Kenkoku University


Kenkoku University, or Jianguo in Chinese, was a short-lived university in Hsinking, the capital of Manchukuo, the Japanese puppet state in occupied Manchuria during the Second Sino-Japanese War.
The university was founded in 1938 by General Kanji Ishiwara, and was run by Professor Shoichi Sakuda of Kyoto University. Its purpose was to promote "ethnic harmony" in the region, legitimising and promoting the Japanese occupation. To this end, students were recruited from Japan, China, Mongolia, Taiwan, Manchuria, Korea and Russia. As well as offering free tuition, the University also provided its students with board and lodgings, and a stipend.
The university closed in 1945 when the Japanese forces withdrew.
A number of influential aikido practitioners trained and taught at the University, including aikido's founder Morihei Ueshiba, Kenji Tomiki, Shigenobu Okumura and Noriaki Inoue.