is one of the 87 national universities in Japan. Located in

Fukuoka Prefecture is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located on the island of Kyūshū. Fukuoka Prefecture has a population of 5,109,323 (1 June 2019) and has a geographic area of 4,986 Square kilometre, km2 (1,925 sq mi). Fukuoka Prefecture borders S ...

on the island of Kyushu, it is dedicated to education and research in the fields of science and technology. It is earlier abbreviated to KIT and is now officially abbreviated to Kyutech. The founder was Matsumoto Kenjiro, second son of Yasukawa Keiichiro, and the links with the

Yaskawa Electric Corporation The is a Japanese manufacturer of servos, motion controllers, AC motor drives, switches and industrial robots. Their Motoman robots are heavy duty industrial robots used in welding, packaging, assembly, coating, cutting, material handling and ...

(founded in 1915) remain strong to this day. The centenary of the opening of the Tobata campus is being celebrated in 2009, with Founder's Day on May 28, 2009. One of its famous alumnus is "Mr. Tornado", the severe storms researcher Tetsuya "Ted" Fujita. He graduated in 1943 and was an associate professor until 1953 when he was invited to the

University of Chicago The University of Chicago (UChicago, Chicago, U of C, or UChi) is a private university, private research university in Chicago, Illinois. Its main campus is located in Chicago's Hyde Park, Chicago, Hyde Park neighborhood. The University of Chic ...

History

The university was granted government permission to be founded in 1907 as a private training school for engineers called ''Meiji Senmon Gakkō'' (Meiji Vocational School), toward the end of the

Meiji period The is an era of Japanese history that extended from October 23, 1868 to July 30, 1912. The Meiji era was the first half of the Empire of Japan, when the Japanese people moved from being an isolated feudal society at risk of colonization ...

. The first campus opened its doors in Tobata in 1909, and the centenary of the university is therefore being celebrated in 2009. KIT became a Japanese national university on May 31, 1949 and has, since April 1, 2004, been incorporated as a

National University Corporation is a corporate body (legal entity) established under the provisions of the ''National University Corporation Act'' (2003) for the purpose of establishing a national university in Japan. History As part of promoting the reform of Japanese univer ...

under a new law that applies to all national universities. Despite the incorporation, which has led to increased financial independence and autonomy, KIT is still quite strictly controlled in many respects by the

Japanese Ministry of Education The , also known as MEXT or Monka-shō, is one of the eleven Ministries of Japan that composes part of the executive branch of the Government of Japan. Its goal is to improve the development of Japan in relation with the international community ...

(Monbukagakushō, or Monkashō). In 1995, the Satellite Venture Business Laboratory was opened at Tobata campus. First school building Kyushu Institute of Technology

First school building Kyushu Institute of Technology

The first school building of ''Meiji Senmon Gakko'' was made wholly of wood and designed by

Tatsuno Kingo was a Japanese architect born in Karatsu, Saga Prefecture, Kyushu. Doctor of Engineering. Conferred Jusanmi (従三位, Junior Third Rank) and Kunsanto (勲三等, Order of Third Class). Former dean of Architecture Department at Tokyo Imperial ...

. There is also a 1/50th scale model of the building on display in the university archives on Tobata campus.

Founding principles

The first president of KIT,

Yamakawa Kenjiro Yamakawa (characters for "mountain" and "river") may refer to: * Yamakawa, Tokushima, town in Oe District, Tokushima *Yamakawa, Fukuoka, town in Yamato District, Fukuoka * 8923 Yamakawa, asteroid People with the surname * Erika Yamakawa (born 1982 ...

who studied at

Yale University Yale University is a Private university, private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the List of Colonial Colleges, third-oldest institution of higher education in the United Sta ...

declared that the aim of the school was to produce "gentlemen well versed in technological skills" (''gijutsu ni tannō naru shikunshi''). Nowadays the university aims to produce both ladies and gentlemen with these skills, and enjoys a high reputation with employers. Founder's day is May 28. It coincides deliberately with the Battle of Tsushima of May 27 and May 28, 1905, the decisive naval battle in the

Russo-Japanese War The Russo-Japanese War ( ja, 日露戦争, Nichiro sensō, Japanese-Russian War; russian: Ру́сско-япóнская войнá, Rússko-yapónskaya voyná) was fought between the Empire of Japan and the Russian Empire during 1904 and 1 ...

. Admiral

Tōgō Heihachirō Marshal-Admiral Marquis , served as a '' gensui'' or admiral of the fleet in the Imperial Japanese Navy and became one of Japan's greatest naval heroes. He claimed descent from Samurai Shijo Kingo, and he was an integral part of preserving ...

once visited KIT, and his visit is commemorated in the school's archives, as is that of

Okuma Shigenobu Okuma or Ōkuma may refer to: Surname *Ōkuma Shigenobu (大隈重信) (1838 – 1922) 8th and 17th Prime Minister of Japan, founder of Waseda University * Enuka Okuma, Canadian actress of Nigerian descent Other uses *Okuma Corporation, a manufact ...

Campuses

KIT has three campuses. Two of these are in Kitakyushu and one is in

Iizuka is a city located at the confluence of the Honami and Onga rivers in central Fukuoka Prefecture, Japan. The city was founded on January 20, 1932. History Iizuka was an important post-station on the Nagasaki Kaidō during the Edo Era. As Jap ...

. All three are in

, Kyushu.

Tobata campus (Kitakyushu)

Faculty of Engineering, Graduate School of Engineering. This is the oldest campus, opened in 1909. It was designed by Tatsuno Kingo. It originally had three departments: Mining, Metallurgy, and Mechanical Engineering.

Iizuka campus

Faculty of Computer Science and Systems Engineering, Graduate School of Computer Science and Systems Engineering. This is the second campus, established in 1986. The first students were admitted in 1987.

Wakamatsu campus (Kitakyushu)

Graduate School of Life Science and Systems Engineering. This is the newest campus, established in April 2001.

International partnerships

KIT has partnership agreements with several overseas universities, including the University of Surrey (UK),

Old Dominion University Old Dominion University (Old Dominion or ODU) is a public research university in Norfolk, Virginia. It was established in 1930 as the Norfolk Division of the College of William & Mary and is now one of the largest universities in Virginia w ...

(USA), and the

University of Texas at El Paso The University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP) is a public research university in El Paso, Texas. It is a member of the University of Texas System. UTEP is the second-largest university in the United States to have a majority Mexican American stud ...

(USA).

Notable people

Alumni

* Tetsuya Fujita – severe storm research

Faculty

* Tatsuo Endo – professor emeritus

References

* Dallas Finn, ''Meiji Revisited: The Sites of Victorian Japan'', Weatherhill, 1995 for a description of the first school building designed by

. * Nogami Gyoichi, ''Meiji Senmon Gakkō 40 nen no kiseki'' The Forty-year Miracle of Meiji College of Technology"(Kyushu Institute of Technology, 1994) * Kyushu Kōgyō Daigaku Hyakunen shi henshu iinkai (Ed.), ''Kyushu Kōgyō Daigaku Hyaku nen shi'' entenary History of Kyushu Institute of Technology Meisenkai, 2009

External links

KIT official website
{{Authority control 1907 establishments in Japan Educational institutions established in 1907 Japanese national universities Technical universities and colleges in Japan Engineering universities and colleges in Japan Universities and colleges in Fukuoka Prefecture Kitakyushu Iizuka, Fukuoka