About Toyo University The Ever Active Philosopher Enryo Inoue

The founder of Toyo University, Enryo Inoue, toured the world and was passionate about spreading philosophy and education in Japan throughout his life.
The ambition of Enryo, a pioneer in philosophical education and a person of the world, remains firmly within Toyo University to the present day.

The Ever Active Philosopher

Enryo Inoue was born in 1858 as the eldest son at a temple called Jikoji in present-day Nagaoka City in Niigata Prefecture. He interacted with Buddhism from an early age and experienced the Meiji Restoration as a young boy. While Japan was undergoing drastic change, Enryo continued passionately studying Chinese and Western classics. At 23, he entered the recently founded Department of Philosophy at the University of Tokyo’s Faculty of Letters as its only new student. At university, Enryo immersed himself in Western philosophy and found Eastern philosophy while reexamining Buddhism teachings that he had been familiar with since childhood. This convinced Enryo that “all knowledge is grounded in philosophy, regardless of whether it originated in the East or in the West,” and he presented the idea that “the basis of all learning lies in philosophy.”
With the rapid promotion of westernization policies in Japan, Enryo believed that looking at and considering things through philosophy was essential to restore the core foundation of the Japanese people. This led Enryo to establish the Shiritsu Testugakuan, a private philosophy school and predecessor to Toyo University, at the young age of 29 in 1887. The following year, Enyro embarked on an overseas inspection tour around the world, at a time when it was much more difficult to travel overseas than today. Enryo conducted three overseas inspection tours in his life. Based on the modern expertise he obtained from all over the world, he set forth his education policy that valued Japan’s unique culture and learning and held lectures all over Japan. He spread philosophy to regions all over Japan, giving many ordinary people educational opportunities. For the last 13 years of Enryo’s life, it is recorded that he gave 5291 seminars that around 1.4 million people attended.
Enryo Inoue’s spirit and passion are the foundation of Toyo University. It lives on through various activities such as dispatching lecturers all over Japan and the Toyo University Scholarship for Self-Supporting Students.

https://www.toyo.ac.jp/about/founder/about/

YouTube: The Travelling Philosopher, Enryo Inoue

A new “History of Toyo University Exhibit” has been set up in the exhibition lobby in front of the Inoue Enryo Memorial Museum

The Inoue Enryo Memorial Museum, located in Hakusan Campus’ Building 5, features exhibits of the works of Enryo Inoue and his former belongings. The Museum holds the role of preserving history and educational philosophy by displaying valuable materials related to the history of Toyo University. In AY2021, a new exhibition was added in front of the museum exhibition room, which features a digital glass screen where visitors can retrace the steps of Enryo and Toyo University. The exhibition features graphic exhibitions that appear to float in the air and presents a concise history of Toyo University from the Meiji era to the present day using a slideshow with photos of Enryo and Toyo University that are displayed using projects. At this exhibition, visitors can look over our 130-year history and deepen their understanding of Toyo University, so please visit when you get a chance.

Inoue Enryo Memorial Museum

Opening hours: Monday to Friday, 9:30 to 16:45   Saturdays 9:30 to 12:45 Closing days: Sundays, public holidays, new year’s holidays, and other holidays specified by Toyo University Admission: Free Note: For the foreseeable future, the Museum is closed on Saturdays. Please see the Museum website for more information.

A new blend of coffee inspired by the coffee connoisseur Enryo Inoue, “Enryo Inoue’s Coffee Story,” is now available for purchase

In collaboration with Saza Coffee (Hitachinaka City, Ibaraki Prefecture), in March 2022 we released Toyo University’s original coffee blend, “Enryo Inoue’s Coffee Story.”
Enryo was a coffee connoisseur, and during his overseas inspection tours, he visited coffee plantations and wrote Chinese poetry about the spectacle of people enjoying coffee. Also, in his will Enryo said to give amazake, black tea, or coffee to participants at the Tetsugakudo Festival held every year in November. Yoshio Suzuki, Chairman of Saza Coffee, is a Toyo University alumni, and it was due to Mr. Suzuki’s affinity with Enryo’s philosophy and dynamism that allowed us to make this collaboration a reality. In keeping with Enryo’s travels, we used coffee beans from countries that Enryo visited, Brazil and Yemen. Please enjoy the authentic taste and aroma of the long-established coffee specialty store, Saza Coffee.

[Special Talk] Enryo Inoue was a global explorer! What the traveling philosopher who loved coffee saw all over the world. 
To commemorate the release of Enryo Inoue’s Coffee Story, we released a special talk between Chairman Suzuki and research assistant at the Toyo University Inoue Enryo Center for Philosophy, Takuya Hasegawa, online at LINK@TOYO.（English unavailable）
 ▶ https://www.toyo.ac.jp/link-toyo/culture/enryou-sazacoffee/

A new book, “The Challenger, Enryo Inoue: Forge Your Destiny,” was published. Readers will encounter the philosophy of Enryo Inoue, and the book will conjure up the sentiment of Toyo University’s origin

The book “The Challenger, Enryo Inoue” was published to commemorate the opening of the Inoue Enryo Center for Philosophy in AY2021. The book is an enlarged and revised version of “The Educational Principles of Enryo Inoue” which was published to commemorate 100 years since the founding of Toyo University. The book covers Enryo’s philosophy and the history of Toyo University through the life of Enryo Inoue, from his birth, establishment of Testsugakuan (Toyo University), and his cross-country lecture tour. The book will evoke the sentiment of Toyo University’s origin. The book’s title was chosen from an assignment written by a student who had studied about the life of Enryo Inoue. The book is available in PDF format, and can be downloaded from the link below.
 ▶ https://sites.google.com/toyo.jp/iecp-publication/publications/centerpub/challenger 

●We Held a DX Study Tour of Enryo Inoue and the Tetsugakudo Park

On May 1 and 2, 2022, we held a DX study tour on the theme of the Tetsugakudo Park as part of initiatives to support Toyo students in learning about Toyo University. Students could learn about the thoughts and actions of Enryo Inoue firsthand. 84 students attended the tour.

●We Looked Back over the Origin of the Establishment of Toyo University at the AY2022 Gakusosai 

The AY2022 Gakusousai was held at Nakano Ward’s Renge-Ji Temple in Nakano-ku Tokyo on the 104 anniversary of Enryo Inoue’s death, June 6, 2022.