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A BRIEF HISTORY OF MEIJI GAKUIN
Meiji Gakuin University, which had a long-standing sister relationship with Long Island University, is widely acknowledged as one of the oldest Christian schools in Japan. The official date of its founding, 1877, is considerably later than that of other Christian schools, but the determination lies in what one accepts as its true birthdate. The name Meiji Gakuin was first used in 1886 when Union Theological School and Union College, joint projects of the Presbyterian and Reformed Church Missions of the United States, united with a Japanese-English Preparatory School and settled on the present campus site at Shirokanedai. But each of these institutions already had respectably long histories. Union Theological School, the founding of which is the official birthdate of Meiji Gakuin, traces its lineage to the Bible classes started by Dr. Samuel R. Brown soon after his arrival in 1859. Union College developed from various schools associated with other famous pioneer missionaries including: Dr. Martin Wyckoff's Senshi Gakko (188l); the John Ballagh Gakko (1873); Yokohama schools of the Presbyterian and Reformed Missions respectively; and Reverend Christopher Carrothers' private Tokyo College (1881). However, the lineage goes back even further to 1861 when the Japanese government sent nine boys to Japan's first Protestant missionary, Dr. James C. Hepburn, for instruction in English and science. From these classes the Hepburn Juku was established in 1863. Thus, the true beginning of Meiji Gakuin can be traced back well before the official 1877 date. By 1886 Meiji Gakuin offered a four-year general arts course, a three-year theology course, and a two-year preparatory course. By the late 1920s, the general and preparatory courses had acquired middle school and high school status with English, Social Work, and Commerce departments. A radical change in structure came in 1930, when the theology department merged with Reverend Masahisa Uemura's Tokyo Theological School. Another merger came in 1933 when Meiji Gakuin merged with Steele Academy (Tozan Gakuin) in Nagasaki. By 1941 Meiji Gakuin had an enrollment of 1,700 students. Several dislocations occurred during World War II, but in 1949 Meiji Gakuin reorganized to meet new government regulations, adopting a structure much like that of today. The postwar expansion and increased enrollment necessitated a radical renovation of the old campus and its facilities. In 1952, through the cooperative efforts of Dr. Toru Matsumoto of Meiji Gakuin and Dr. Luman Shafer in New York, Meiji Gakuin undertook a ten-year building program. This was made possible by a half-million dollar grant from the Presbyterian and Reformed Churches and by the acquisition of property adjacent to the campus. In 1955 Meiji Gakuin embarked on another long-range program devoted to
rebuilding the present campus and developing a new campus away from the
heart of the city. In 1963 Meiji Gakuin opened a second senior high school
with new sports facilities in Higashi Murayama, a suburb west of Tokyo.
In 1968 the junior high school also moved to Higashi Murayama. Today Meiji Gakuin University has a Faculty of General Education, a Faculty of Literature with departments of English Literature and French Literature, a Faculty of Economics with departments of Economics and Commerce, a Faculty of Sociology with departments of Sociology and Social Work, and a Faculty of Law. The Faculty of International Studies at the Yokohama campus began classes in April 1986. This brief survey of Meiji Gakuin's history would be incomplete without mentioning some of the great names which have been connected with that history. First is Dr. Hepburn, one of the founders and first president, who is also known for his Japanese-English dictionaries, his Japanese translation of the Bible, his romanization of Japanese, and his contributions to medicine. Dr. Samuel R. Brown, another pioneer founder, is known as the father of Japanese theological education. Dr. Guido E. Verbeck joined the faculty of the Theological School in 1877 after having helped the Japanese government for ten years in establishing what later became Tokyo Imperial University. The influence of these first missionaries is better appreciated when it is remembered that before 1890, ninety percent of the educated Japanese had received their first instruction from missionaries. Meiji Gakuin was also one of the first schools where missionaries relinquished control to Japanese leadership. In 1861 Reverend Kajinosuke Ibuka succeeded to the presidency after Dr. Hepburn. Subsequent presidents, or 'chancellors' as they were later called, have included the following men: Daikichiro Tagawa, who left his seat in the Diet to assume the position; Dr. Robert Oltmans and Dr. Willis G. Hoekje, who held office during transition periods; Tsuraki Yano, who led the school through World War II; Dr. Shiro Murata, preacher and Pauline scholar; and Dr. Senji Tsuru, noted for his contribution to the modern language translation of the Bible. In 1962, the Reverend Tomio Muto was called to the chancellorship from his work as evangelist, editor, and administrative head of the Christian Literature Society. A few more names connected with Meiji Gakuin's development over the past century include the following: Dr. Toyohiko Kagawa, acclaimed by many as Japan's most famous Christian; the Reverend Masahisa Uemura, stalwart defender of evangelical Christianity; Toson Shimazaki, noted poet and novelist and author of the school song; Reverend Mitsuru Tomita, first moderator of the United Church of Christ in Japan and former chairman of the Board of Trustees; and Tokutaro Kitamura, former Finance Minister. These and many more have contributed to the role Meiji Gakuin has played and continues to play in molding both church and society in Japan. |
