Tekijuku after Koan

Even after OGATA Koan went to Edo in 1862 and passed away there the following year, OGATA Sessai (1834-1911), his adopted son, continued to live in Tekijuku, which is believed to have continued to provide education for students and operate as a medical practice until around 1886. At this time Tekijuku underwent some transitions, and in 1920 Osaka Prefecture erected a monument at the site. Tekijuku was designated as an Osaka Prefectural Historical Landmark in 1940, and also as a National Historical Landmark under the title “OGATA Koan’s Former House and Private School” in 1941. Following this designation, the Ogata family and concerned parties considered the optimal way to preserve Tekijuku, and the family donated the Tekijuku building to Osaka Imperial University in 1942. Despite the fact that Osaka City suffered as many as eight air raids, Tekijuku fortunately escaped from damage during the war.

Establishment of the Tekijuku Commemoration Association and Activities to Preserve and Honor Tekijuku

Establishment of the Tekijuku Commemoration Association and Activities to Preserve and Honor Tekijuku
In 1952, after the chaos of the immediate postwar years had somewhat dissipated, the Tekijuku Commemoration Association (Tekijuku kinen kai) was established under the guidance of Dr. IMAMURA Arao, who was then the President of Osaka University. The Association, with the University’s President serving as its Chairperson, decided to recruit members from both inside and outside the University. The objectives of the Association were to honor the achievements of Koan and Tekijuku students, and to study modern culture in Osaka. The inauguration ceremony of the Association was held on November 5, 1952 at Tekijuku, inviting interested parties both from inside and outside the University. In conjunction with the event, a lecture and an exhibition of reference materials were also organized.

In 1964, Tekijuku was additionally designated as a National Important Cultural Asset. Since around this time, however, deterioration of the Tekijuku building had become conspicuous due to aging. To cope with this problem, in 1972 the Osaka University Tekijuku Management Committee was established, which promoted University-wide efforts to preserve and manage Tekijuku and to maintain and further develop the Tekijuku spirit. The Tekijuku building is located in a valley in an urban district. Due to its surrounding road environment and the difficulty in implementing fire-prevention measures, a plan to relocate the building was proposed at one point.

However, the relocation plan was not adopted. It was decided that the Tekijuku Commemoration Association and the Tekijuku Management Committee would work together to preserve the Tekijuku building in the present location and surround it with parks. Beginning in 1976, a renovation was conducted over five years. In 1980, a ceremony was held to celebrate the completion of the renovation, and Tekijuku was opened for public viewing. Under the Tekijuku historic park construction project in 1981 a park was completed in the area bordering the eastern side of Tekijuku, which was followed by the completion of another park in the area bordering the western side of Tekijuku in 1986. The Tekijuku Commemoration Association has played a central role in the above-mentioned activities to preserve Tekijuku.

From 2013 to 2014, Tekijuku was partly reconstructed in order to withstand earthquakes. This earthquake-proofing reconstruction of Tekijuku would be a pioneering case as an application of new methods of preservation for a National Important Cultural Asset. With the reconstruction, the continuous work for the preservation of Tekijuku took a new step forward.

Progress in Research Activities by Tekijuku Commemoration Association

After its inauguration, the Association worked tirelessly to collect Tekijuku-related materials and call for donations of such materials. Osaka University Professor FUJI Naomoto and Osaka University Professor FUJINO Tsunesaburo took the lead in compiling the collected or donated materials into the first pictorial record “OGATA Koan and Tekijuku,” published in 1953.

In the mid-1950s, the Association started several programs that have continued to the present. These include organizing Tekijuku Commemoration Lectures (1955 ~ [with an interruption between 1964 and 1971]), publishing the Association’s journal “Tekijuku” (1956 ~), and releasing Research Data on Students (Tekijuku Monkasei Chōsa, 1960 ~). In 1960, the Research on Students program was commenced to celebrate the 150th anniversary of the birth of OGATA Koan. The outcome of the Research was released in two reports published in 1963 (revised in 1968) and 1973, respectively. Even after the publication of these two reports, the Research on Students was continued mainly by Dr. SHIBA Tetsuo, Professor of Osaka University. In 1963, as part of the project to mark the centennial of Koan’s death, the Association organized commemoration lectures, produced a film titled “Koan and 1,000 Young People,” and held an OGATA Koan Exhibition at the Osaka City Museum.

In 1974, Dr. OGATA Tomio proposed a project to compile a collection of Koan’s letters found across Japan, adding explanations and commentaries. The Association cooperated to help realize this plan, and Dr. OGATA Tomio and the Tekijuku Commemoration Association co-edited volumes 1 and 2 of OGATA Koan no Tegami (Letters of OGATA Koan), which were issued in 1980. After Dr. OGATA Tomio passed away, Osaka University Professor UMETANI Noboru took over this letter collection project, and completed volumes 3, 4, and 5 of the collection, which were published as having been co-edited by Dr. OGATA Tomio, Prof. UMETANI Noboru and the Tekijuku Commemoration Association. The 252 letters written by Koan compiled in the collection include his letters to his students, family, and wife Yae, and these have served as basic material used for research into Koan and Tekijuku.

In 2006, a project was planned to publish OGATA Koan Zenshu (OGATA Koan complete collection) edited by the OGATA Koan Complete Collection Editorial Committee. As its first and second volumes, Fushikeiken-ikun (Dr. Hufeland’s Medical Experience), which was among Koan’s main works, were issued. These volumes were reprinted and proofread by Dr. SHIBA Tetsuo, Professor Emeritus at Osaka University.

Tekijuku Commemoration Center will succeed these fruits of long-term research by various scholars and continue to work with the Tekijuku Commemoration Association.