History of
Kansai University

Kansai's First Law School

Kansai Law School—Kansai University's predecessor—was established at Ganshuji Temple (in Kyomachibori, Nishi-ku, Osaka) on November 4, 1886, through the cooperation of Kazushi Yoshida, a Freedom and People's Rights Movement activist, and Misao Inoue, Hisashi Ogura, and Masatada Hotta, all of whom followed the teachings of the French jurist Boissonade. Korekata Kojima, Chief Justice of the Osaka Court of Appeals at the time, participated in the founding of the school as an honorary employee and fulfilled a supervisory role.

Promotion to University Status
(Old System)

In 1922, a new campus was established in Senriyama. In addition, the institution was licensed as a university with two faculties: the Faculty of Law and the Faculty of Business and Commerce. Juntaro Yamaoka, the General Trustee and President at the time, advocated GAKU-NO-JITSUGE (Harmony between Academia & Society) as the university philosophy, and the university started focusing on holding public lectures and language lessons as well as sending out international students and providing physical education.

KU Renaissance

In 1947, as Kansai University was recovering from the devastation of the Second World War, Uichi Iwasaki, the university president at the time, said the following to the students: "At Kansai University, the dawn of a cultural renaissance is upon us. But what is the core of the KU Renaissance? … As we the students of this institution put everything we have into the pursuit of truth, we must always passionately and courageously challenge any kind of authority and power. This, and only this, must be Kansai University's pride and our academic tradition." In April of the following year, Kansai University converted to the new university system, establishing four faculties: Law, Letters, Economics, and Commerce.

Modern Day Kansai University

Currently, Kansai University has 13 faculties: Law, Letters, Economics, Business and Commerce, Sociology, Policy Studies, Foreign Language Studies, Health and Well-being, Informatics, Societal Safety Sciences, Engineering Science, Environmental and Urban Engineering, and Chemistry, Materials and Bioengineering. The University also has graduate schools, a School of Law, a School of Accountancy, and a Japanese Language and Culture Program Preparatory Course (Bekka) and is continuing to develop.

Establishment:1886 to 1922

The 36-year period from when Kansai Law School was established at Ganshuji Temple in Kyomachibori, Nishi-ku, Osaka until it was promoted to university status by the University Ordinance was when the foundation of Kansai University was built and is therefore called the Establishment period.

Year	Events
1886	Opened Kansai Law School at Ganshuji Temple in Kyomachibori, Nishi-ku, Osaka. The school was established by Misao Inoue, Hisashi Ogura, and Masatada Hotta—who studied under the jurist Boissonade—as well as Kazushi Yoshida. Relocated the university building to Awajimachi, Higashi-ku, Osaka.
1887	Relocated the university building to Koshoji Temple in Kawachicho, Kita-ku, Osaka.
1903	Built a new two-story university building in Edobori, Nishi-ku, Osaka.
1904	Established the Department of Economics.
1905	Reorganized and renamed the school as Kansai Private University. Established a university department, preparatory course, and specialized course (each of which had two departments: Law and Economics).
1906	Established the Department of Commerce. Established the Fukushima Campus in Kamifukushima, Kita-ku, Osaka, and then relocated there.
1913	Opened the Kansai Class A Commercial School.

Actualization:1922 to 1945

In 1922, Kansai University was licensed under the University Ordinance. The University established the Faculty of Law, Faculty of Business and Commerce, and preparatory course. Later, the University established the Department of Letters in its specialized course as well as the Department of Economics in its Faculty of Business and Commerce. This period of great expansion is called the Actualization period.

Year	Events
1922	Established a new campus in Senriyama. The institution was licensed as Kansai University by the University Ordinance and established the Faculty of Law, Faculty of Business and Commerce, preparatory course, and university song.
1924	Established the Department of Letters in the specialized course.
1926	Held the first University festival.
1929	Established the Tenroku Campus in Nagara, Oyodo-ku, Osaka, and then relocated the specialized course there from the Fukushima Campus. Opened a graduate school.

Rebirth:1945 to 1969

In 1948, following the war, Kansai University converted to the new university system ahead of other universities throughout Japan, establishing four faculties: Law, Letters, Economics, and Commerce. The University then established the Faculty of Engineering in 1958 followed by the Faculty of Sociology in 1967, thus starting down the path toward becoming a university in both name and reality. This period is called the Rebirth period.

Year	Events
1947	Opened Kansai University Dai-ichi Junior High School. During the turmoil following the war, Uichi Iwasaki, the University President, set forth the philosophy to guide the University's reconstruction.
1948	Transitioned to the new university system and established four faculties: Law, Letters, Economics, and Commerce. Opened Kansai University Annex Dai-ichi Senior High School.
1950	Established three graduate schools under the new system: Law, Letters, and Economics.
1951	Opened Kansai University Kindergarten. Opened the Institute of Oriental and Occidental Studies.
1952	Changed the name of Kansai University Annex Dai-ichi Senior High School to Kansai University Dai-ichi Senior High School.
1953	Relocated all evening undergraduate courses to the Tenroku Campus. Relocated Dai-ichi Senior High School from the Tenroku Campus to the Senriyama Campus.
1957	Relocated Dai-ichi Junior High School from the Tenroku Campus to the Senriyama Campus.
1958	Established the Faculty of Engineering. Opened the Institute of Economic and Political Studies.
1960	Relocated the Faculty of Engineering from the Tenroku Campus to the Senriyama Campus.
1962	Established the Graduate School of Business and Commerce and the Graduate School of Engineering.
1964	Opened the Institute of Industrial Technology (which was reorganized as the Organization for Research and Development of Innovative Science and Technology in 2002).
1967	Established the Faculty of Sociology.

Expansion:1970 to 1986

In 1969, as a result of major distress and a search for solutions stemming from a raging university dispute, the open university concept was born. This period—during which Kansai University tried to find ways to better respond to society's needs, such as by holding public lectures at various locations in an effort to give university research results back to the community—is called the Expansion period. In 1986, Kansai University celebrated its 100th anniversary.

Year	Events
1971	Established the Graduate School of Sociology. Opened a computer room.
1974	Opened the Institute of Buraku Studies (which was reorganized as the Institute of Human Rights Studies in 1985).
1982	Changed the name of the computer room to the Information Processing Center (which was relocated to the University Library/Information Processing Center in 1985).
1984	Completed the University Library/Information Processing Center.

Embarkation:1986 to the present

If the first hundred years are considered Kansai University's first century, then its second century is a period consisting of a new campus and faculty, and establishing an annex-school. This is a period of considerable development for the Kandai Group. Kansai University is committed to reaching higher and trying harder. This is the period of our ongoing Embarkation.

Year	Events
1986	Celebrated the university's 100th anniversary.
1987	Opened the Institute of Legal Studies.
1989	Opened the International Exchange Center (which was reorganized as the Division of International Affairs in October of 2008). Completed the Centenary Memorial Hall.
1994	Opened the Takatsuki Campus and established the Faculty of Informatics. Relocated all evening undergraduate courses to the Senriyama Campus. Opened the Kansai University Museum.
1997	Opened the Extension Reed Center.
1998	Established the Graduate School of Informatics.
2000	Established the Foreign Language Education and Research Institute (which was reorganized as the Faculty of Foreign Language Studies in 2009).
2002	Established the Graduate School of Foreign Language Education and Research.
2003	Abolished the two-faculty (daytime and evening courses) system and introduced a daytime-and-evening course system.
2004	Established the School of Law. Relocated the Information Processing Center to ENSHINKAN and changed its name to the Center fo Information Technology.
2006	Completed Mediapark RINPUKAN. Established the School of Accountancy. Completed the Kansai University Ice Arena (currently the Kansai University Takatsuki Ice Arena). Celebrated the University's 120th anniversary.
2007	Established the Faculty of Policy Studies. Reorganized the Faculty of Engineering as the Faculty of Engineering Science, Faculty of Environmental and Urban Engineering, and Faculty of Chemistry, Materials and Bioengineering.
2008	Opened Kansai University Hokuyo Senior High School. Established the Graduate School of Psychology. Opened the Research Institute for Socionetwork Strategies.
2009	Established the Faculty of Foreign Language Studies and Graduate School of Professional Clinical Psychology (for which we stopped accepting applications in fiscal 2020). Changed the name of the Graduate School of Engineering to the Graduate School of Science and Engineering.
2010	Opened the Takatsuki Muse Campus, established the Faculty of Societal Safety Sciences and Graduate School of Societal Safety Sciences. Also established the Kansai University Elementary School, Junior High School, and Senior High School at the campus. Opened the Sakai Campus and established the Faculty of Health and Well-being. Opened Kansai University Hokuyo Junior High School.
2011	Established the Graduate School of East Asian Cultures and Graduate School of Governance.
2012	Opened the Minami-Senri International Plaza and established the Japanese Language and Culture Program Preparatory Course.
2013	Celebrated the 100th anniversary of Dai-ichi Senior High School and Dai-ichi Junior High School.
2014	Established the Graduate School of Health and Well-being. Closed the Tenroku Campus.
2015	Established the United Graduate School of Professional Teacher Education (Osaka Kyoiku University) and participated as an affiliated university.
2016	Opened the Umeda Campus. Opened the Center for Innovation and Creativity. Opened the Research Center for Naniwa-Osaka Studies. Celebrated the University's 130th anniversary.
2022	Celebrated the Centennial of the University's Promotion.
2023	Opened the Suita Mirai Campus.

University Overview

History ofKansai University