The birthplace of modern scientific education in Japan

Seimikyoku school orientation booklet

Founded in Osaka in 1869, Seimikyoku was the first school in Japan dedicated to the study of physics and chemistry. This booklet contains the orientation lecture delivered by the principal, Dutch chemist Dr. Koenraad Wolter Gratama. The choice of Osaka for the school was apparently influenced by a movement to relocate the capital to Osaka that had gained momentum immediately after the Meiji Restoration. The first part of the name, seimi, is modelled on the Dutch word chemie meaning chemistry. Dr. Gratama’s address extolling the virtues of physics and chemistry studies is regarded as the launch point for modern science in Japan.