東洋大学は1887（明治20）年、哲学者 井上円了が創立した「私立哲学館」により、その歴史が始まりました。時代が江戸から明治へと移り、近代化が進み始めた日本において、円了は「哲学は新しい時代を生きる日本人にとって思考の根本になる」と考え、「哲学すること」の重要性を示しました。それは、いわゆる哲学者を養成することではなく、哲学を学ぶことにより、人々が主体的に生きることの重要さを説くものでした。

Toyo University’s history began in 1887, when philosopher Enryo Inoue founded a private school called the Shiritsu Tetsugakukan.

Enryo Inoue believed that “for Japanese people living in the new Meiji era, philosophy will be the foundation of all thought.” Rather than focusing on training professional philosophers, he emphasized the importance of “practice of philosophy,” namely the value of ordinary people living upon their own thoughts and initiative through learning philosophy.

1858（安政5）年、慈光寺（新潟県長岡市）の長男として生誕。10歳で明治維新を経験し、漢学・洋学を学ぶ。20歳で設立直後の東京大学第１期生として予備門へ入学、23歳で文学部哲学科ただ一人の新入生となる。「哲学」という西洋の古代から近代まで発達してきた学問の本質を学びながら研究を重ね、「諸学の基礎は哲学にあり」と確信。そして、幼少期より身近にあった「仏教」を見直し、東洋哲学を発見した。大学を首席で卒業した2年後の1887（明治20）年、東洋大学の前身となる「私立哲学館」を創立。

「哲学の研究・普及が文明を発展させるために不可欠」と考え、著作と学校教育・社会教育による哲学の普及に身を捧げ、「東洋の日本」から「世界の日本」を志し、海外を視察するなど、明治時代の日本で新しい教育の扉を開くことに尽力した。1919（大正8）年、中国大連での講演中に倒れ、61歳で逝去。

Born as the eldest son of the chief priest at Jiko-ji Temple (Nagaoka City, Niigata Prefecture) in 1858, Enryo Inoue experienced the Meiji Restoration at the age of 10 and learned Chinese and Western studies.

When he was 20, Enryo Inoue entered the Preparatory School of the newly established University of Tokyo as one of its first students. At age 23, he was admitted to the Department of Philosophy, Faculty of Letters at the university, as the department’s sole first-year student. After serious efforts to conduct research while learning the essence of “philosophy” as an academic discipline that had developed in the West since ancient times until the modern age, he became confident that “the basis of all learning lies in philosophy.” Then, taking a fresh look at Buddhism, which had been close to him since his childhood, he discovered Eastern philosophy. In 1887, two years after graduating as the top student from the University of Tokyo, he founded the Shiritsu Tetsugakukan, the predecessor of Toyo University.

With the belief that the study and dissemination of philosophy are essential to the development of civilization, he devoted himself to spreading philosophy through writing, school education, and social education. Aiming to raise Japan from just an Asian country to one with a strong global presence, he also made tireless efforts to open the door of modern education in Meiji Japan by making overseas tours and through other means.

In 1919, he collapsed when giving a lecture in Dalian, China, and passed away at the age of 61.

井上円了が私立哲学館を創立した際の趣意書には「余資なく優暇なき者に教育機会の場を開放する」とあり、哲学館の授業料を低く抑えることで一人でも多くの人に門戸を開こうとしたほか、講義をまとめたテキストを送り自宅で学習できる「館外員制度」（現代の通信教育にあたる制度）もいち早く取り入れました。教育の機会を万人に開放するというその大いなる志は、現在の東洋大学における「第2部・イブニングコース」などへと受け継がれています。

Enryo Inoue’s founding prospectus for the private Philosophy Academy declared that the school would “open up education to people who otherwise could not afford to receive in terms of money and time.” Inoue kept the Philosophy Academy’s tuition low in order to open its doors to as many people as possible, and proactively set up an “outside students system” (a Meiji-era equivalent of the present-day correspondence course system) whereby outside students could study course textbooks sent from the school by themselves. Inoue’s lofty aspiration to open up educational opportunities to all has been handed down in the form of evening courses and other programs offered by Toyo University today.

井上円了は、哲学者であると同時に「妖怪研究」の第一人者として知られています。その狙いは、大衆を根拠のない迷信から解放し、自ら考える姿勢を身に付ける『哲学の第一歩』を示すためで、日本人の心を近代化しようという壮大な取り組みの一環でした。

Enryo Inoue is today known as a philosopher, and at the same time as a leading expert in “Yokai (monster) studies.” By acting as a professor of “Youkai-gaku (monsterology),” he aimed to free the general public in Japan from ungrounded superstitions and guide them to cultivate positive attitudes toward thinking by oneself as the first step toward philosophy. This was part of his ambitious initiative to modernize the mentality of the Japanese people.