Our Mission at Kwansei Gakuin

Our mission at Kwansei Gakuin, as a learning community based on the principles of Christianity, is to inspire our members to seek their life missions, and cultivate them to be creative and capable world citizens who embody our motto, "Mastery for Service," by transforming society with compassion and integrity.

"We aim to be strong, to be masters - masters of knowledge, masters of opportunity, masters of ourselves, our desires, our ambitions . . . . but having become masters, we desire not to inflate, and enrich ourselves for our own sake, but to render some useful service to humanity in order that the world may be better for our having lived in it." (Dr. C.J.L. Bates, 1915)

Kwansei Gakuin's motto of "Mastery for Service," coined by Dr. C.J.L. Bates, the fourth Chancellor of Kwansei Gakuin and the first President of Kwansei Gakuin University, reflects the ideal for all our members to master their abundant God-given gifts to serve their neighbors, society and the world. A “master” usually means someone who directs or commands others, but at our school, it means a person who, in terms of humanity, learning, and daily life. From that base, “service” is understood in the Christian context as “service to God,” the starting point for a life dedicated to serving neighbors, society, and others - a way of life that is devoted to creating a better world by utilizing one’s inalienable gifts; that is the ideal that we members of Kwansei Gakuin continue to seek, as we sing in the chool song, “Shining freedom, Mastery for Service.”

In 2039, the 150th anniversary of Kwansei Gakuin, factors like the decline in Japan’s birth rate and advances in AI mean that society is expected to look vastly different from how it is today. Even in that future era, it is our hope that our graduates will hold the school motto close to their hearts; we hope that with a firm sense of values and rich humanity, they will use the knowledge and skills they have acquired at Kwansei Gakuin to lead “fulfilling and meaningful lives” by participating actively in a diverse range of fields and serving their neighbors, society and the world. The nine schools of Kwansei Gakuin will make the most of their collective strengths as a comprehensive educational institution with a highly international character, and combine forces to work towards the realization of that ideal.