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Otani University began in 1665 when it was established as a seminary by the Higashi Honganji denomination of Shin Buddhism. Subsequently, it was reorganized as a modern university in 1901. Miyazawa Manshi, a significant figure in the world of Japanese philosophy, served as its first president. During the address given on the occasion of the founding of the university, he enunciated the school's educational ideal with the words: "Our university is based on Buddhism, especially the spirit of Shinran. It is a center of learning founded upon the desire to nurture human beings who firmly establish themselves in faith, a matter of utmost importance for us, and achieve genuine autonomous existence." Nearly 4,000 students attend Otani University, divided among the Graduate School, Faculty of Letters, and the Junior College. The Korean (Shin Buddhist Comprehensive Academic Center), completed in April 2002, serves as the new focal point of its teaching and research activities. Several internationally recognized scholars have taught at Otani. They include Nanjo Bunyu, the compiler of the Nanjo Catalogue (an English catalog of the Chinese Buddhist canon) Sasaki Gessho, who worked tirelessly to make Otani into a center of the academic study of Buddhism without, however, neglecting the Buddhist spirit D. T. Suzuki, the scholar of Zen who worked to spread Buddhism in the West Nishida Kitaro and Nishitani Keiji, who created their distinctive philosophical systems deeply influenced by Buddhism Soga Ryojin and Kaneko Daiei, who elucidated Shin Buddhism for the modern world from the perspective of their profound faith Yamaguchi Susumu, a pioneer of the philological approach to the study of Buddhist texts in Japan and the erudite Sinologist Kanda Kiichiro. Following these scholars' footsteps, Otani University has maintained a standard of excellence in teaching and research. To spread the result of our research, a museum was opened in the fall of 2003. It exhibits numerous artifacts and documents acquired by the university over the years. The university always remains continuously attentive to the needs of working students and international students. Active academic exchange programs are maintained with foreign colleges and research institutions. Now, international society is under many confusing circumstances. In a global society, it is necessary to exchange among various people. However, people do not know how they make a friendly relationship with others, so quarrels occurred one after another in many cases. However, it is difficult to say that human relations are much close to an ideal. The tools for originally cementing connections and relationships are used for despising and hurting people. Also, we often see the matter that these tools are used for excluding others. The development of tools and technology is essential for humankind's evolution, and this development comes together with this evolution. However, the most important thing is to think of how we establish personality in those tools and technology; for example, how we grow up and how we build relationships with others. We hope for students to compete with others without hurting and to support others without taking by force. We want students to learn deeply how they can become themselves who do not know definitely despite others and how they build a society, with the pride in their lives. Also, we hope that nobody loses the spirit of inquiry. View full university