, also referred to as , is a

private university Private universities and private colleges are higher education institutions not operated, owned, or institutionally funded by governments. However, they often receive tax breaks, public student loans, and government grants. Depending on the count ...

Kyoto Kyoto ( or ; Japanese language, Japanese: , ''Kyōto'' ), officially , is the capital city of Kyoto Prefecture in the Kansai region of Japan's largest and most populous island of Honshu. , the city had a population of 1.46 million, making it t ...

, Japan. Established in 1875, it is one of Japan's oldest private institutions of higher learning, and has approximately 30,000 students enrolled on four campuses in Kyoto. It is one of Japan's "Global 30" universities and a member of , a group of 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 metropol ...

, along with

Kansai University , abbreviated as or , is a Private school, private non-sectarian and coeducational university with its main campus in Suita, Osaka, Suita, Osaka Prefecture, Osaka, Japan and two sub-campuses in Sakai, Osaka, Sakai and Takatsuki, Osaka. Founded as ...

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 underg ...

, and

Ritsumeikan University is a private university in Kyoto, Japan, that traces its origin to 1869. In addition to its main campus in Kyoto, the university also has satellite campuses in Ibaraki, Osaka and Kusatsu, Shiga. Today, Ritsumeikan University is known as one o ...

History

Doshisha University was founded in 1875 as Doshisha English School by

Protestant Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that emphasizes Justification (theology), justification of sinners Sola fide, through faith alone, the teaching that Salvation in Christianity, salvation comes by unmerited Grace in Christianity, divin ...

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

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

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

Phillips Academy Phillips Academy (also known as PA, Phillips Academy Andover, or simply Andover) is a Private school, private, Mixed-sex education, co-educational college-preparatory school for Boarding school, boarding and Day school, day students located in ...

and

Amherst College Amherst College ( ) is a Private college, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Amherst, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1821 as an attempt to relocate Williams College by its then-president Zepha ...

, 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 (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. He coined the term for chemical engineering, , in Japanese in 1909. Early life and education Shimomura was born in Kumamoto, the eldest son in a samurai family, shortly before ...

(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 Ebina Danjo (海老名弾正) (September 18, 1856 May 22, 1937) was a Japanese educator and philosopher, as well as a Christian missionary and pastor. He was known for his "Shintoistic Christianity", and served as the president of Doshisha Uni ...

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 (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, 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 exchange students, also known as foreign students, are students who undertake all or part of their secondary or tertiary education in a country other than their own. In 2022, there were over 6.9 million international ...

program offered every year to students from American colleges and universities. Doshisha also houses the

Kyoto Consortium for Japanese Studies The Kyoto Consortium for Japanese Studies (KCJS; Japanese: 京都アメリカ大学コンソーシアム) is an intensive, in-country program for the study of Japanese language and culture located in Kyoto, Japan. Operating under the auspices of ...

, 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 Han system, domain (''han'') of the Tokugawa shogunate of Japan during the Edo period from 1600 to 1871. The Satsuma Domain was based at Kagoshima Castle in Satsuma Province, the core of the modern city of ...

. It has been in use since the school was founded. Located in the center of Kyoto, 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, located in Kamigyō-ku, Kyoto, 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 ...

. 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 (Japan), Tangible Cultural Property by the Government of Japan, Japanese government's Agency for Cultural Affairs (Ministry of Education, Cul ...

, 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 A learning commons (also called a scholars’ commons or information commons) is a technology-rich, flexible space for collaborative study and information sharing. There is typically a stronger focus on digital technology in a learning commons tha ...

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

. The Kyotanabe Campus was opened in 1986, in Kyōtanabe, Kyoto 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 Kyot ...

. 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 at Doshisha University.

Festivals

* Doshisha Eve * Doshisha Kyotanabe Festival * Sports Festival

Athletics

* Doshisha is part of the Kansai Big Six Baseball League. 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.

Alumni

Doshisha is renowned for its strong connection to business in the Kansai region. 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 educa ...

, an early pacifist and feminist and member of the Japanese Diet; Japanese statesman Uchida Kosai, who twice served as acting prime minister; Japanese-language author David Zoppetti; Korean poet

Yun Dong-ju Yun Dong-ju or Yoon Dong-ju (, ; 30 December 1917 – 16 February 1945) was a Korean poet. He is known for his lyric poetry, lyric poetries and for his poems dedicated to the Korean independence movement against the Empire of Japan. Yun was b ...

; tea master Hansō Sōshitsu; and

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

, creator of the

Game Boy The is a handheld game console developed by Nintendo, launched in the Japanese home market on April 21, 1989, followed by North America later that year and other territories from 1990 onwards. Following the success of the Game & Watch single-ga ...

References

External links

* {{Kansai Collegiate American Football League navbox Kansai Big Six Kansai Six (original) Christian universities and colleges in Japan Private universities and colleges in Japan Universities and colleges established in 1875 Buildings of the Meiji era 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