a. The Promulgation of the 1886 Imperial University Order

On March 2, 1886, the 1886 Imperial University Order was promulgated, thus establishing the central institution of Japan's Modern Educational System.

Article 1 of the 1886 Imperial University Order stated that the "Imperial University has as its goal the teaching of, and the fundamental research into, arts and sciences necessaly for the state."The last phrase indicates Mori Arinori's often enunciated view on the primacy of state needs. It was also in this context that the term "imperial" was attached to "university." According to Article 2 of the Order, the Imperial University was to be composed of two parts, a Graduate School and various Colleges (Bunka Daigaku). These differed in function and treatment. The Graduate School was the organ for research into the arts and sciences, whereas the Colleges were the highest educational organs to which graduates of the higher middle schools might advance for the final stage of their education. This organization may have patterned on the American universities of that era. The Graduate School of the Imperial University would be comparable to the postgraduate courses of American universities.