, mottoeng = Truth shall make you free , tagline = , established = Founded 1875,
Chartered 1920 , vision = , type =

Private Private or privates may refer to: Music * " In Private", by Dusty Springfield from the 1990 album ''Reputation'' * Private (band), a Denmark-based band * "Private" (Ryōko Hirosue song), from the 1999 album ''Private'', written and also recorde ...

, affiliation = , calendar = , endowment = €1 billion (JP¥169.6 billion) , debt = , rector = , officer_in_charge = , chairman = , chancellor = , president = Matsuoka Takashi , vice-president = Nobuhiro Tabata, Yasuhiro Kuroki, Tsutao Katayama, Takashi Nishimura , superintendent = , provost = , vice_chancellor = , principal = , dean = , director = , head_label = , head = , faculty = 2,357 (800 full-time, 1557 part-time) , staff = , students = , undergrad = 27,024 , postgrad = 2,298 , doctoral = , divinity = , residents = , other = , profess = , alumni = , city =

Kyoto Kyoto (; Japanese: , ''Kyōto'' ), officially , is the capital city of Kyoto Prefecture in Japan. Located in the Kansai region on the island of Honshu, Kyoto forms a part of the Keihanshin metropolitan area along with Osaka and Kobe. , the ci ...

, state =

, province = , country = Japan , address = , telephone = , coor = , campus = Urban/suburban, , free_label = , free = , sports = , colors = White & purple , colours = , sports_nickname = , mascot =

Astro Boy ''Astro Boy'', known in Japan by its original name , is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Osamu Tezuka. It was serialized in Kobunsha's ''Shōnen'' from 1952 to 1968. The 112 chapters were collected into 23 ''tankōbon'' vo ...

(unofficial and historical) , fightsong = , affiliations = , nobel_laureates = , website = , logo = Doshisha-emblem.jpg , publictransit = , footnotes = , also referred to as , is a

private university Private universities and private colleges are institutions of higher education, not operated, owned, or institutionally funded by governments. They may (and often do) receive from governments tax breaks, public student loans, and grant (money ...

Kyoto City Kyoto (; Japanese: , ''Kyōto'' ), officially , is the capital city of Kyoto Prefecture in Japan. Located in the Kansai region on the island of Honshu, Kyoto forms a part of the Keihanshin metropolitan area along with Osaka and Kobe. , the c ...

, Japan. Doshisha University is one of the most prestigious universities in Japan today, with particularly strong influence in the

Kansai The or the , lies in the southern-central region of Japan's main island Honshu, Honshū. The region includes the Prefectures of Japan, prefectures of Nara Prefecture, Nara, Wakayama Prefecture, Wakayama, Kyoto Prefecture, Kyoto, Osaka Prefectur ...

region, and is considered one of the most selective private universities in Japan. The acceptance rate for the 40,924 applicants for the 2014 academic year was 35.6%, with acceptance rate in some departments under 15%. In 2013, the university was ranked fourth among Japanese private universities for "schools to which parents wish to send their child", following

Waseda University , abbreviated as , is a private university, private research university in Shinjuku, Tokyo. Founded in 1882 as the ''Tōkyō Senmon Gakkō'' by Ōkuma Shigenobu, the school was formally renamed Waseda University in 1902. The university has numerou ...

Keio University , mottoeng = The pen is mightier than the sword , type = Private research coeducational higher education institution , established = 1858 , founder = Yukichi Fukuzawa , endowmen ...

, Meiji University and eleventh for "hidden prestigious schools that you know", following Waseda University, Keio University, Meiji University and so on. Doshisha University has the highest deviation value as a private university in the Kansai region. Established in 1875, it is one of Japan's oldest private institutions of higher learning, and has approximately 30,000 students enrolled on four different campuses in Kyoto. It is one of the Japanese "Global 30" universities and one university belonging to "Kankandoritsu" (関関同立), a group of the four leading private universities in western Japan's

Kansai region The or the , lies in the southern-central region of Japan's main island Honshū. The region includes the prefectures of Nara, Wakayama, Kyoto, Osaka, Hyōgo and Shiga, often also Mie, sometimes Fukui, Tokushima and Tottori. The metropolita ...

also including

Kansai University , abbreviated as or , is a private non-sectarian and coeducational university with its main campus in Suita, Osaka, Japan and two sub-campuses in Sakai and Takatsuki, Osaka. Founded as Kansai Law School in 1886, It has been recognized as one o ...

Kwansei Gakuin University , colloquially known as , is a private, non-denominational Christian coeducational university in Japan. The university offers Bachelor's, Master's, and Doctoral degrees to around 25,000 students in almost 40 different disciplines across 11 ...

, and

Ritsumeikan University is a private university in Kyoto, Japan, that traces its origin to 1869. With the Kinugasa Campus (KIC) in Kyoto, and Kyoto Prefecture, the university also has a satellite called Biwako-Kusatsu Campus (BKC) and Osaka-Ibaraki Campus (OIC). Tod ...

History

Doshisha University was founded in 1875 as Doshisha English School by

Protestant Protestantism is a Christian denomination, branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Reformation, Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century agai ...

educator Niijima Jō (新島襄, also known as

Joseph Hardy Neesima (born ; 12 February 1843 – 23 January 1890), better known by his English name Joseph Hardy Neesima, was a Japanese Protestant missionary and educator of the Meiji era who founded Doshisha English School (later Doshisha University). He ...

), as a school to advance Christian education in Japan. As a young man, Niijima left

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

for the United States in 1864, despite the ban on overseas travel then imposed on Japanese nationals. He studied at

Phillips Academy ("Not for Self") la, Finis Origine Pendet ("The End Depends Upon the Beginning") Youth From Every Quarter Knowledge and Goodness , address = 180 Main Street , city = Andover , state = Ma ...

and

Amherst College Amherst College ( ) is a private liberal arts college in Amherst, Massachusetts. Founded in 1821 as an attempt to relocate Williams College by its then-president Zephaniah Swift Moore, Amherst is the third oldest institution of higher educatio ...

, and returned to Japan in 1874. The next year, Niijima established the Doshisha School. Niijima served as president of the university from 1875 to 1890. Other early university presidents included educator and author

Yamamoto Kakuma was a Japanese samurai of the late Edo period, who went on to become an educator and politician in the Meiji era. Biography A native of Aizu, Yamamoto claimed descent from the famed military strategist Yamamoto Kansuke. A child prodigy, he co ...

(1890–1892),

Seito Saibara was a Japanese parliament member, politician, administrator, colonist, and farmer. Apart from his missionary activities, he is credited with having first established the rice industry on the Gulf Coast of the United States.Kotaro Shimomura was a Japanese chemical engineer known for many famous inventions. Early life and education When about 12 years of age, he attended the Kumamoto Yogakko where American soldier Capt. L. L. James was engaged. In 1876, he was studying theology ...

(1904-1907).

Tokio Yokoi Tokio Yokoi (December 3, 1857 – September 13, 1927) was a Japanese pastor, journalist, bureaucrat, and member of the Japanese House of Representatives. He was also known as Tokio Ise. Career Yokoi was born on December 3, 1857 in Higo provi ...

Tasuku Harada Tasuku Harada (December 20, 1863 – February 21, 1940) was a Japanese pastor and the president of Doshisha University from 1907 to 1919. Harada started the University of Hawaii's Japanese Studies department in 1922. Early life Harada was born ...

, and Ebina Danjo were also presidents. By 1920, Doshisha was granted university status and developed into a full-fledged university in the Anglo-American academic tradition. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, its buildings were given Japanese names and its curriculum was stripped of its pro-Western elements. The prewar conditions were restored after the surrender of Japan. The first graduate degree programs were instituted in 1953. Amherst College has maintained a close relationship with Doshisha University, and since 1972, Doshisha has collaborated with a consortium of American liberal arts colleges including Amherst to host the

Associated Kyoto Program The Associated Kyoto Program (AKP) is an independent study abroad program for undergraduate students located in Kyoto, Japan on the Doshisha University campus. It is a non-profit organization that is sponsored by 13 schools: Amherst College, Bates ...

, an 8-month long

study abroad International students, or foreign students, are students who undertake all or part of their tertiary education in a country other than their own and move to that country for the purpose of studying. In 2019, there were over 6 million internati ...

program offered every year to students from American colleges and universities. Doshisha also houses the Kyoto Consortium for Japanese Studies, another program affiliated with American universities and centered on advanced Japanese language training.

Academics and admissions

Doshisha has graduate degree programs in Theology, Letters, Psychology, Business, Global Studies, Law, Economics, Commerce, Policy and Management, Culture and Information Science, Science and Engineering, Life and Medical Sciences, Health and Sports Science, and Social Studies. The libraries at the Imadegawa and Kyotanabe campuses hold more than 2.5 million volumes.

Faculty

As of 2013, Doshisha University employs 777 full-time and 1,411 part-time faculty members across its Kyoto campuses. In terms of research, Doshisha has filed the 36th-highest number of patents in the nation.

Campuses

Doshisha University has two main campuses at Imadegawa in central Kyoto and at Kyotanabe in southern Kyoto. Imadegawa is the main campus, located in the former residence of

Satsuma Domain The , briefly known as the , was a domain (''han'') of the Tokugawa shogunate of Japan during the Edo period from 1602 to 1871. The Satsuma Domain was based at Kagoshima Castle in Satsuma Province, the core of the modern city of Kagoshima, ...

. It has been in use since the school was founded. Located in the center of Kyoto City, the campus is situated next to

Shōkoku-ji , formally identified as , is a Buddhist temple in northern Kyoto, first founded in 1382 by Ashikaga Yoshimitsu, with the existing temple complex having undergone several periods of extensive reconstruction and rebuilding in the succeeding eras. ...

, overlooking

Kyoto Imperial Palace The is the former palace of the Emperor of Japan. Since the Meiji Restoration in 1869, the Emperors have resided at the Tokyo Imperial Palace, while the preservation of the Kyoto Imperial Palace was ordered in 1877. Today, the grounds are open t ...

. Five buildings in the Imadegawa campus have been designated as

Important Cultural Properties of Japan An The term is often shortened into just is an item officially classified as Tangible Cultural Property by the Japanese government's Agency for Cultural Affairs (Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology) and judged to be of ...

, including Doshisha Chapel and Clark Memorial Hall. This campus is primarily for the liberal arts, business (including a graduate school of business), theology, and law faculties. A large

learning commons Learning commons, also known as scholars' commons, information commons or digital commons, are learning spaces, similar to libraries and classrooms that share space for information technology, remote or online education, tutoring, collaboration, c ...

　with over 40,000 square meters of space, the Ryoshinkan, was opened in 2012 and included the incorporation of

Imadegawa Station is a train station on the Kyoto Municipal Subway Karasuma Line in Kamigyo-ku, Kyoto, Japan. It is the closest station to the Kyoto Imperial Palace. Lines * ** (Station Number: K06) Layout The station consists of one underground island pla ...

, a station on the

Karasuma Line The is one of the two lines of the Kyoto Municipal Subway operated by Kyoto Municipal Transportation Bureau in Kyoto, Japan. On maps, diagrams and signboards, the line is colored green, and its stations are given numbers following the letter " ...

of the

Kyoto Municipal Subway The , also known as Kyoto City Subway, is the rapid transit network in the city of Kyoto, Japan. Operated by the Kyoto Municipal Transportation Bureau, it has two lines. Lines The Kyoto Municipal Subway is made up of two lines: the long, 15 ...

. The Kyotanabe Campus was opened in 1986, in

Kyōtanabe, Kyoto is a city located in the southern part of Kyoto Prefecture, Japan. As of October 1, 2020 the city has an estimated population of 73,753 and a population density of 1,718 persons per km². The total area is 42.92 km². History Kyōtanabe wa ...

and is part of

Kansai Science City is an unincorporated city located in the , a border region between Kyoto, Osaka, and Nara Prefectures in Kansai region, Japan. The name is commonly shortened to or . The name Keihanna is constructed by extracting a representative kanji from Kyo ...

. Over 195 acres (0.79 km2) in area, it serves primarily as the campus for the science and engineering faculties. In 2012, a new Karasuma Campus was established approximately 300 meters from the Imadegawa Campus. The Karasuma Campus houses the International Education Institute, the Graduate School of Global Studies, and the Faculty of Global and Regional Studies. File:DoshishaChurch.jpg, Doshisha Chapel, Imadegawa File:Doshisha.jpg, Clark Memorial Hall, Imadegawa File:The_Learned_Memorial_Library_at_Doshisha_University,_Kyotanabe,_Japan.JPG, The Learned Memorial Library, Kyotanabe File:Mukoku-kan (Kyotanabe Campus, Doshisha University).JPG, Mukokukan, Kyotanabe

Student life

Societies

There are over 400 clubs and organizations in Doshisha University.

Festivals

* Doshisha Eve * Doshisha Kyotanabe Festival * Sports Festival

Athletics

* Doshisha is part of the

Kansai Big Six Baseball League is a collegiate baseball league located in central Kansai region of Japan, stretching from Hyōgo in the west to Kyoto in the east. The league joined the All Japan University Baseball Federation in 1951. Members National Championships Ch ...

. The baseball team is known for their rivalry with

. * Doshisha's rugby team has a long history, and had won 4 championships in

All-Japan University Rugby Championship The All-Japan University Rugby Football Championships (全国大学ラグビーフットボール選手権大会 – ''Zenkoku Daigaku Ragubi- Futtobo-ru Senshuken Taikai'') have been held annually since 1964 to determine the top University Rugby ...

from 1980 to 1984. * The men's basketball program is noted for its frequent participation in

All Japan Intercollegiate Basketball Championship All Japan Intercollegiate Basketball Championship (全日本大学バスケットボール選手権大会 ''zen nippon daigaku Basukettoboru senshuken taikai'') is an annual nationwide intercollegiate basketball tournament. It is the largest scale ...

Alumni

Doshisha is renowned for its strong connection to business in the Kansai region, and according to the 2011 university rankings by

Toyo Keizai is a book and magazine publisher specializing in politics, economics and business, based in Tokyo, Japan. The company is famous for established in 1895, one of three Japanese leading business magazines ranked with published by Nikkei Busines ...

, 533 alumni served as executives in listed companies. As of 2013, around 25.5% of undergraduates were able to enter one of the top 400 companies in Japan, which ranks eighth nationwide among all private institutions in Japan and first among private universities in Kansai. Doshisha alumni include

Takako Doi was a prominent Japanese politician from 1980 until her retirement in 2005. She was the first female Lower House Speaker in Japan, the highest position a female politician has ever held in the country's modern history, as well as the country ...

, the first female Lower House Speaker in Japan (the highest position a female politician has held in the country's history);

Abe Isoo was a Japanese Christian socialist, parliamentarian and pacifist. He largely contributed to development of baseball in Japan, and was called "Father of Japanese baseball." He created a baseball club of Waseda University. Early life and educ ...

, an early pacifist and feminist and member of the Japanese Diet; Japanese statesman

Uchida Kosai Uchida (written: 内田 lit. "within ricefield") is a Japanese surname. Notable people with the surname include: *Aguri Uchida (born 1949), a Japanese watercolour painter *Akiko Uchida (born 1985), a Japanese volleyball player *Asahi Uchida (born 1 ...

, who twice served as acting prime minister; Japanese-language author David Zoppetti; Korean poet

Yun Dong-ju Yun Dong-ju or Yoon Dong-ju (, ; December 30, 1917 – February 16, 1945) was a Korean poet born in Longing, Jilin, China,""Yoon Dongju" LTI Korea Datasheet available at LTI Korea Library or online at: who was known for his lyric poetries as ...

; tea master Hansō Sōshitsu; and

Gunpei Yokoi , sometimes transliterated Gumpei Yokoi, was a Japanese video game designer. He was a long-time Nintendo employee, best known as creator of the Game & Watch handheld system, inventor of the cross-shaped Control Pad, the original designer of th ...

, creator of the

Nintendo Game Boy The is an 8-bit fourth generation handheld game console developed and manufactured by Nintendo. It was first released in Japan on April 21, 1989, in North America later the same year, and in Europe in late 1990. It was designed by the same tea ...

References

External links

Doshisha University

Associated Kyoto Program

Doshisha Portal

Doshisha-Navi

Doshisha Alumni Association
{{Kansai Collegiate American Football League navbox Kansai Big Six Kansai Six (original) Christian universities and colleges in Japan Private universities and colleges in Japan Educational institutions established in 1875 Buildings of the Meiji period Important Cultural Properties of Japan Association of Christian Universities and Colleges in Asia Kansai Collegiate American Football League Seminaries and theological colleges in Japan * 1875 establishments in Japan Universities and colleges in Kyoto