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Ryukoku University

龍谷大学
Former name	Gakuryo Bukkyo Daigaku
Motto	You, Unlimited
Type	Private
Founder	Ryonyo
Religious affiliation	Buddhism
Budget	¥37,927,059,000 (FY2018)
Chancellor	Chiko Iwagami
President	Takashi Irisawa
Academic staff	543
Students	19,826
Postgraduates	533
Location	Kyoto , Japan
Campus	Urban
Language	Japanese, English
Website	Official website

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Ryukoku University (龍谷大学, Ryukoku daigaku) is a private university in Kyoto, Japan. The university was founded initially as a boarding school in 1639 as a part of the Nishi-Hongwanji Temple.

History

Ryukoku University was founded in 1639 as a boarding school for Buddhist monks of the Nishi Hongan-ji denomination. The school was established by Ryonyo, the temple’s 13th abbot. It became a secularized university in 1876.

Campuses

Ryukoku University is split into three areas:

• Fukukusa Campus
• Omiya Campus
• Seta Campus

The Fukukusa and Omiya campuses are located in Kyoto, whereas the Seta campus is in Otsu in Shiga Prefecture. Each campus contains a number of undergraduate and graduate departments. The Fukukusa Campus also maintains a number of special, short-term programs for international students, such as in Japanese culture and language.

Facilities

The university maintains numerous research institutes focused on Buddhism, the empirical sciences, and social sciences. Its Research Center for Humanities, Sciences, and Religion supports multidisciplinary research activities, and there are more specialized research centers, such as the Center for Research on Food Palatability or the Research Center for World Buddhist Cultures.

Ryūkoku Museum

Main article: Ryūkoku Museum

The Ryūkoku Museum (龍谷ミュージアム) is a museum of Buddhist art and history in Kyōto, Japan. Conceived as part of the 370th anniversary celebrations of the foundation of what is now Ryūkoku University, it opened facing Nishi Hongan-ji in 2011. The museum displays works from its collections, while some cultural properties are held by the Ryūkoku University library for academic purposes. There is also a digital recreation of the corridor of Cave 15 at Bezeklik.

Ryukoku Libraries

The Ryukoku University library system is comprised of three libraries: The Omiya Library (completed in November 1936, renovation completed in 2006) with a collection focused on the Humanities, the new Fukakusa Library (completed in February 2015) with a collection focused on Intercultural Studies and Sociology, and the Seta Library (completed in 1989) with a collection focused on Social Welfare and Natural Sciences. As of March 2020, the libraries maintain over 2.2 million books, and have received over 26,000 books for use.

While there is evidence of library activities as early as 1652, a campaign was initiated in the 1890s with the aim of becoming the world’s largest Buddhist library. As per the resolution of the Myounyo Suzerain, a donation of the majority of books from successive generations of Nishi Hongwanji Suzerains, “Shaji Dai Bunko” (approximately 30,000 volumes) took place in 1892 (Meiji 25) and 1904 (Meiji 37). These precious university documents were digitized in approximately 1998 and have been made publicly available on the internet. In addition, the Omiya Library collection includes a collection of data from the Otani Expedition (donated by the Nishi Hongwanji Temple Suzerain) and two volumes of the “Rikaku Sekitoku Ko” (a National Cultural Treasure).