From informal meetings to a learned society
After returning from America in 1873, Mori Arinori proposed a society for shared study to Nishimura Shigeki and other scholars. In his first-anniversary address, Mori recalled several preliminary meetings and rules settled in February 1874. Fukuzawa Yukichi declined a proposed presidency, which Mori then accepted.
The name refers to Meiji six. Rules emphasized education, discussion and the expansion of knowledge. Noboru Kageyama's study distinguishes preliminary meetings, naming and formal rules through diaries, recollections and Mori's address. The society emerged through stages rather than a single undifferentiated founding moment.
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Opening lectures beyond the membership
Meetings developed from member discussions into Japanese-language speeches followed by criticism. Some talks entered the journal. Fukuzawa's recollections describe demonstrating a speech at a gathering when colleagues doubted the suitability of Japanese for public oratory.
A February 1875 newspaper notice offered outsiders tickets for meetings on the first and sixteenth of each month: thirty admissions at eight sen each. Members spoke in turn on subjects including trade, writing, marriage and punishment. Publication carried some discussions beyond those who could attend.
The decision to stop publication
The 1875 libel law and press regulations increased publication risks. At a September meeting, Mori favored continuing the journal while Fukuzawa proposed suspension. Contemporary reporting quoted by Kageyama records nine of thirteen attendees supporting the proposal and four opposing it.
Further issues appeared in October and November before publication ended at number forty-three. Public lectures stopped, although members continued to meet socially. The society helped circulate translated knowledge and public debate, but disagreements over publication and other questions remained part of its activity.