Fukuzawa

By this time a number of clans had apprised to assist the imperial court by taking a violent but rigid stand toward anyone who was pro-foreign or showed any sympathy toward Western ideas or persons. As a result to all this Fukuzawa had to maintain his own perspective while trying to be nonchalant in the eyes of those opposing the West. His school was the only school of primarily Western ideas and in the future would become the only school specializing in English as it primary language when conventional Japanese still sought the Chinese language and was considered prestigious. .
             In the walls behind Keio Gikuju, Fukuzawa wanted everyone's main focus to be on education instead of people ranks being respected, as the Shoguns emphasized. He had preferred that unlike everywhere else in Japan, his school would not submit to the respect of ranks and classes associated with prejudice attitudes toward other. According to Fukuzawa this was part of the reason why Japan was not moving forward. He said that the old traditional ways of Japan held it back from progress. "The Japanese people had lived under oppressive social restrictions for centuries and had acquired the habit of passive obedience. In directing these people into a more active life, the injunction against bowing was the first step." Implying that bowing is the first step to submission, and a submissive person cannot be independent but is instead dependant upon the status or attitude of others. Also to have self-respect, one must not see him/herself as inferior to others. There is yet another incident where after the law has changed allowing all to ride horses no matter what the rank of someone they might have passed on the street. A farmer runs into Fukuzawa as he is riding a horse. Because he is a farmer he was unable to do so according to the old law, but at the time of the event it was legal. He did not know this, as he was uneducated and he immediately with great fear jumped off the horse.