Rikkyo University Information

Rikkyo University located in Tokyo and founded in 1874 began with St. Paul's School. It was established by the Episcopal Church missionary Bishop Channing Moore Williams as a private school that taught Christian Bible studies and English. At that time, Japan was rushing to catch up with the advanced nations of the West, and the field of education also had a strong utilitarian tendency. Knowledge and technology were often seen as tools for material prosperity and self-advancement. Rikkyo went against the trend of the age, modeling after the traditional liberal arts colleges of the West, which has successfully continued to develop to this day. The shield mark, Rikkyo University’s official symbol, was established in 1918 by the then-President of the University, Charles S. Reifsnider, and is held to embody Rikkyo University's founding principles. The Latin text written across the shield, "PRO DEO ET PATRIA," means "For God and Country." At the University, this has been interpreted to mean "to seek universal and divine truth, for our world, society, and neighbors," an ideal that guides our educational philosophy.