Fukuzawa Yukichi and Maruyama Masao: Two “Liberal” readings of Tocqueville in Japan

Abstract

Unlike in China and Korea, Tocqueville and his works have been known in Japan for more than a century. Of course he has not had such a wide and lasting influence on Japanese intellectual life as Karl Marx or Max Weber. And his popularity as a classical thinker never attained such national fame in this country as in the United States and France. His intellectual influence has not spread over a great many people of the country. But several key figures of Japanese intellectual history sharply reacted to certain Tocquevi.llian ideas. In the fairly long history of Japanese reading of Tocqueville, I would like to concentrate on two significant periods, the early Meiji era and the post-war period, and choose two key figures to focus on, Fukuzawa Yuki.chi and Maruyama Masao, who at each period played a leading role in Japanese intellectual life.