慶應義塾
Keio, formally called
Keio Gijuku, is the oldest university in Japan, founded in 1867 by Japanese scholar
Fukuzawa Yukichi. In 1890, Keio opened full faculties of
literature,
economics, and
law at its main campus in the
Mita area of
Tokyo (located near
JR Tamachi Station on the
Yamanote Line). They opened a
medical school in 1917, an
engineering school in 1944, and a
business school offering an
MBA in 1978. Keio now runs five separate undergraduate campuses in Tokyo.
Prime ministers Koizumi Junichiro and Hashimoto Ryutaro are both Keio alumni.
In 1990, Keio opened a bilingual high school in Purchase, NY, as an international component to their famous "cradle to grave" education program. In Tokyo, there is a Keio Gijuku elementary school, a Keio Gijuku junior high school, and a Keio Gijuku senior high school, and all are just as prestigious as the university itself.
Keio is a member of the rokudai, the Japanese equivalent of the Ivy League. Its main rival within the rokudai is Waseda University.
The university's motto is Calamus Gladio Fortior, "the pen is mightier than the sword." Their crest has two pen nibs crossed together.
http://www.keio.ac.jp