The following is an overview of some of the key moments in the history of Kwansei Gakuin as an institution.

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Founding of Kwansei Gakuin（1889）

The origin of Kwansei Gakuin can be traced back to the Methodist movement in England in the 18th century. John Wesley, the founder of the movement, said, “I look upon all the world as my parish.” Based on John Wesleyʼs teachings, Walter Russell Lambuth, a missionary of the Methodist Episcopal Church, South (MEC-S), USA, carried out missionary work around the world, and in 1889, founded Kwansei Gakuin in Harada-no-mori in Kobe, Japan. 1889 Establishment of Kwansei Gakuin in Kobe Kwansei Gakuin was established in 1889 by the South Methodist Episcopal Church of the United States, whose leader in Japan at that time the Reverend Walter Russell Lambuth. Initially consisting of only two schools, Kwansei Gakuin now boasts eleven undergraduate and thirteen graduate schools, in addition to an impressive array of research institutes and laboratories, and affiliated kindergarten, elementary, junior, and senior high schools. Throughout these different segments, a single goal is pursued: the training of learners as prospective leaders of society through advanced education that is based upon Christian principles and ideals.

Education Based on Principles of Christianity（1899）

As described in the words of the Kwansei Gakuin Constitution “the intellectual and religious culture of youth in accordance with the principles of Christianity,” the objective of the school was to provide whole person education for students, with Christianity as its founding spirit, so that they could serve the world. The issuance of Education Ministry Decree No. 12 forbidding religious education in 1899 endangered the existence of Kwansei Gakuin, but the second president, Yoshikuni Yoshioka firmly maintained the schoolʼs conviction saying, “Without Bible or Chapel Service, Kwansei Gakuin will lose its raison dʼetre.” Thus, since the founding of Kwansei Gakuin, education based on the principles of Christianity has been highly valued and passed down to the present.

The Methodist Church of Canada Participates in School Management（1910）

In 1910, the Methodist Church of Canada began to participate in the management of Kwansei Gakuin. In 1912, the Kwansei Gakuin College Department was established. Dr, Bates, the first Dean of the College Department and later the fourth president of the entire Kwansei Gakuin educational foundation, proposed the motto “Mastery for Service.” These words were later adopted as the official Kwansei Gakuin motto, which has been cherished now for generations. In 1929, Kwansei Gakuin moved to Uegahara in Nishinomiya City, with the aim of establishing a university. In 1932, the Education Ministry approved the establishment of Kwansei Gakuin University, and in 1934, the two schools of “Law and Literature” and “Economics and Business Administration” were set up in the university. In 1933, the official school song, “Sora no Tsubasa” was adopted.

Moving to a New Campus（1929）

Kwansei Gakuin University relocated from Harada no Mori to its new Nishinomiya Uegahara Campus in 1929.

A New Integrated Education（1947）

After World War II, the education system was reformed in Japan. Under the new system, Kwansei Gakuin reopened its junior and senior high schools and university to provide a new integrated education for its students. In the high-growth period of the 1960s, an increasing number of students who felt dissatisfied with their situations started to struggle for change and held protests throughout Japan. Kwansei Gakuin University also underwent large-scale student protests in the period between 1967 and 1969. The then-acting president Takeshiro Kodera proposed various reform programs, including those to introduce small-group and inter-departmental courses, which resulted in a transformation of education at Kwansei Gakuin.

Launching the School of Science（1961）

In commemoration of its 70th anniversary, Kwansei Gakuin established the School of Science, comprising of new Physics and Chemistry departments, and attracting an inaugural enrollment of 110. Although modest, the school enjoyed a nationwide reputation for prominent academic accomplishments.

New Schools at Kwansei Gakuin（1995-2010）

In 1995, a new campus was constructed in Sanda City, and the School of Policy Studies was established. In 2001, the School of Science was reorganized as the School of Science and Technology and moved to the Kobe-Sanda Campus. After that, professional graduate schools, such as the Law and Business schools, were established. In 2008, the Kwansei Gakuin Elementary School was established in Takarazuka, and the School of Human Welfare Studies was set up in the university. In 2009, the School of Education opened in the Nishinomiya Seiwa Campus together with Seiwa Junior College and Seiwa Kindergarten. In 2010, three schools (Middle and High Schools of Senri International School, and Osaka International School) became members of the Kwansei Gakuin educational foundation. In the same year, the School of International Studies, the 11th school of the university, was established.

A Comprehensive Educational Institution（2014-2019）

In 2019, the Nishinomiya-Kitaguchi Campus was established (the relocation site for the Law School), and at present, Kwansei Gakuin is a comprehensive educational institution which spans eight campuses, with about 30,000 students at schools ranging from kindergarten to graduate schools. In 2014, the Senior High School was selected as a Super Global High School under the program launched by the Japanese Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (Senri International High School was also chosen in 2015), and Kwansei Gakuin was selected for the Top Global University Project funded by the Japanese government. In 2019, the Senior High School was selected as a hub school for the Worldwide Learning Consortium (the follow-up project to the Super Global High School Program), and Kwansei Gakuin is aiming to further develop as an educational institution which nurtures people who can contribute as world citizens.

Reorganizing the Kobe-Sanda Campus（2021）

The Kobe-Sanda Campus underwent reorganization, based around the “Be a Borderless Innovator” concept, and began its new journey as a campus with five schools: Science, Engineering, Biological and Environmental Sciences, Architecture, and Policy Studies.