c. The Expansion of the Imperial University System

The Education System Order indicated that there should be eight universities, but, until the eighties, the facilities for middle level education were not complete and hence, the single Imperial University established in 1886 was more than adequite. However, after the Sino-Japanese and Russo-Japanese Wars, school education showed an extraordinary development, and the government began to establish Imperial Universities in all the major districts of the nation.

First, in June, 1897, Kyoto Imperial University was established as the second Imperial University consisting of the four Colleges of Law, Medicine, Literature, and Science and Engineering (of which the College of Science and Engineering opened in September, 1897, and the other three Colleges between 1899 and 1906). At the same time, the name of the first Imperial University was changed to Tokyo Imperial University. With this there were now universities in both the eastern and western capitals. The plan which had been formed just after the Meiji Restoration to make Kyoto a center for arts, science and education was at last begun.

Then after the Russo-Japanese War, Tohoku Imperial University was established in 1907 in Sendai, Kyushu lmperial University in 1910 in Fukuoka and later, Hokkaido Imperial University in 1918 in Sapporo.

On August 11, 1893, a revision of the 1886 Imperial University Order was promulgated. This revision came into force on September 11 of that year and a faculty meeting (kyojukai) and chairs were established at each College and the awarding of a title of professor emeritus was also started. At the same time the 1893 Imperial University Organization Order was promulgated separately from the 1886 Imperial University Order.