Ritsumeikan University

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Ritsumeikan traces its roots to Prince Saionji's private Academy of the same name, established in 1869. It was officially founded in 1900 by his protégé, Kojuro Nakagawa, as the Kyoto Hosei Gakko (Kyoto School of Law and Politics), later to take on the name "Ritsumeikan." The name is derived from a passage in the Jinxin chapter of Mencius's Discourses and means "a place to establish one's destiny through cultivating one's mind." Ritsumeikan's founding ideals are "freedom and innovation," and reflecting upon its wartime experience, it committed itself to a core educational philosophy of "peace and democracy" after World War II. Ritsumeikan has faced the times by pursuing an independent path to rise above adversity and has become the comprehensive private educational institution that it is today through extensive cooperation and support from both within and outside Japan.
As a Japanese institution located in the Asia Pacific region, Ritsumeikan is committed to sincerely reflecting upon history and building an institution where many cultures coexist in the spirit of international mutual understanding. Ritsumeikan will build relationships of trust through research and education, sports and cultural activities, and establish its roots in the local community, to create an academic institution open to international society. Ritsumeikan will strive to strengthen links with society and promote its institutional development by fully utilizing the characteristics of a private academic institution, the participation of its faculty, staff and students, and the support of alumni and parents while respecting the principles of autonomy, democracy, transparency, non-violence, and justice.
Ritsumeikan will pursue the creation of universal values based on academic freedom and search for solutions to the pressing issues facing humankind, with its educational endeavors based on its founding spirit and educational ideals, bearing in mind "to believe in the future, to live for the future." Ritsumeikan will foster learning and the development of individual talents to nurture just and ethical global citizens. As an institute of education and research, Ritsumeikan pledges to promote peace, democracy, and sustainable development in Japan and throughout the world, in keeping with the spirit of this Charter.
The Ritsumeikan Academy is one of Japan's private comprehensive educational institutions with a rich history and tradition. We celebrated the 130th anniversary of the founding of the Ritsumeikan private school and the 100th year of the establishment of the Academy in 2000. The Academy has now become a comprehensive educational institution with two universities, four high schools, four junior high schools, and one primary school.
The history of Ritsumeikan dates back to 1869 when Prince Kinmochi Saionji, an eminent international statesman of modern Japan, founded "Ritsumeikan" as a private academy on the site of the Kyoto Imperial Palace. In 1900, Kojuro Nakagawa, former secretary of Prince Saionji, established Kyoto School of Law and Politics, an evening law school open to working people. This school formally adopted the name Ritsumeikan in 1913 and was finally given a university's status in 1922.
The school spirit of liberalism and internationalism advocated by Prince Saionji was combined with the ideals of academic freedom and vivacity pursued by Nakagawa and became a tradition of the Academy.
Today, the Ritsumeikan Academy is highly admired by society as the educational institution which actively promotes university reform. Such a spirit of innovation and inspiration is based on the Academy's school spirit, "freedom and innovation."
Following World War II, Ritsumeikan Chancellor Hiroshi Suekawa proposed Ritsumeikan Academy's educational philosophy of "peace and democracy," based on the Constitution of Japan and the Fundamental Law of Education. Ritsumeikan has been taking various approaches to apply the School Spirit and Educational Philosophy in real-life education and research.
The history of Ritsumeikan dates back to 1869 when Prince Kinmochi Saionji, an eminent international statesman of modern Japan, founded "Ritsumeikan" as a private academy on the site of the Kyoto Imperial Palace. In 1900, Kojuro Nakagawa, former secretary of Prince Saionji, established Kyoto Hosei School, an evening law school open to working people. This school formally adopted the name Ritsumeikan in 1913 and was finally given a university's status in 1922.

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