INTRODUCTION

AN EDUCATIONAL ENGINEERING institution named Kōgaku-ryō was founded in 1871 by the Kōbushō (Ministry of Public Works). The institution was opened to prospective students in 1873 and changed its name to Kōbu-dai-gakkō (Imperial College of Engineering, abbr. ICE) as part of a reform of the administration in January 1877.

In December 1885, the college was placed under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Education. With the promulgation of the Imperial University Ordinance in March 1886, ICE was annexed to the Faculty of Arts and Crafts of the University of Tōkyō and taken over by the College of Engineering at the Imperial University. During its operation from 1871 to 1886, a total of 211 students graduated from ICE.

Students and faculty members at the ICE recognized that the facilities – the drawing office, experiment laboratories and museum, along with the classrooms – were reputed to be the finest in Asia. The ICE also maintained close relations with the boards of the Ministry of Public Works since it was under its direct control, and its students were allowed to visit each board. ICE represents the prehistory of the College of Engineering at the Imperial University, so is key to the history of higher technical education in Japan. Furthermore, the history of ICE can help elucidate the relationship between industrialization and education, overseas exchange, and the modernization and industrialization of Japan.

Many studies on ICE have been conducted, mainly in the fields of history of education and history of technology – for example, searching for the history of the college itself, focusing on people involved in the college, such as founder Yamao Yōzō (1837–1917) and principal Henry Dyer (1848–1918), and considering the college the origin of education in each engineering field. Furthermore, as described below, other studies explore the model and origin of the unique educational system of ICE.

Despite these numerous studies, it seems that research on ICE has not progressed further. Previous research has tended to praise the college as Japan's first modern advanced institution for technical education. But the practice of the college has still not been sufficiently revealed. To evaluate it fairly, it is necessary to focus on negative aspects, such as contradictions and difficulties related to the establishment and operation of ICE, that have been neglected in previous studies.