Gakushūin

The Gakushūin (学習院) or Peers School (Gakushūin School Corporation), initially known as Gakushūjo,[1] is a Japanese educational institution in Tokyo, originally established to educate the children of Japan's nobility.[2] The original school expanded from its original mandate of educating the royal family and has since become a network of institutions which encompasses preschool education until tertiary level.

Gakushūin in 1933
Gakushuin Crest and Logo

History

The Peers' School was founded in 1847 by Emperor Ninkō in Kyoto.[3] Its purpose was to educate the children of the Imperial aristocracy (kuge).[4] Prior to the disestablishment of the Peerage in 1947, commoners had restricted access to Gakushuin, with limited slots only to the Elementary School and Middle School. In 1947, with the US mandated disestablishment of the Kazoku system, enrollment in Gakushuin was fully opened up to the general public. The Administration of the School was transferred to the Ministry of Education at this time. Prior to 1947, Gakushuin was administered by the Imperial Household Agency.

Precepts

Emperor Ninko had four maxims inscribed on the walls of the Gakushūin building,[5] including

  1. Walk in the paths trodden by the feet of the great sages.[5]
  2. Revere the righteous canons of the empire.[5]
  3. He that has not learned the sacred doctrines, how can he govern himself?[5]
  4. He that is ignorant of the classics, how can he regulate his own conduct?[5]

The school was moved to Tokyo in 1877.[2] Its new purpose was to educate the children of the modern aristocracy. Members of the Imperial Family continue to study at Gakushūin.

Timeline
  • 1847: founded as Peers' School[2]
  • 1877: the school was established in Tokyo[2]
  • 1884: Gakushūin became an Imperial institution.[2]
  • 1885: Peeresses' School was created[3]
  • 1947: Gakushūin became a private institution.[2]

Gakushuin Corporation

The present-day Gakushuin Corporation comprises the following institutions:

Presidents
No.NameYearTitleMilitary rankNote
1 Tachibana Taneyuki 1877–1884 Viscount – Last lord of Miike Domain.
2 Tani Tateki 1884–1885 Viscount Lieutenant General (IJA) Former president of Imperial Japanese Army Academy
3 Ōtori Keisuke 1885–1887 Baron – Member of Privy council.
4 Miura Gorō 1887–1891 Viscount Lieutenant General (IJA)
5 Iwakura Tomosada 1891 Duke –
6 Tanaka Mitsuaki 1891–1894 Viscount Major General (IJA)
7 Konoe Atsumaro 1894–1903 Duke – The heir of Konoe family. The president of House of Peers (1892–1905)
8 Kikuchi Dairoku 1903–1904 Baron – Mathematician and Minister of Education (1901–1903).
9 Yamaguchi Einosuke 1905–1906 – – Physicist.
10 Nogi Maresuke 1906–1912 Count General (IJA) Emperor Showa entered school in 1908 and graduated in 1914.
11 Ōsako Naoharu 1912–1917 Viscount General (IJA)
12 Hōjō Tokiyuki 1917–1920 – – Mathematician. Former president of Tohoku Imperial University (1913–1917).
13 Ichinohe Hyoe 1920–1922 – General (IJA) The Inspectorate General of Military Training
14 Fukuhara Ryojirō 1922–1929 – – Former president of Tohoku Imperial University (1917–1919)
15 Araki Torasaburō 1929–1937 – – Medical scientist. Former president of Kyoto Imperial University (1915–1929)
16 Nomura Kichisaburō 1937–1939 – Admiral (IJN)
17 Yamanashi Katsunoshin 1939–1946 – Admiral (IJN)

Notable alumni and faculty members

Teachers

Alumni
For alumni of Gakushuin University, see: Gakushūin University#Notable alumni
Imperial House of Japan


House of Yi


Others

In fiction

In the novel Spring Snow by Yukio Mishima, set in the early 1910s, the characters Kiyoaki Matsugae and Shigekuni Honda attend the school.

References
  1. Japanese Imperial Commission (1878). Le Japon à l'exposition universelle de 1878. Géographie et histoire du Japon (in French). p. 141.
  2. Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2002). "Gakushū-in" in Japan Encyclopedia, p. 230.
  3. "History of Gakushuin" at Gakushuin Women's College; retrieved 2013-2-27.
  4. Ponsonby-Fane, Richard. (1915). The Imperial Family of Japan, p. 26.
  5. Brinkley, Frank. (1915). A History of the Japanese People, p. 664.

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