- In [[encouragement of learning]], [[Fukuzawa Yukichi]] says, "There is no distinction between high and low, rich and poor. Those who are uneducated become poor and lowly.
- It’s not about knowing difficult letters or composing poetry, but practical science that helps us in our daily work.
Learning is not merely the study of literature that has no real meaning in the world, such as knowing difficult characters, reading difficult old texts, enjoying waka poetry, and composing poems. These literatures are also the kind of techniques that naturally delight people’s hearts, but they are not to be revered as the Confucian scholars and Japanese studies scholars of the past have said. Since ancient times, there have been few Chinese scholars who have been good at keeping house, and few townspeople who are good at waka poetry and skillful in business. For this reason, there are townspeople and peasants who, when they see their children devoting themselves to study, worry in their parental hearts that they will eventually run out of money to support themselves. This is not unreasonable. After all, his learning is so far away that it is not ready for daily use. Now, then, we must put aside such fruitless studies and devote ourselves solely to practical studies that are closer to the daily needs of human beings. Fukuzawa Yukichi, Encouragement of Learning
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