Ritsumeikan University

Ritsumeikan University, known in Japanese as 立命館大学 and abbreviated to Rits, is a private university in Kyoto, Japan, that traces its origin to an academy founded in 1869 and was formally established as the Kyoto Hosei School in 1900.立命馆大学（日语：立命館大学，简称「立命」）是日本京都的一所私立大学，其渊源可追溯至 1869 年创办的一所私塾，并于 1900 年正式以「京都法政学校」之名设立。

It is one of the four leading private universities of the Keihanshin region known as Kan-Kan-Do-Rits, with main campuses in Kyoto, Shiga and Osaka and about 36,000 students.该校是京阪神地区四所顶尖私立大学「关关同立」之一，在京都、滋贺与大阪设有主要校区，在读学生约 36000 人。

Led by President Yoshio Nakatani, Ritsumeikan was placed joint 683rd in the QS World University Rankings 2027 and holds to its founding spirit of "Freedom and Innovation", expressed in Japanese as 自由と清新.该校由校长仲谷善雄执掌，在 2027 年 QS 世界大学排名中并列第 683 位，秉持「自由与清新」的建学精神。

History

• Ritsumeikan began in 1869, when Prince Saionji Kinmochi opened a private academy called Ritsumeikan within the grounds of the Kyoto Imperial Palace, taking its name from a passage in the Mencius.立命馆肇始于 1869 年，西园寺公望在京都御所邸内开设私塾「立命馆」，其名取自《孟子》中的章句。

• The original academy closed in 1870, and the present institution was founded in 1900 by Kojuro Nakagawa, formerly secretary to Prince Saionji, as the Kyoto Hosei School, an evening law school for working people.原私塾于 1870 年废校；如今的学校则由西园寺公望的前秘书中川小十郎于 1900 年创办，初名「京都法政学校」，是一所为在职人士开设的夜校法学馆。

• In 1903 the school became Kyoto Hosei College, and in 1904 it established Kyoto Hosei University with a university department and a specialised department, with Tomii Masaaki as its first head.1903 年，该校改称京都法政专门学校；1904 年依专门学校令设立「京都法政大学」，设大学部与专门学部，富井政章出任首任学长。

• In 1905 Prince Saionji granted permission for the school to inherit the name Ritsumeikan and presented his own calligraphy of the two characters to the institution.1905 年，西园寺公望允诺该校继承「立命馆」之名，并将其亲笔所书「立命馆」匾额赠予学校。

• The Ritsumeikan foundation was formally set up in 1913, when the institution was renamed Ritsumeikan University and Kojuro Nakagawa became its first director.1913 年，立命馆财团正式设立，学校更名为「私立立命馆大学」，中川小十郎出任首任馆长。

• A private electrical engineering school opened in 1914 as the forerunner of the university's science and engineering faculty.1914 年，一所私立电气工学讲习所开设，成为该校理工学部的前身。

• Under the imperial University Ordinance, Ritsumeikan was granted full university status in 1922 and established a Faculty of Law with departments of law and economics, together with a research division and a preparatory course to feed the new faculty.依天皇敕令颁布的《大学令》，该校于 1922 年获得正式大学资格，并设立法学部，含法律、经济学科与研究生科，另设预科以衔接大学本科。

• Literature was added to the specialised department in 1927 and commerce in 1928, widening the curriculum beyond law and economics.该校于 1927 年在专门学部中增设文学科，1928 年再增商学科，使课程在法政与经济学之外进一步拓展。

• During the 1933 Takigawa Incident, in which the government forced the resignation of a liberal law professor at Kyoto Imperial University, Ritsumeikan hired seventeen of the dismissed Kyoto professors and assistant professors.1933 年「泷川事件」中，政府迫使京都帝国大学一名自由主义法学教授辞职，立命馆随即聘用了 17 名因此辞职的京大教授与副教授。

• The Saionji Library was founded in 1938 and the Ritsumeikan Higher Technical School opened, and in 1939 the institution accepted a donation of 500,000 yen from Puyi, the last emperor of China.西园寺文库于 1938 年创设，立命馆高等工科学校同时开办；1939 年，该校接受中国末代皇帝溥仪捐赠的 50 万日元。

• Part of that donation was used to buy about 60,000 tsubo of land in Kinugasa, where the Kinugasa Campus was opened in 1939 as the school was renamed the Ritsumeikan Japan-Manchuria Higher Technical School.这笔捐款的一部分用于在衣笠购置约 6 万坪土地，衣笠校园于 1939 年开校，学校同时改称立命馆日满高等工科学校。

• In 1948, under the School Education Act, Ritsumeikan was reorganised as a new-system university with faculties of law, economics and letters, adding a Faculty of Science and Engineering in 1949.1948 年，依《学校教育法》，该校改组为新制大学，设法学院、经济学院与文学院，1949 年又增设理工学院。

• A graduate school was created in 1950, and in 1951 the Ritsumeikan foundation was converted into an educational corporation, the present Ritsumeikan Trust.该校于 1950 年设立研究生院；1951 年立命馆财团改组为学校法人，即如今的「立命馆学园」。

• The Faculty of Business Administration was established in 1962 and the Faculty of Social Sciences in 1965, extending the university into management and the social sciences.经营学院于 1962 年设立，产业社会学院于 1965 年设立，把该校办学延伸至经营学与社会科学领域。

• In 1987 the Faculty of Science and Engineering added a department of information engineering, part of a broad expansion of the university's technology programmes in the late 20th century.1987 年，理工学院增设情报工学科，是其 20 世纪后期理工类项目大举扩张的一部分。

• The Faculty of International Relations was founded in 1988, the same year the Saionji Memorial Hall was completed and the university took over the operation of the United Nations charitable library collection.国际关系学院于 1988 年设立；同年西园寺纪念馆落成，该校并受托运营联合国慈善图书馆藏书。

• In 1994 Ritsumeikan opened the Biwako-Kusatsu Campus in Shiga, and after 2000 its associated schools expanded to include Ritsumeikan Asia Pacific University in Beppu.1994 年，该校在滋贺开设琵琶湖—草津校区；2000 年以后，其关联办学体系扩展至位于别府的立命馆亚洲太平洋大学。

• The Suzaku Campus was opened in 2006 and became the seat of the Ritsumeikan Academy headquarters, and a College of Image Arts and Sciences followed in 2007.朱雀校区于 2006 年开设并成为立命馆学园总部所在地，映像学院则于 2007 年设立。

• The academy marked 150 years since the founding of the Ritsumeikan name in 2019 and has since pursued the R2030 vision for its teaching, research and international work.2019 年，学园迎来「立命馆」之名创立 150 周年，此后推行 R2030 愿景，规划其教学、科研与国际事务。

• Colleges of Life Sciences and Pharmaceutical Sciences opened in 2008, the Osaka-Ibaraki Campus was opened in 2015, and a College of Global Liberal Arts followed in 2019.生命科学学院与药学院于 2008 年开办，大阪茨木校区于 2015 年启用，环球教养学院则于 2019 年开设。

Academics

• Ritsumeikan University is organised into 14 undergraduate colleges, including Law, Social Sciences, International Relations, Letters, Economics, Science and Engineering and Business Administration.立命馆大学设有 14 个本科学院，包括法学院、产业社会学院、国际关系学院、文学院、经济学院、理工学院与经营学院。

• Its other colleges include Policy Science, Comprehensive Psychology, Global Liberal Arts, Image Arts and Sciences, Life Sciences, Pharmaceutical Sciences and Information Science and Engineering.其余学院包括政策科学学院、综合心理学学院、环球教养学院、映像学院、生命科学学院、药学院与信息理工学院。

• The university is best known for its social sciences, especially international relations, and for its science and engineering departments.该校以社会科学尤其是国际关系最为知名，理工学科亦享有声誉。

• Its Graduate School of International Relations is the only Japanese member of the Association of Professional Schools of International Affairs, a global network of leading policy schools.其国际关系研究生院是「国际事务专业学院协会」唯一的日本成员，该协会为全球顶尖政策学院的联合组织。

• The university runs more than twenty graduate schools, spanning law, sociology, international relations, letters, economics, science and engineering, business and policy science.该校设有二十余个研究生院，涵盖法学、社会学、国际关系、文学、经济学、理工、经营与政策科学等领域。

• About 36,000 students are enrolled, of whom some 34,900 are undergraduates and the remainder postgraduates, and roughly 2,400 are international students.该校在读学生约 36000 人，其中本科生约 34900 人、其余为研究生，国际学生约 2400 人。

• The university offers twelve degree programmes taught entirely in English, part of a long-standing effort to internationalise its student body.该校开设 12 个全英文授课的学位项目，是其长期推动学生群体国际化努力的一部分。

• Ritsumeikan maintains 24 research hubs and reports annual research funding of about 1.3 billion yen, supporting work across the humanities, sciences and engineering, from disaster mitigation to East Asian character studies.该校设有 24 个研究中心，年度科研经费约 13 亿日元，支撑人文、科学与工程领域的研究，从减灾技术到东亚文字文化研究皆在其列。

• The Art Research Center at Kinugasa Campus houses the Digital Humanities Center for Japanese Arts and Cultures, dedicated to the study of Japanese art through digital archives and databases.衣笠校区的艺术研究中心设有「日本艺术与文化数字人文中心」，以数字档案与数据库研究日本艺术。

• On the Biwako-Kusatsu Campus, the Research Center for Disaster Mitigation Systems, established in April 2005, works on disaster mitigation using sensor systems and computer networks.在琵琶湖—草津校区，2005 年 4 月设立的城市灾害防治系统研究中心，以传感器系统与计算机网络研究减灾。

• A synchrotron radiation centre at the Biwako-Kusatsu Campus supports research using synchrotron light, while the Kyoto Museum for World Peace examines Japan's militaristic past.琵琶湖—草津校区设有同步辐射研究中心，支持以同步光开展的研究；京都世界和平博物馆则审视日本军国主义的过去。

• Ritsumeikan operates a Confucius Institute and maintains exchange agreements with universities including the University of British Columbia, the University of Melbourne, the University of Sydney and King's College London.该校设有孔子学院，并与不列颠哥伦比亚大学、墨尔本大学、悉尼大学、伦敦国王学院等高校保持交换协议。

• It offers dual bachelor's and master's degree programmes with American University and the Australian National University, and nearly 1,500 of its students study abroad each year.该校与美国大学、澳大利亚国立大学合办双学士与双硕士学位项目，每年派往海外学习的学生近 1500 人。

• The College of Economics offers three programmes covering economic strategy, economic cooperation and international economics, together with human welfare and economic conditions.经济学院开设三个方向，涵盖经济战略、经济合作与国际经济，以及人类福祉与经济状况。

• Ritsumeikan's research institutes include the Institute of International Relations and Area Studies, the Institute of Human Sciences and the Shirakawa Shizuka Institute of East Asian Characters and Culture.该校的研究机构包括国际关系与区域研究所、人类科学研究所，以及白川静东亚文字文化研究所。

• The wider Ritsumeikan Academy includes affiliated elementary, junior and senior high schools, together with Ritsumeikan Asia Pacific University, and counts some 360,000 graduates.更广义的立命馆学园还辖有附属小学、初中与高中，以及立命馆亚洲太平洋大学，累计毕业生约 36 万人。

Campus

• The Kinugasa Campus in Kita-ku, Kyoto, is the university's traditional liberal-arts seat and lies about a five-minute walk from the Ryōan-ji and Kinkaku-ji temples.位于京都市北区的衣笠校区是该校传统的人文科学校区，距龙安寺与金阁寺步行约五分钟。

• The Kinugasa Campus accommodates eight graduate schools with about 17,000 undergraduates and 1,100 graduate students, and its overall design was by the modernist architect Hiroyasu Tomiie.衣笠校区容纳 8 个研究生院，约有 17000 名本科生与 1100 名研究生，其总体设计出自现代主义建筑师富家宏泰之手。

• The Suzaku Campus in Nakagyō-ku, Kyoto, houses the School of Law, the Graduate School of Management and the Graduate School of Public Policy, along with the Ritsumeikan Academy headquarters.位于京都中京区的朱雀校区设法学院、经营研究生院与公务研究生院，以及立命馆学园总部。

• The Biwako-Kusatsu Campus lies in Kusatsu, Shiga, southeast of Lake Biwa, about a thirty-minute train ride from Kyoto Station, and the campus is oriented towards its technology and science faculties.琵琶湖—草津校区位于滋贺县草津市、琵琶湖东南方，距京都站乘火车约三十分钟，校区以理工与科学类学院为重心。

• BKC houses four undergraduate colleges and four graduate schools with some 16,000 undergraduates and 1,600 graduate students.琵琶湖—草津校区设有 4 个本科学院与 4 个研究生院，约有 16000 名本科生与 1600 名研究生。

• The Osaka-Ibaraki Campus hosts colleges of business administration, policy science, comprehensive psychology, global liberal arts, image arts and information science and engineering.大阪茨木校区设经营学院、政策科学学院、综合心理学学院、环球教养学院、映像学院与信息理工学院。

• The Osaka-Umeda Campus and the Tokyo Campus mainly serve working adults and students seeking employment, with the Tokyo site dedicated to job-search and career support rather than teaching.大阪梅田校区与东京校区主要服务在职人士与求职学生，其中东京校区专用于求职与职业支援而非授课。

• The Kyoto Museum for World Peace, on the Kinugasa Campus, offers exhibits ranging from the Sino-Japanese War of 1894-1895 to the Iraq War.位于衣笠校区的京都世界和平博物馆，其展陈内容从 1894 至 1895 年的甲午战争一直延伸到伊拉克战争。

• The university maintains overseas offices in six locations and draws partners from 66 countries and regions, underpinning its exchange and dual-degree arrangements.该校在海外设有 6 个办事处，并与 66 个国家和地区建立伙伴关系，为其交换与双学位安排提供支撑。

Reputation

• In the QS World University Rankings 2027, the edition to which this entry belongs, Ritsumeikan University is placed joint 683rd in the world.在本条目所属的 2027 年 QS 世界大学排名中，立命馆大学并列全球第 683 位。

• The Times Higher Education World University Rankings 2027 place Ritsumeikan in the 1601-1800 band, down from the 1501-plus grouping of the 2026 edition.2027 年泰晤士高等教育世界大学排名将立命馆列入第 1601 至 1800 档，较 2026 年版的 1501 名以后一组有所下滑。

• The 2026-2027 US News Best Global Universities table lists Ritsumeikan at 1607th in the world.2026 至 2027 年度 US News 全球最佳大学排名将立命馆列于全球第 1607 位。

• Ritsumeikan does not appear in the 2026 Academic Ranking of World Universities published by ShanghaiRanking.立命馆未进入软科（上海排名）发布的 2026 年世界大学学术排名。

• In the 2024 edition of the QS World University Rankings the university stood in the 631-640 band, the fourth among private universities in Japan.在 2024 年版 QS 世界大学排名中，该校位列第 631 至 640 档，在日本私立大学中排名第四。

• In the Times Higher Education Impact Rankings, which measure progress against the UN Sustainable Development Goals, Ritsumeikan has been rated the leading private university in Japan.在衡量联合国可持续发展目标进展的泰晤士高等教育影响力排名中，立命馆被评为日本领先的私立大学。

• Ritsumeikan belongs to the Kan-Kan-Do-Rits grouping of Kwansei Gakuin, Kansai, Doshisha and Ritsumeikan, the four leading private universities of the Keihanshin region, and the university is consistently counted among western Japan's most prestigious institutions.立命馆与关西学院、关西、同志社并称「关关同立」，是京阪神地区四所顶尖私立大学之一，该校一向被视为日本西部最具声望的学府之一。

• The university's Graduate School of International Relations is the only Japanese member of the Association of Professional Schools of International Affairs.该校的国际关系研究生院是「国际事务专业学院协会」唯一的日本成员。

• Research recorded by OpenAlex amounts to about 37,564 works drawing more than 926,000 citations, a substantial output for a private Japanese university.OpenAlex 记录的科研产出约 37564 项成果、被引超过 92.6 万次，对一所日本私立大学而言体量可观。

• In the 2022 QS Graduate Employability Rankings the university was placed in the 201-250 band, reflecting its standing with employers in western Japan.在 2022 年 QS 毕业生就业竞争力排名中，该校位列第 201 至 250 档，反映出其在日本西部雇主中的认可度。

• In the 2023 edition of the CWUR World University Rankings, Ritsumeikan was ranked 1024th, placing it within the top five per cent of universities worldwide.在 2023 年版 CWUR 世界大学排名中，立命馆位列第 1024 位，位居全球大学前 5%。

Student life

• Ritsumeikan's founding spirit is "Freedom and Innovation", rendered in Japanese as 自由と清新, while its educational philosophy is "Peace and Democracy".立命馆的建学精神为「自由与清新」，其教育理念则是「和平与民主主义」。

• The name Ritsumeikan is drawn from the Mencius, meaning a place where one establishes one's destiny by cultivating one's mind during the span of mortal life.校名「立命馆」取自《孟子》，意指在有限的生命中修养心性、以安身立命之所。

• The baseball series between Ritsumeikan and Doshisha University, known as the Ritsudo match, is a celebrated student festival in Kyoto.立命馆与同志社大学之间的棒球对抗赛「立同战」，是京都著名的学生庆典。

• The university has fielded an American football team since 1953, and it has won three national championships, seven collegiate championships and nine conference championships, a record unmatched by most Japanese private universities.该校自 1953 年起组建美式橄榄球队，迄今赢得 3 次全国冠军、7 次大学锦标赛冠军与 9 次联盟冠军，这一战绩为多数日本私立大学所不及。

• A Confucius Institute operates on campus and promotes Chinese language and culture, part of the university's wider network of international programmes.该校校园内设有孔子学院，推广汉语与中国文化，是其广泛国际项目网络的一部分。

• Student life spans three main campuses, with the Kyoto campuses oriented to the humanities and law and the Shiga and Osaka campuses to the sciences, policy and business.学生生活分布在三个主要校区，京都各校区侧重人文与法学，滋贺与大阪校区则侧重科学、政策与商学。

• Some staff at Ritsumeikan are represented by the General Union, a member of the National Union of General Workers within the National Trade Union Council.该校部分教职员由「总工会」代表，该工会隶属于全国工会联合会下属的全国一般工会。

• Beyond its degree campuses the academy runs affiliated schools from elementary to senior high level, tying the university to a wider educational tradition.除学位教学校区之外，学园还运营从小学到高中阶段的附属学校，把大学与更广的教育传统联系起来。

• The close proximity of the Kinugasa Campus to the temples of north-west Kyoto gives student life a setting woven into the historic fabric of the city.衣笠校区紧邻京都西北的诸多寺院，使校园生活融入这座城市的历史肌理之中。

Notable people

• Prince Saionji Kinmochi, twice Prime Minister of Japan, founded the Ritsumeikan academy in 1869 and later gave the school his blessing and his calligraphy.两度出任日本首相的西园寺公望于 1869 年创办立命馆私塾，其后又为该学堂赐名并赠予亲笔题字。

• Kojuro Nakagawa, a former secretary to Prince Saionji, founded the Kyoto Hosei School in 1900 and served as the first director of the Ritsumeikan foundation.中川小十郎曾任西园寺公望的秘书，1900 年创办京都法政学校，并出任立命馆财团首任馆长。

• Tomii Masaaki, a legal scholar, became the first head of Kyoto Hosei University when it was established in 1904.法学家富井政章于 1904 年京都法政大学设立时出任首任学长。

• Yoshio Nakatani serves as president of Ritsumeikan University and as chancellor of the Ritsumeikan Trust, which oversees the wider academy.仲谷善雄现任立命馆大学校长，并兼任统辖整个学园的立命馆学园理事长。

• Momofuku Ando, who studied in the economics department and graduated in 1934, founded Nissin Food Products and invented the world's first instant noodles and cup noodles.安藤百福（原名吴百福）1934 年毕业于经济学科，创办日清食品，并发明了世界上第一款方便面与杯面。

• Atsuya Furuta, a graduate of the business administration college, was a star catcher for the Tokyo Yakult Swallows in Nippon Professional Baseball.古田敦也毕业于经营学院，是日本职业棒球东京养乐多燕子队的明星捕手。

• Kenta Izumi, who studied law and graduated in 1998, became a member of the House of Representatives and leader of the Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan.泉健太 1998 年法学毕业，后当选众议院议员，并出任日本立宪民主党党首。

• Mai Kuraki, the singer who enrolled in the College of Social Sciences in 2001 and graduated in 2005, later became a visiting associate professor there.歌手仓木麻衣 2001 年入读产业社会学院、2005 年毕业，后来成为该学院的客座副教授。

• Tsutomu Minakami, the novelist who won the Naoki Prize, and Masayuki Nagare, the sculptor, are both counted among the university's notable alumni.获直木奖的小说家水上勉与雕塑家流政之，都被列为该校的知名校友。

• Princess Raiyah bint Hussein of Jordan studied at Ritsumeikan, one of several international figures associated with the university.约旦的莉雅·宾特·侯赛因公主曾就读于立命馆，是与该校有关联的国际人士之一。

• Tomotaka Takahashi, the robot creator known for his humanoid designs, and Kazutoshi Iida, the game designer of Doshin the Giant, both graduated from Ritsumeikan.以人形机器人设计闻名的机器人创作者高桥智隆，以及《巨人多辛》的游戏设计师饭田和敏，都毕业于立命馆。

• Shigetoshi Hasegawa, an alumnus of the social sciences college, played in Major League Baseball, as did fellow graduate Tomokazu Ohka.桥本茂利毕业于产业社会学院，曾在美国职棒大联盟效力，同校毕业生大家友和亦然。

• Pujie, brother of the last Qing emperor Puyi, received an honorary doctorate in law from Ritsumeikan in 1991 and was later a member of China's National People's Congress.清朝末代皇帝溥仪的同母弟溥杰于 1991 年获该校名誉法学博士，后来担任中华人民共和国全国人民代表大会代表。

• Among its alumni the university also counts the punk band Otoboke Beaver and the Haitian entrepreneur Mike Bellot, showing the breadth of its graduate body across music, design, business and public life.该校校友还包括朋克乐队 Otoboke Beaver 与海地企业家迈克·贝洛，显示出其毕业生群体在音乐、设计、商业与公共生活等领域的广泛分布。