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 grants. Dep ...

in Mount Kōya,

Wakayama Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located in the Kansai region of Honshu. Wakayama Prefecture has a population of 944,320 () and has a geographic area of . Wakayama Prefecture borders Osaka Prefecture to the north, and Mie Prefecture and Nara Prefecture ...

, Japan. The predecessor of the school was established in 1886 as a monastic school for Shingon Buddhist monks, and it was chartered as a university in 1926. In addition to its main campus, Koyasan University also operates a satellite school for working adults in

Osaka is a designated city in the Kansai region of Honshu in Japan. It is the capital of and most populous city in Osaka Prefecture, and the third most populous city in Japan, following Special wards of Tokyo and Yokohama. With a population of ...

Academics

The university has strong ties to the

Shingon Shingon monks at Mount Koya is one of the major schools of Buddhism in Japan and one of the few surviving Vajrayana lineages in East Asia, originally spread from India to China through traveling monks such as Vajrabodhi and Amoghavajra. Kn ...

sect of Buddhism and follows the educational principles of Kobodaishi Kūkai, the founder of Shingon. Historically, Koayasan University has largely specialized in training Buddhist monks, which includes operating a monastery for its students. However, in recent years the university has sought to diversity its curriculum and attract students who aspire to be teachers and social workers. Koayasan University is notable for its library containing a range of rare manuscripts on Buddhism and other religions in Japan and East Asia, including several designated as National Important Cultural Property, and the library building itself being listed as tangible cultural property.

Departments

* Department of Esoteric Buddhism * Department of Humanistic Anthropology * Graduate School (offers both an on-site and a distance learning MA program, as well as a PhD program) * The Institute of Esoteric Culture (research institute) * Library

Notable people

Faculty

Shizuteru Ueda was a Japanese philosopher specialized in philosophy of religion, especially in philosophy of Buddhism and Zen. He was a professor at Kyoto University and considered a third generation member of Kyoto School (京都学派, Kyoto-gakuha). Biogra ...

, philosopher *

Joseph Kitagawa Joseph Mitsuo Kitagawa (March 8, 1915 – October 7, 1992) was an eminent Japanese American scholar in religious studies. He was professor emeritus and dean of the University of Chicago Divinity School. He is considered one of the founders of th ...

, religious scholar * Tomokichi Fukurai, psychologist and early proponent of parapsychology

Alumni

Ekan Ikeguchi Ekan Ikeguchi (池口恵観, born November 15, 1936) is a Shingon Buddhist priest, currently the High Priest of Saifukuji in Kagoshima and Shojoshin-in on Mount Koya. He holds a doctorate in medicine from Yamaguchi University and is an expert in ...

, Buddhist priest * Kōyū Amano, monk, artist, and radio personality * Shinzō Mitsuda(ja), novelist, winner of the

Honkaku Mystery Award The are presented every year by the Honkaku Mystery Writers Club of Japan. They honor the best in honkaku (i.e. authentic, orthodox) mystery fiction and critical works published in the previous year. Honkaku Mystery Award for Best Fiction winners ...

* Shōko Ieda, non-fiction writer known for her controversial depictions of sexuality * Eken Mine, actor and voice actor

References

External links

Official website

Official website

Official website
Educational institutions established in 1886 Private universities and colleges in Japan Buddhist universities and colleges in Japan Universities and colleges in Wakayama Prefecture 1886 establishments in Japan Kōya, Wakayama {{wakayama-university-stub