Ritsumeikan University

Ritsumeikan was first founded as a private academy in 1869 by Prince Saionji Kinmochi. In 1900, Kojuro Nakagawa (the former secretary of Prince Saionji) established the Kyoto Hosei School, a law school that eventually adopted the Ritsumeikan name (with the prince's permission) and was awarded full university status in 1922. Historically, the school was seen as a liberal alternative to the state-run Kyoto University. The name "Ritsumeikan" comes from a Mencius quotation: Some die young, as some live long lives. This is decided by fate. Therefore, one's duty consists of cultivating one's mind during this mortal span and thereby "establishing one's destiny". (in Japanese, 立命, ritsumei) The "kan" in addition to "ritsumei" signifies a building. == Colleges and graduate schools (by campus) ==

Source: Kinugasa Campus (KIC) In Kita-ku, Kyoto, this liberal arts-oriented campus is a roughly five-minute walk from Ryōan-ji and Kinkaku-ji temples. The campus has eight graduate schools, 17,000 undergraduate and 1,100 graduate students. The overall design of the Kinugasa Campus is by Hiroyasu Tomiie, who was a leading Japanese modernist architect. • Colleges () • College of Law () • College of Social Sciences () • College of International Relations () • College of Letters () • Graduate Schools () • Graduate School of Law () • Graduate School of Sociology () • Graduate School of International Relations () • Graduate School of Letters () • Graduate School of Language Education and Information Science () • Graduate School of CoreEthics and Frontier Sciences () • Institute at Kinugasa Campus () • Inter-faculty Institute for International Studies () • International Law & Business Program () • International Civil Service Program () • International Community Program () • International Welfare Program () Suzaku Campus In Nakagyō-ku, Kyoto. This campus houses the School of Law, Graduate School of Management, and Graduate School of Public Policy, in addition to the Ritsumeikan Academy headquarters. • Graduate Schools () • Graduate School of Public Policy () • Schools () • School of Law () Biwako-Kusatsu Campus (BKC) Biwako-Kusatsu Campus is in Kusatsu, Shiga. This technology-oriented campus is southeast of Lake Biwa, the largest freshwater lake in Japan, and is a 30-minute train ride from Kyōto Station. The campus has four undergraduate colleges, four graduate schools, 16,000 undergraduates and 1,600 graduate students. • Colleges () • College of Economics () The College of Economics offers three programs pertaining to Economic Strategy, Economic Cooperation and International Economics, and Human Welfare and Economic Conditions. The curriculum integrates theory, history, and knowledge of the current state of affairs in a structured approach on a domestic and foreign scale. • College of Science and Engineering () • Integrated Institute of Arts & Science () • College of Life Sciences () • College of Pharmaceutical Sciences () • Graduate Schools () • Graduate School of Economics () • Graduate School of Science and Engineering () • Institute at BKC () • Integrated Institute for Arts and Science • Environment & Design Institute () • Finance Institute () • Service Management Institute () Osaka-Ibaraki Campus (OIC) • Colleges • College of Business Administration () • College of Policy Science () • College of Comprehensive Psychology () • College of Global Liberal Arts () • College of Image Arts and Sciences () • College of Information Science & Engineering () • Graduate Schools () • Graduate School of Business Administration () • Graduate School of Policy Science () • Graduate School of Technology Management () • Graduate School of Management () • Graduate School of Human Science () Osaka-Umeda Campus Source: • Graduate Schools for working adults () • Graduate School of Management () • Graduate School of Technology Management () • Graduate School of Language Education and Information Science () Tokyo Campus This campus does not have a college or graduate school, but is used to support students' job searches and other activities. == Ritsumeikan Asia Pacific University ==

The Ritsumeikan Asia Pacific University is a private institution inaugurated April 2000 in Beppu, Ōita Prefecture, Japan. Ritsumeikan Asia Pacific University was made possible through the collaboration of three parties from the public and private sectors: Oita Prefecture, Beppu City and the Ritsumeikan University. APU has an enrollment of just under 6,000 students. Approximately half of the students and faculty members come from overseas, and it has 3 colleges: • College of Asia Pacific Studies. • College of International Management. • College of Sustainability and Tourism (from Academic Year 2023). == Athletics ==

American Football The university has supported an American football rules team since 1953. The team has won three national championships, seven collegiate championships, and nine conference championships. == Academics ==

Institutes Ritsumeikan University has 4 research organizations and research institutes in many fields. • Ritsumeikan Asia-Japan Research Organization • Asia-Japan Research Institute • Kinugasa Research Organization • Institute of Humanities, Human and Social Sciences • Institute of International Relations and Area Studies • International Institute of Language and Culture Studies • Institute of Human Sciences • Institute of Disaster Mitigation for Urban Cultural Heritage • The Shirakawa Shizuka Institute of East Asian Characters and Culture • Institute of Ars Vivendi • BKC Research Organization of Social Sciences • Institute of Social Systems • Research Organization of Science and Technology • Institute of Science and Engineering • Research Organization of Open Innovation and Collaboration • The Research and Development Institute of Regional Information Facilities Research Center for Disaster Mitigation Systems Established in April 2005 on the Biwako-Kusatsu Campus, work at this center focuses on disaster mitigation using sensor systems and computer networks. Art Research Center Located at Kinugasa Campus, this center houses the Digital Humanities Center for Japanese Arts and Cultures, which focuses on research on Japanese art and culture using digital archives, databases, and geographical information systems. Museums The Kyoto Museum for World Peace seeks to critically examine Japan's militaristic past and includes numerous exhibits ranging from the Sino-Japanese War of 1894–1895 to the Iraq War. SR center Located at BKC campus, this center is established for research using Synchrotron Radiation. International education The university is one of the universities making progress in internationalization efforts and has been designated as one of the top global universities by the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science, and Technology. Ritsumeikan University has exchange programs with schools throughout the world, including the University of British Columbia, the University of Melbourne, the University of Sydney, the University of Hong Kong, King's College London and the University of Manchester. Ritsumeikan also currently offers a dual bachelor's degree program and dual master's degree program in collaboration with American University and Australian National University. In the 2023 edition QS Asia University Rankings, it was ranked 126th. Ranked 3rd among private universities in Japan. In the 2022 edition of the QS Graduate Employability Rankings, it ranked 201st-250th. It ranked 1st among private universities in Western Japan in the three rankings mentioned above. In the 2023 edition of THE World University Rankings Japan, it is ranked 31st. Ranked 11th among Western Japan universities and 1st among Kinki private universities. In the same year edition of THE World University Rankings, it ranked 1201st-1500th, and in THE Asia University Rankings ranked 401st-500th. In the 2023 edition of CWUR World University Rankings, it is ranked 1024th, in the top 5% of the world. == Notable people associated with Ritsumeikan ==

Notable people affiliated with Ritsumeikan University, including graduates, former students, and professors: • Momofuku Ando (1934 College of Economics), founder of Nissin Food Products Co., Ltd. who invented the world's first instant noodles and cup noodles. • Shinzo Watanabe mathematics professor, the fundamental contributor to the field of probability theory, and stochastic analysis. • Kenichirou Satou CEO of Rohm • Den Kawakatsu former CEO of Nankai Electric Railway • Takashi Haga former chairman and executive director of Marudai Food • Shinichiro Furumoto (1987 College of Law), a member of the House of Representatives • Kenta Izumi (1998 College of Law), a member of the House of Representatives and leader of CDP • Tadayoshi Ichida (1967 College of Law), a member of the House of Councillors • Hiroshi Okada (1969 College of Social Sciences), a member of the House of Councillors • Atsuya Furuta (1988 College of Business Administration), Nippon Professional Baseball player (Tokyo Yakult Swallows) • Cico (College of International Relations), singer and half of Bennie K • Shigetoshi Hasegawa (1990 College of Social Sciences), MLB player • Masafumi Kawaguchi (1996 College of International Relations), American football player • Noriaki Kinoshita (College of Business Administration), American football player • Hiyori Kon, female sumo wrestler • Rikiya Koyama (College of Law), actor • Daisuke Matsui (College of Business Administration), soccer player • Tsutomu Minakami, novelist, Naoki Prize winner • Masayuki Nagare, artist • Hiroyuki Nagato, actor • Gorō Naya, actor • Rokuro Naya (College of Law), actor • Isin Nisio, novelist • Tomokazu Ohka (College of Business Administration), MLB player • Quruli, Japanese music group • Masumi Yagi and Shigeo Takahashi, comedic duo • Mai Kuraki (College of Social Sciences, 2005), singer • Hiroshi Tanahashi, professional wrestler • Tomoaki Taniguchi, Japan rugby player • Yuji Ijiri, accounting professor • Princess Raiyah of Jordan • Tomotaka Takahashi, robot creator • Akira Machida, archaeologist • Yamaguchi Gogen (College of Law), karate master • Suh Sung, professor and writer • Otoboke Beaver, punk band • Mike Bellot, Haitian entrepreneur • Toshiya Kakiuchi, businessman • Kazutoshi Iida, game developer and designer of Doshin the Giant == Unions ==

Some staff at Ritsumeikan University are represented by the General Union, a member of the National Union of General Workers (NUGW), which is itself a member of the National Trade Union Council (Zenrokyo). == See also ==