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 ...

in Sōka, Saitama, Japan, which is a liberal, co-educational institution noted for its language education programs and international exchanges. The university was founded in 1964, its roots can be traced back as early as 1881. Undergraduate admissions are selective, with an admission rate ranging from 30–40%.

History

The name "Dokkyo" is the Japanese-style dual ''

kanji are logographic Chinese characters, adapted from Chinese family of scripts, Chinese script, used in the writing of Japanese language, Japanese. They were made a major part of the Japanese writing system during the time of Old Japanese and are ...

''-based abbreviation of ''Verein für deutsche Wissenschaften'', or . What was to become today's Dokkyo University was founded on 18 September 1881 by various people, among them scholars

Nishi Amane was a Japanese philosopher. He studied law and economics in the Netherlands. He became a political advisor to Tokugawa Yoshinobu before and after the Meiji Restoration. He served as a bureaucrat in the Ministry of War, the Ministry of Educati ...

and

Katō Hiroyuki Baron was an academic and politician of the Meiji period Japan. Biography Katō was born on August 5, 1836, to a ''samurai'' family in Izushi domain, Tajima Province (present day Hyōgo Prefecture), and studied military science under Sakuma ...

, diplomats

Inoue Kaoru Marquess Inoue Kaoru (井上馨, January 16, 1836 – September 1, 1915) was a Japanese politician and a prominent member of the Meiji oligarchy during the Meiji period of the Empire of Japan. As one of the senior statesmen ('' Genrō'') in ...

and

Aoki Shūzō Viscount was a Japanese politician and diplomat who served as foreign minister during the Meiji era. Early life Aoki was born to a samurai family as the son of the domain physician of Chōshū, in what is now part of San'yō-Onoda in Yamaguc ...

and statesmen Shinagawa Yajirō and

Katsura Tarō Prince was a Japanese politician and general who served as prime minister of Japan from 1901 to 1906, from 1908 to 1911, and from 1912 to 1913. He was a '' genrō'', or senior statesman who helped dictate policy during the Meiji era, and is th ...

as ''Verein für deutsche Wissenschaften'', or The first chancellor was

Prince Kitashirakawa Yoshihisa of Japan, was the second head of a ōke, collateral branch of the Imperial Household of Japan, Japanese imperial family. He was formerly enshrined in Tainan Shrine, Tainan-Jinja, Taiwan, under the name ''Kitashirakawa no Miya Yoshihisa-shinnō ...

. It developed into ''Schule des Vereins für deutsche Wissenschafte''n, or in 1883, which opened its doors exclusively to boys in line with the custom at the time. They also founded a highly prestigious law school to study Japan's first constitution The Constitution of the Great Empire of Japan, modeled after the Prussian one with criminal codes also modeled after the German ones, but the elite law division was absorbed by the

Imperial University of Tokyo The University of Tokyo (, abbreviated as in Japanese and UTokyo in English) is a public research university in Bunkyō, Tokyo, Japan. Founded in 1877 as the nation's first modern university by the merger of several pre-westernisation era ins ...

Faculty of Law in 1895. The school went through a minor negative campaign due to

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, when Japan sided with the

British Empire The British Empire comprised the dominions, Crown colony, colonies, protectorates, League of Nations mandate, mandates, and other Dependent territory, territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom and its predecessor states. It bega ...

against the

German Empire The German Empire (),; ; World Book, Inc. ''The World Book dictionary, Volume 1''. World Book, Inc., 2003. p. 572. States that Deutsches Reich translates as "German Realm" and was a former official name of Germany. also referred to as Imperia ...

from August 1914 to November 1918, but the majority of the Japanese public was either pro-German or neutral despite Japan's position in the

Anglo-Japanese Alliance The was an alliance between the United Kingdom and the Empire of Japan which was effective from 1902 to 1923. The treaty creating the alliance was signed at Lansdowne House in London on 30 January 1902 by British foreign secretary Lord Lans ...

. The 1920s saw its heyday when the school sent the highest number of boys into the nation's top ("High School No.1") in Tokyo, popularly known as "Ichikō", which is today's Liberal Arts campus of the

University of Tokyo The University of Tokyo (, abbreviated as in Japanese and UTokyo in English) is a public research university in Bunkyō, Tokyo, Japan. Founded in 1877 as the nation's first modern university by the merger of several pre-westernisation era ins ...

. The collapse of the two great empires of Germany and Japan in 1945, however, rendered the elite school into a mere boys' high school of middle rank. During the early 1960s Dokkyo School's graduate and former Education Minister was invited to found the University with money from the school and local governments. They started their first lectures on a higher education level in April 1964.

Facilities

The university is located in Sōka, Saitama, around 30 minutes from the Tokyo Metropolitan area. The facilities are arranged on a campus-styled property and include the Central, East and West buildings, a Student Center, Library and Research Center, a University Sports Ground and various gardens and additional buildings. Dokkyo_University_East_gate

The campus is situated next to the Denu river and can be accessed via the East, West, South or Ground Gate. The_campus_of_Dokkyo_University

The Teiyu Amano Memorial Stadium, home of the university's baseball team, is located off-campus in Koshigaya. *

Academics

Schools

Dokkyo Medical University is a private university in Mibu, Tochigi, Japan, established in 1973. Dokkyo University is located in the town of Mibu, Tochigi, Mibu, in Tochigi Prefecture, about 1.5 hours north of Tokyo by train. History Dokkyo Medical University is a part o ...

Undergraduate

*Faculty of

Foreign language A foreign language is a language that is not an official language of, nor typically spoken in, a specific country. Native speakers from that country usually need to acquire it through conscious learning, such as through language lessons at schoo ...

s **Department of German **Department of English **Department of French *Faculty of International

Liberal Arts Liberal arts education () is a traditional academic course in Western higher education. ''Liberal arts'' takes the term ''skill, art'' in the sense of a learned skill rather than specifically the fine arts. ''Liberal arts education'' can refe ...

**Department of

Interdisciplinary Studies Interdisciplinarity or interdisciplinary studies involves the combination of multiple academic disciplines into one activity (e.g., a research project). It draws knowledge from several fields such as sociology, anthropology, psychology, economi ...

*Faculty of Economics **Department of Economics **Department of

Management science Management science (or managerial science) is a wide and interdisciplinary study of solving complex problems and making strategic decisions as it pertains to institutions, corporations, governments and other types of organizational entities. It is ...

*Faculty of Law **Department of Law **Department of International

Legal Studies Jurisprudence, also known as theory of law or philosophy of law, is the examination in a general perspective of what law is and what it ought to be. It investigates issues such as the definition of law; legal validity; legal norms and values ...

**Department of Policy studies (since 2008)

Postgraduate

*Graduate schools **Graduate School of Law **Graduate School of Foreign Languages **Graduate School of Economics * Dokkyo Law School

International exchanges

The university has an International Center, an overseas study program and various exchange agreements with universities worldwide. It also offers a Japanese Language and Culture Program for exchange students.

Exchange agreements

The university maintains student and academic exchange programs with various national and international universities. *

Rankings

In 2018 Dokkyo University was ranked among the top 100 universities in Japan (86th) by Times Higher Education (THE).

Student life

Athletics

Dokkyo offers a variety of athletic programs. The university's baseball team has been competing in the

Tokyo Metropolitan Area University Baseball League Tokyo, officially the Tokyo Metropolis, is the capital of Japan, capital and List of cities in Japan, most populous city in Japan. With a population of over 14 million in the city proper in 2023, it is List of largest cities, one of the most ...

since 1967.

People

Alumni

Notable alumni from Dokkyo university include: * Jun Enomoto, Japanese

football player A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby ...

Hiroki Kamemoto is a Japanese musician, best known as lead guitarist of the rock band Glim Spanky since 2007. Formed while the members were in high school, the group made their major label debut in 2014 and consists of Kamemoto and vocalist and rhythm guitari ...

, Japanese musician * Rie Furuse, Japanese singer *

Katsuko Nishimoto was a Japanese politician of the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), who was a member of the House of Representatives in the Diet (national legislature). Life and career Nishimoto was born on April 1, 1950, and grew up in Takaoka District, Kōchi ...

, Japanese politician * Atsuko Okamoto, Japanese actress *

Koichiro Okuma Kōichirō, Koichiro, Kouichirou or Kohichiroh is a masculine Japanese given name. Written forms *晃一郎, "clear, one, son" *光一郎, "light, one, son" *弘一郎, "vast, one, son" *鴻一郎, "prosperous, one, son" *紘一郎, "large, one, ...

, Japanese

martial artist Martial arts are codified systems and traditions of combat practiced for a number of reasons such as self-defence; military and law enforcement applications; competition; physical, mental, and spiritual development; entertainment; and the pres ...

Tomorowo Taguchi is a Japanese actor, film director and musician. After leaving Dokkyo University without graduating, he started to earn his living as an illustrator, writer and pornographic cartoonist. He joined a theatre called Hakken no Kai in 1978 and he ...

, Japanese actor *

Sōichirō Takashima is a Japanese politician and the current mayor of Fukuoka, the capital city of Fukuoka Prefecture in Kyushu region of Japan. Early life Born in 1974, he worked as a TV presenter after graduating from university, presenting morning news progra ...

, Japanese politician * Toru Toida, Japanese politician *

Yumi Yoshiyuki is a Japanese film director, actress, and screenwriter best known for her work in the '' pink film'' genre. Early life and education Yoshiyuki studied economics at Dokkyo University. Career During her studies at Dokkyo University, Yoshiyuki ...

, Japanese film director

External links

References

{{authority control Private universities and colleges in Japan Universities and colleges established in 1964 Universities and colleges in Saitama Prefecture 1964 establishments in Japan