in need of guidance.

Legacy

  1. On March 16, 1885 Datsu-A Ron was first published as an editorial of newspaper Jiji Shinpo without a signature. Then, strictly speaking, the writer is not clear.
  2. In 1885, no comment was found about Datsu-A Ron. Yo Hirayama researched Jiji Shinpo after March 16, 1885, he could not find any reference of Datsu-A Ron. And Hirayama researched the three newspapers: Tokyo Yokohama Mainichi Shinbun, Yubin Houchi Shinbun, and Choya Shinbun from March 17 to March 27, he could not find any comment of Datsu-A Ron. So, Hirayama concluded that the editorial had no effect in 1885.
  3. The editorial had been forgotten for 48 years. No comment is found in these years.
  4. On July 1933, the editorial was contained in Keio Gijyuku ed., Zoku-Fukuzawa Zenshū vol.2. Since then the writer has been regarded as Fukuzawa. Then, still no comment is found from 1933 to 1951.
  5. From Hirayama's research, the first comment was found as a paper on November, 1951. It is the paper of Nisshin-sensō to Fukuzawa Yukichi by Shigeki Tōyama.
  6. The second comment was found as a paper of May, 1952, that Toyo-ni-okeru Nihon-no ichi by Shiso Hattori.
  7. The third comment was found as a paper of August, 1953, that Bunmei-kaika by Shiso Hattori.
  8. The fourth comment was found as a paper of June, 1956, that Nihon Kindai-Shiso-no Keisei by Masanao Kano.
  9. In June 1960, the editorial was contained again in Masafumi Tomita, Shun-ichi Tsuchihashi ed., Fukuzawa Yukichi Zensyu vol.10.
  10. The fifth comment was found as a paper of July 1960, that Ajia-no-nakano Nihon by Koji Iizuka.
  11. The sixth comment was found as a paper of 1961, that Nihon-to Ajia by Yoshimi Takeuchi.
  12. In August 1963, Takeuchi contained the full text of Datsu-A Ron in Gendai-Nihon Shiso Taikei .
  13. In 1967, two paperback were published which commented Datsu-A Ron. These are Fukuzawa Yukichi—Ikitsuzukeru Shisoka by Kenji Kono and Fukuzawa Yukichi by Masanao Kano. Then, the editorial became popular in Japan and it became notorious as the theory of Japanese Imperialism
    Imperialism
    Imperialism, as defined by Dictionary of Human Geography, is "the creation and/or maintenance of an unequal economic, cultural, and territorial relationships, usually between states and often in the form of an empire, based on domination and subordination." The imperialism of the last 500 years,...

    .
  14. In 1970s, there were many papers with almost same comment.
  15. In March 1981, Junji Banno published the new interpretation of Datsu-A Ron in the commentary of Fukuzawa Yukichi Sensyu vol.7, ISBN 4-001-00677-4. Banno interpres Datsu-A Ron as the declaration of failure to attempt by Koreans to organize an effective reform faction.
  16. In 1996, Shinya Ida developed the decision method of writer by style and lexicon about literary works. Ida adapted his method to Datsu-A Ron and presumed the writer as Yoshio Takahashi or Yukichi Fukuzawa. It is written in History and Text ISBN 4-895-42189-9 (Japanese).

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