Keio University

After studying under Ogata Koan, Fukuzawa opened a school in Edo in 1858 under instructions from the Nakatsu domain. It initially centered on Dutch studies and shifted its curricular emphasis toward English in 1863. Language education became connected with access to foreign knowledge and institutions.

The school moved to Shiba Shinsenza in 1868 and adopted the name Keio Gijuku from the era name. Relocation to Mita followed in 1871. Its institutional origins and adoption of the Keio name thus mark different stages; the university's founding date does not imply that its later organization already existed in 1858.

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Keio Yochisha Elementary School opened in 1874 and a university division in 1890. Elementary, secondary and higher education developed within the same institutional tradition. The early college included literature, law and political economy, with the last developing into specialized study of economic and social institutions.

Overseas study, graduate programs and new subjects expanded higher education. Medical education developed substantially in 1917, and government recognition under the university system followed in 1920. Opening the original school, establishing a college division and obtaining this legal recognition were separate institutional developments.

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Keio describes independence and practical learning as guiding principles, emphasizing judgment and the application of knowledge in social life. In 1899 it sent six students to Germany and the United States, extending overseas study beyond the founder's travels into an institutional arrangement.

Hiyoshi Campus opened in 1934. The Fujiwara Institute of Technology transferred to Keio in 1944 and became its engineering faculty. Postwar reforms brought a new university system in 1949 and graduate schools in 1951. Continuity of name and founding tradition therefore accompanied changes in legal status, subjects and educational organization.

References: [1] [2]