NISHOGAKUSHA UNIVERSITY

Philosophy of Establishment

On October 10, 1877, Chushu Mishima founded Nishogakusha, Chinese Classic Studies Academy. He was a prominent scholar of Chinese Classics Studies and had a great influence over the Japanese bar associations around that time when Japan was experiencing a tumultuous decade following the start of the Meiji Era, trying to absorb the Western culture.

Concerned about the situation of Japan at that time, he strongly advocated the importance of learning the Oriental cultures to find out the true direction of the country. His goal was to establish the system of the Oriental Studies and to develop capable human resources to lead the country to a new era.

In 1928, Nishogakusha Academy was established and gained a university status in 1949, when the Departments of Japanese Literature and Chinese Literature were created in the Faculty of Literature. The Graduate School of Literature was added in 1966 and the Faculty of International Political Science and Economics in 1991, aimed at fostering global citizens based on the philosophy of establishment of Nishogakusha.

Nishogakusha University was registered as a full membership university of the Japan University Accreditation Association (JUAA) in 1997 and celebrated the 130th anniversary on October 10, 2007. The long history and tradition together with the vision towards the future development of Nishogakusha University have been all built on Chushu’s vision for “Education and Scholarship.”

Founder Chushu Mishima (1830 – 1919)

Founder	Chushu Mishima

He was born in 1830 in a town now called Nakashima, Kurashiki-City, Okayama-Prefecture. His first name is Tsuyoshi but was better known as Enshuku. He decided to be a scholar at the age of 11 and became a student of a Confucian scholar, Hokoku Yamada at the age of 14. He further studied under Setsudo Saito, and later under Issai Sato in the Shohei School.

At the age of 30, he started serving the domain’s lord, Katsukiyo Itakura of the Matsuyama Clan located in the present Western part of Okayama Prefecture and lived in times of rapid change at the end of the Edo Period with him.

At the start of the Meiji Era, he was assigned to move to Tokyo by the new government to serve as head of the Niihari Prefectural court house and also as a judge of the Daishinin (Supreme Court of today).

In 1877 after his retirement, he established Nishogakusha, Chinese Classic Studies Academy and endeavored to educate many students and develop Chinese Classics Studies and Oriental Studies. Later he served as a professor at Tokyo Normal School and the Literature Department of Tokyo Imperial University, and also as Councilor for the Imperial Court and Crown Prince.