Kokugakuin Daigaku

   Kokugakuin ('National learning') University. One of the two major Shinto universities in Japan (the other is Kogakkan) Based in Tokyo it traces its origin to the Koten Kokyusho (Research Institute for the Japanese Classics) founded in 1882 with the aim of cultivating moral virtue as a firm foundation for the nation. Kokugakuin was established in 1890, offering a three-year teacher training programme for men in Japanese history, literature and law. In 1904 it became a senmon-gakko (college) and two years later it was renamed Shiritsu Kokugakuin Daigaku (Kokugakuin Private University), moving to its present site in 1918. It helped provide the intellectual resources needed to support the imperial system, including study and training facilities for Shinto priests and remained closely connected with the Ministry of Education in the supervision of religious affairs up to 1945. As a private university (unlike Kogakkan) it was able to continue functioning after the war, though the Koten Kokyusho was dissolved and the university's president Kono, Seizo was dismissed. Today the university offers a range of graduate and undergraduate programmes especially in Japanese Studies, Shinto Studies and Education. Other provision includes a seminary which provides training and education for Shinto priests (see Shinshoku) and a number of schools at different levels. The Institute for Japanese Culture and Classics at Kokugakuin University which dates back to 1951 produces research on Shinto and functions as the academic arm of Jinja Honcho.