Fukuchi Gen'ichirô exemplified the early Meiji ideal of a "self-made man," and was frequently featured in didactic publications. The text accompanying this image reads as follows:Fukuchi Gen'ichirô exemplified the early Meiji ideal of a "self-made man," and was frequently featured in didactic publications. The text accompanying this image reads as follows:
Fukuchi Gen'ichirô was born in Nagasaki in 1844. An exceptionally bright child, he could recognize characters at age five and had begun to read and write at about age seven. He resolved to enter the service of the bakufu, and, upon coming of age, entered the government, in the service of which he traveled three times to Europe. He then entered a successful career in business. In 1874 he became president of the Nippôsha. He personally covered the Satsuma rebellion in the south. Received by the emperor, he respectfully recounted his observations to the throne. His writing and speaking style seemed almost supernatural in its logic, force, and lucidity. He is one of the truly great men of Meiji.
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