Our mission is to hand down the will of the university’s founder, James Curtis Hepburn, M.D, LL.D (1815-1911), to our future generations through on-campus ministerial activities.
James Curtis Hepburn came to Japan with his wife, Clare Mary Leete, as a medical missionary in 1859, the year the Tokugawa Shogun opened Japanese ports to Westerners.
During his stay of 33 years, Hepburn compiled the first Japanese-English/English-Japanese dictionary, created Romaji (an alphabetical expression of Japanese), translated the Bible into Japanese, and introduced American medicine and the Western education system to Japan, where he dedicated half his life.
Meiji Gakuin University’s educational principal, "Do for others," is taken from the Scripture, Matthew 7:12, which states, "Do for others what you want them to do for you" (NEV). This is the spirit that our founder Dr. Hepburn passed down to us and which continues to be practiced at our school to this day.
We believe our students grow not only through their curriculum studies, student activities, faculty teaching, and staff services, but also through our Christian tradition which was left to us by our founder.
The university’s Center for Christian Activities offers activities including daily worship services called "Chapel Hour," student Bible study groups, student groups led by Christian faculty members, study tours in Japan and abroad, organ classes and gospel concerts, and Christmas celebrations.
Our students are free to choose the extent of their involvement in such religious activities on campus. However, the Center for Christian Activities plays a role in creating a Christian-based environment on campus as a way to communicate the founder's will to our students and future generations and to nurture individuals who contribute to this world.
