History

Brief History of Nihon University

The forerunner of Nihon University, Nihon Horitsu Gakko (Japan Law School), was founded on October 4, 1889 by Count Akiyoshi Yamada and others. Yamada was a disciple of Shoin Yoshida, a scholar who devoted his life to modernizing Japan; he also served as the Minister of Justice under the Meiji government. In this position, he studied the legal systems of the U.S.A. and Europe, and played an instrumental role in systematizing Japan’s modern legal system. In contrast to the enthusiasm for westernization permeating Japanese society at that time, Yamada keenly felt a need for education of and research into legal principles that were rooted in Japanese history, culture, and traditions, and it was this conviction that inspired him to found the Nihon Horitsu Gakko.