Ryukoku University (龍谷大学)
University
Whole of University
Ryuku University originated from "Gakuryo", an educational facility, set up by Nishi Hongan-ji Temple in A.D.1639, and has a long history of an university under the old system based on the Imperial Order of University. As an university, it has 8 faculties and about 20,000 students.
Spirit of foundation (Motto for school disciplines, Idea, Creed)
Spirit of foundation
"Seeking for Truth, Living in Truth, and Revealing Truth"
Additionally, Ryukoku University put forward 5 objectives, "Equality","Independence","Introspection","Gratitude", and "Peace", as the plain summary of the spirit of the foundation, which is based on the Jodo Shinshu teachings.
Education and research
Since the university started in the form of "Gakuryo"and then "Gakurin" in the Edo period, it has accumulated academic acievements and historical materials about Buddhism and has produced many religious scholars and famous Buddhist priests.
Some students of the General School had voluntarily launched the "Hanseikai Magazine" as a journal for a social reform campaign in A.D.1887, and this magazine was retitled "Chuokoron"in A.D.1899 and has been developed as a general interest magazine until today.
Omiya Library has a lot of collections that Otani Expedition Party brought back from the Silk Road, the ancient trade road in Central Asia, and also has many precious books from inside and outside of Japan, including those granted by Nishi Hongan-ji Temple and designated as national treasures and important cultural assets.
"Nagao Library and Collections"in Fukakusa Library owns more than 70% of the records of Japanese companies' history, issued from the last days of the Tokugawa shogunate to 1985, and it has now about 16,800 pieces of materials including the added collections. They are valuable reseach stuff for Faculty of Economics and Business Administration.
"Ryukoku Extension Center (REC)", the center of collaboration among enterprises, the government & municipal offices, research agencies, and others, engages in various activities, such as getting patents on the achievements of reseach and holding seminors for the general public.
(For details, please refer to the heading of Ryukoku Extension Center.)
Atmosphere and feature of the University
Five buildings of the university, including Central, North, and South Hall of Omiya Campus, are designated as the national important cultural assets because of their modern style of architecture in the Meiji era.
In 2005, Ryukoku University got "AA-(double A minus)"(ranking 4 among 21 schools) from Rating & Investment Information,Inc.(R&I) for the financial index of the university corporation and has kept the same rank continuously for three years up to 2007.
School color
The school color is purple.
History
In A.D.1639, it was founded as Gakuryo of Nishi Hongan-ji Temple.
In A.D.1650, Seijo (school rules) of Gakuryo was established.
In A.D.1655, Gakuryo was ordered to dissolve by the Tokugawa shogunate because of the dispute in Syo'o over the Jodo Shinshu teachings. And Gakuryo was renamed Gakurin.
In A.D.1788, Gakurin burned down in the big fire that broke out in Kyoto City.
In A.D.1792, the Hall of Gakurin was rebuilt.
In A.D.1867, the reform of Gakurin started.
In A.D.1869, the course of Hajagaku (Christianity) was started.
In A.D.1871, the site of Gakurin was transferred to Shichijyo-dori Omiya in Shimogyo Ward. And the courses of Naigaku (study of the Buddhism), Kogaku (native studies), and Kangaku (Chinese studies) were started.
In A.D.1872, the Western learning of "the German language course"was started.
In A.D.1875, the European system of school was adopted. And the course of Futugaku (the general subject) was started.
In A.D.1876, Gakurin was renamed Daikyoko.
In A.D.1879, some buildings in Omiya campus were completed, such as Central, South and North Hall, and Main Gate, which are all still in use, and Former Station of Custodian.
In A.D.1880, the Emperor Meiji visited Daikyoko.
In A.D.1887, some students in the General School voluntarily launched the "Hanseikai Magazine"(the precedent of "Chuokoron" today).
In A.D.1888, Daikyoko was renamed Daigakurin.
In A.D.1900, Daigakurin was renamed Bukkyo Daigaku (Buddhist University).
In A.D.1902, Bukkyo Daigaku was divided into two, one was Bukkyo Senmon Daigaku (Buddhist Special University) in Kyoto and the other was Takanawa Bukkyo Daigaku (Takanawa Buddhist University) in Tokyo.
In A.D.1904, Takanawa Bukkyo Daigaku was closed and integrated with Bukkyo Senmon Daigaku.
In A.D.1905, Bukkyo Daigaku was approved by the Imperial Order of Vocational College.
In A.D.1922, Bukkyo Daigaku was approved as the university (under the old system) by the Imperial Order of University and was retitled Ryukoku University.
In A.D.1928, female students' entrance was permitted for the first time.
In A.D.1949, Ryukoku University restarted after the postwar reform of the school education system, and established the Faculty of Literature.
In A.D.1953, Nishi Hongan-ji Temple donated Otani Expedition Party's collections to Omiya Library.
In A.D.1960, Fukakusa Campus opened in Fushimi Ward of Kyoto City.
In A.D.1961, Faculty of Economics opened.
In A.D.1962, Department of Social Welfare in Junior College opened.
In A.D.1964, a group of Western-style buildings (Central, South and North Hall, Main Gate, Former Station of Custodian, and others in Omiya Campus), set up inMeiji 12, were designated as national important cultural assets.
In A.D.1966, Faculty of Business Administration opened.
In A.D.1968, Faculty of Law opened. Department of Sociology in Faculty of Letters opened.
In A.D.1969, campus unrest broke out, causing Fukakusa Campus to be blockaded for 50 days.
In A.D.1983, "Nagao Library", collecting records of Japanese companies' history, was purchased.
In A.D.1985, Japanese Culture and Language Program opened.
In A.D.1987, Japan-U.S. International Symposium was held in commemoration of 350th anniversary from the foundation of both Ryukoku and Harvard University.
In A.D.1988, the curriculum reform was implemented, and the semester and grade system was adopted.
In A.D.1989, Seta Campus was set up in Otsu City of Shiga Prefecture, as a commemorative project of the 350th anniversary. And Faculty of Science and Technology, and that of Sociology opened.
In A.D.1991, Ryukoku Extension Center (REC) opened.
In A.D.1996, Faculty of Intercultural Communication opened.
In A.D.1997, Faculties of Letters, Economics, and Business Administration started to hold classes mainly in the evening and the building of High-Tech Research Center was completed (in Seta).
In A.D.2001, Digital Archives Research Center for Classical Documents as well as Shikokan opened.
In A.D.2005, Legal Affairs Research Course of Graduate School of Law (Law School) opened and Tokyo Office was set up.
In A.D.2006, Ryukoku University Berkeley Center (RUBeC) opened in the State of California, U.S.A.
小学校教諭免許状取得支援制度=>Support System for Getting Teacher's license of Elementary School
Location
Fukakusa Campus (Fukakusa Tsukamoto-cho, Fushimi Ward, Kyoto City, Kyoto Prefecture)
Omiya Campus (Daiku-cho, Shichijyo-dori Omiya Higashi-iru, Shimogyo Ward, Kyoto City, Kyoto Prefecture)
Seta Campus (Yokotani, Seta Oe-cho, Otsu City, Shiga Prefecture)
Faculties
Faculty of Letters
Department of Shin Buddhism
Department of Buddhist Studies
Department of Philosophy, Philosophy Course and Educational Studies Course
Department of History, Japanese History Course, Asian History Course, and Buddhist History Course
Department of Japanese Language and Literature
Department of English Language and Anglo-American Literature
Faculty of Economics
Department of Contemporary Economics
Department of International Economics
Faculty of Business Administration
Department of Business Administration
Faculty of Law
Department of Law
Department of Politics
Faculty of Science and Technology
Department of Applied Mathematics and Informatics
Department of Electronics and Informatics
Department of Mechanical and Systems Engineering
Department of Materials Chemistry
Department of Media Informatics
Department of Environmental Solution Technology
Faculty of Sociology
Department of Sociology
Department of Community Management
Department of Community Social Welfare
Department of Clinical Social Welfare
Faculty of Intercultural Communication
Department of Intercultural Communication
Graduate Schools
Graduate School of Letters (Master's Degree Program and Doctor's Degree Program)
Graduate School of Economics (Master's Degree Program and Doctor's Degree Program)
Graduate School of Business Administration (Master's Degree Program and Doctor's Degree Program)
Graduate School of Law (Master's Degree Program and Doctor's Degree Program)
Graduate School of Sociology (Master's Degree Program and Doctor's Degree Program)
Graduate School of Science and Technology (Master's Degree Program and Doctor's Degree Program)
Graduate School of Intercultural Communication (Master's Degree Program and Doctor's Degree Program)
Legal Affairs Research Course (First Professional Degree's Program, Law School)
Special Course
Special Course for Foreign Students
There are students from 27 countries worldwide.
Junior College
Attached Facilities and Institutions
Libraries of Ryukoku University
Comprehensive Research Center for Humanities, Science, and Religion
Research Institute for Buddhist Culture
Research Institute for Social Sciences
Joint Research Center for Science and Technology
Institute for International Society and Culture
High-Tech Research Center
Ryukoku University Volunteer NPO Activity Center
Digital Archives Research Center for Classical Documents
Corrections and Rehabilitation Research Center
Local Human Resources and Public Policy Development System Open Research Centre (LORC)
Open Research Center for Humanities, Science, and Religion
Open Research Center for the Study of Satoyama and Community Life
Afrasian Center for Peace and Development Studies
Chikokan (Afrasian Research Building)
Intellectual Propety Center
Ryukoku Extension Center (REC)
Shiga Head Office (Main Hall)
Kyoto Branch Office
Higashiosaka Branch Office
Tokyo Office (Chiyoda Ward, Tokyo)
Ryukoku University Berkeley Center (RUBec)(at Berkeley in the State of California, U.S.A.)
Minami Dainichi Field (Yamashina Ward, Kyoto City)
The storehouse of boats (Otsu City, Shiga Prefecture)
Dormitories for overseas students
RYUKOKU KAIKAN
OMIYA-SO
MUKAIJIMA GAKUSEI CENTER
LUMIERE MAMIYA INTERNATIONAL FLAT
Ryukoku Extension Center
"Ryukoku Extension Center"(commonly called REC) was founded in 1991 and in Japan, it's the first incubation facilities in which the university teams up with authorities and industries. In 2005, the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry designated REC as the site of "Network hub reinforcement project to support new businesses covering wide regions".
REC bases in Shiga, controls branch offices in Kyoto and Higashiosaka, and has rental laboratories, which are almost the largest at scale in Japan. REC has helped companies by, for example, setting up the loan system in cooperation with the local bank, and has made efforts to nurture them in the joint research and development, so REC was ranked the first in fiscal 2000 at the number of venture companies incubated in the university, and thereafter it has remained in the top group.
There are 13 open patents. You can refer to them at Intellectual Property Center.
For the general public, it opens "REC Community College", presiding about 350 classes annually held in Seta Campus, Tokyo, and elsewhere.
Projects for Promoting Private Universities' Higher-level Academic Research
The list below is about those projects adopted by the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology.
Project of Establishing & Upgrading High-Tech Research Center
Graduate School of Science and Technology (in fiscal Heisei 8, 13)
Research Center for Telecommunications Systems (in fiscal Heisei 18)
Innovative Materials and Processing Research Center (in fiscal Heisei 18)
Project of Academic Frontiers' Advancement
Digital Archives Research Center for Classical Documents (since fiscal Heisei 13)
Corrections and Rehabilitation Research Center (since fiscal Heisei 14)
Afrasian Center for Peace and Development Studies (in fiscal Heisei 17)
Project of Establishing & Upgrading Open Research Centers
Open Research Center for Humanities, Science, and Religion (since fiscal Heisei 14)
Local Human Resources and Public Policy Development System Open Research Centre (LORC) (in fiscal Heisei 15)
Open Research Center for the Study of Satoyama and Community Life (in fiscal Heisei 16)
Education
Support Program for Good Practice as Tackling Contemporary Educational Needs
"Education Centered on Creating Images of Career" by Junior College (in fiscal Heisei 17)
"Otsu Enpawa Net", meaning the network that empowers the Otsu community, by Faculty of Sociology (in fiscal Heisei 19)
Support Program for Good Practice as Unique University Education
"Systematic Education Implemented before Internship" by Junior College (since fiscal Heisei 15 to fiscal Heisei 18)
"Creation of New Liberal Arts' Education by Like-minded Universities", jointly adopted with other universities (in fiscal Heisei 16)
Support Program for Improving Graduate School Education
"Making of International-level Engineers Equipped with Eastern Ethics" by Graduate School of Science and Technology (in fiscal Heisei 19)
"NPO and Regional Government Studies Course" by Graduate School of Law (in fiscal Heisei 19)
Gakuyukai
Gakuyukai of Ryukoku University is the organization that consists of its all students.
School festivals
Anniversary of University's Founding and Priest Shinran's Birth-The executive committee gets organized and the anniversary is the second largest festival in Ryukoku school festivals.
Kenshin Week-Gakuyukai's Section of Religion mainly makes arrangements and holds the festival for about a week with the date of October 18th put in the middle.
Ryukoku Festival-Formally, this is what they call the school festival. Other universities often gather charges in events such as a professional singer's live songs, but in Ryukoku Festival, they are all free.
Academic Cultural Festival-Gakuyukai's Academic Cultural Section mainly makes arrangements and holds cultural events all over the campus.
Sports
The baseball club belongs to the KANSAI 6 BASEBALL LEAGUE and has produced graduates, including many professional players, club coaches of the high schools that took part in the high school baseball tounament at Koshien Stadium.
The American football club,"SEA HORSE", had been in Division 1 (Div. 1) of Kansai Collegiate American Football Association, but was relegated to Division 2 after losing the play-off for the ticket of Div. 1 against Konan University's team in 2007.
The rugby club had belonged to League A (Div. 1) of Kansai Collegiate Rugby Football Association, but was relegated to League B after losing the play-off for the ticket of Div. 1 against Setsunan University's team in 2007.
The cheerleading team,"BATON CHEER SPIRITS", has achieved grand prix 8 years in a row in Kansai Collegiate Baton Cheerleading Contest.
The instrument music club, once directed by Yutaka Sado, achieved the sixth, and consecutively the fourth, gold medal (as of 2006), in University Category of All Japan Band Competition.
The skiing club, both men's and women's group, are in Division 1 of All Kansai Collegiate Skiing Association.
The track-and-field club produced a graduate holding the national record.
The boat club has achieved the championship of, in the Category of Men's Four with a Steersman, All Japan Rookies' Boat Tournament (two years in a row), Asahi Regatta, and Kansai Collegiate Boat Tournament (four years in a row) (as of 2006).
Tuition
981,000 yen for Faculty of Letters, Economics, Business Administration, Law, Intercultural Communication; 1,422,600 yen for Faculty of Science and Technology; 1,016,900 yen for Faculty of Sociology.
From 33,000 yen to 34,000 yen collected additionally for an annual membership fee (that of Gakuyukai, Shinwakai, and Koyukai)
Academic Scholarship (the scholarship to those who got excellent grades in the entrance exam)
About one sixth of successful candidates accept this.
Available for general entrance exams of all faculties (among those who scored more than 80% in all)
In the first and second grade, students are exempted from the former half tuition. In the humanities' faculties, the exemption is 731,000 yen (the amount for two years). In the science's faculties, the exemption is 949,000 yen (the amount for two years).
Available for the examination, implemented by the National Center for University Entrance Examinations, about all Ryukoku faculties (among those who got excellent scores in the exam)
In the humanities' faculties, the exemption is 1,462,000 yen (the amount for two years). In the science's faculties, the exemption is 1,898,000 yen (the amount for two years).
Organizations made up of people related to Ryukoku University
Koyukai of Ryukoku University-This organization consists of Ryukoku University graduates. It's made up of 38 domestic and 3 foreign branches.
Shinwakai-This organization consists of the present Ryukoku University students' parents and guardians. It supports students through, for example, setting up an unique scholarship.
Ryukoku Accountant Society (RAS)-This organization consists of certified tax & public accountants and other certified professionals who are Ryukoku University graduates.
Ryukoku Managers Meeting-This organization mainly consists of corporate managers who are Ryukoku University graduates.
Kyoryukai-This organization consists of teachers of junior high, high, and other schools who are Ryukoku University graduates.
List of people related to Ryukoku University
Public figures related to Ryukoku University
Religious events
In Ryukoku University, there is the Section of Religion that hosts events mentioned below. According to their importance, some measures, like no-lecture-day, are taken, but many Ryukoku students are said to be ignorant of the very existence of events, because students' attendance is voluntary. No-lecture-day was more frequent in the past, so Ryukoku University was once directed to amend the curriculum lacking in school hours by the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology.
Buddhist Service on Priest Shinran's Death Date Every Month-held, in principle, on 16th every month, in Omiya Campus
Buddhist Service on The Day before Priest Shinran's Death Date Every Month-held, in principle, on 15th every month, in Fukakusa Campus
Buddhist Service on Priest Shinran's Birth Date Every Month-held, in principle, on 21st every month, in Seta Campus
Annual Buddhist Service on Priest Shinran's Birthday-May 21st, also the anniversary of the university's founding, is when all lectures are off all day. Gakuyukai hosts the school festival, "Anniversary of University's Founding and Priest Shinran's Birth", on the same day.
Annual Buddhist Service for Dedicating Gratitude to Priest Shinran-October 18th is when lectures of some Faculties and Departments are off.
Morning (Early Morning) Services-A.M. 8:45 every morning (in Omiya, Fukakusa Campus), A.M. 9:00 every morning (in Seta Campus)
External relations
The academic exchange agreement
The agreement with Kyoto Bar Association
This is the first agreement in Japan concluded between the bar association and university, and based on it, Faculty of Law students can experience business in law firms as summer interns, and lawyers give live lectures in Ryukoku University.
Agreements and exchanges with local governments
Comprehensive agreements over building up the community
Those with Otsu City, Shiga Prefecture
The agreements are the first ones in Japan concluded between the administrative authorities and the university, promising cooperative ties over a wide range of activities, such as industry promotion, environmental protection, regional vitalization, and welfare work, and having objectives, like producing new business.
The agreement of the cooperation
The agreement with Kyoto Prefectural Board of Education
This agreement is the first one in Japan concluded between the board of education and the university, and its objectives are to exchange and vitalize human and intellectual resources mutually, to research and discuss the education cooperatively, and to make use of the result of those activities for enriching and developing the education both sides.
The agreement with 29 municipalities, including Kyoto and Osaka City
"Course of Researching NPO and Local Administration" concluded with municipalities the cooperative agreements, which aim to accept Ryukoku students and provide them with "the opportunity" of the practical education for upgrading and diversifying their public policies.
Inside of Japan
The agreement of exchange was concluded with Shiga University of Medical Science.
Ryukoku University belongs to Kyoto Graduate Union of Religious Studies, along with Doshisha Universities and others.
The agreement with Bukkyo University, concluded over the study of the elementary school teacher's license course, enables Ryukoku students to get the license at graduation.
Outside of Japan
Ryukoku University concluded students' exchange (or academic) agreements with universities listed below.
The United States of America
California State University, Northridge
University of California, Davis
Missouri State University System
Institute of Buddhist Studies (IBS)
Beckman Institute for Advanced Science and Technology at the University of Illinois
University of Hawaii at Manoa
Buddhist Study Center (BSC)
Antioch College
The United Kingdom
University of Westminster
University of Newcastle upon Tyne
Denmark
University of Aarhus
Sweden
Vaxjo University
Finland
University of Joensuu
Russia
The Institute of Asian and African Studies in M. V. Lomonosov Moscow State University
Ukraine
National Taras Shevchenko University of Kyiv
Poland
Warsaw School of Economics
Germany
University of Duisburg-Essen
Berlin University of Technology
France
University of Lyon
University of Caen
Spain
Autonomous University of Barcelona
University of Valencia
Canada
University of Calgary
Australia
RMIT University
Murdoch University
Flinders University
La Trobe University
New Zealand
Christchurch Polytechnic Institute of Technology
Mexico
Metropolitan Autonomous University
The People's Republic of China
Shanghai Normal University
Fudan University
East China Normal University
Shanghai University
Renmin University of China
Dalian University of Foreign Languages
Sun Yat-Sen University
Jilin University
Chinese Academy of Social Sciences
Shanghai Institute of Foreign Trade
School of International Studies at Peking University
People's Academy of Social Sciences at Xi'an Jiaotong University
Tsinghua University
China Agricultural University
Graduate School of Xi'an Institute of Light Industry
Tongji University
The Republic of Korea
Dong-A University
Chosun University
Sungkyunkwan University
Dongguk University
Wonkwang University
Chonnam National University
Guncho Technical University
The Kingdom of Thailand
Chulalongkorn University
Assumption University
Indonesia
Hasanuddin University
Sister school
Kyoto Women's University
Related or attached Schools
Heian Junior High and High School Attached to Ryukoku University-In 2008, its former name "Heian Junior High and High School" changed.
Hokuriku Junior High and High School of Hokuriku Academy-the School having cooperative ties with Ryukoku University
Sotoku Junior High and High School-the School having cooperative ties with Ryukoku University
Uenomiya Junior High and High School-the School having cooperative ties with Ryukoku University
School having friendship with Ryukoku University
Harvard University-As the 350th anniversary from their foundation came around almost the same year, Harvard and Ryukoku University jointly held the commemoration and the Japan-U.S. International Symposium.
Cultural assets
Ryukoku University owns national treasures and important cultural assets listed below.
National Treasure
"Ruijyukoshu", the book editting "Man'yoshu", which is the oldest collection of waka in Japan.
National Important Cultural Assets
Buildings
The Central Hall in Omiya Campus
The North Hall in Omiya Campus
The South Hall in Omiya Campus
The Former Station of Custodian in Omiya Campus
The Main Gate of Omiya Campus (including its pasage attached and two designs)
Book
"Rihaku Sekitokuko", the letter written by Rihaku, who was the ancient, great poet in China (owned by Omiya Library).
Attached schools
Heian Junior High and High School Attached to Ryukoku University
P.S.
Hokuriku High School (Fukui Prefecture) concluded the agreement about the cooperation with Ryukoku University. Uenomiya High School (Osaka Prefecture) did the same.