History
The origin of the university is the Medical Training Place (医学館, Igakkan?) founded in 1870 by Okayama-Han. It underwent the abolition of the han system and was developed into Okayama Prefectural Medical School (岡山県医学校?) in 1880. In 1888 it was merged into a national school, the Third Higher Middle School (第三高等中学校, Daisan kōtō chūgakkō?) to constitute the Medical Faculty. The Medical Faculty became an independent school in 1901 and was renamed Okayama Medical Speciality School (岡山医学専門学校, Okayama igaku semmon gakkō?), a four-year medical school for men ages 17–21 or above. In 1922 the school was chartered as Okayama Medical College (岡山医科大学, Okayama ika daigaku?), a four-year medical college for men ages 19–23 or above.
In 1949, after World War II, the college was merged with other national and public colleges in Okayama Prefecture to establish Okayama University, under Japan's new education system. The predecessors of the university were Okayama Medical College, the Sixth Higher School (第六高等学校, Dairoku kōtō gakkō?, established in 1900), Okayama Normal School (岡山師範学校, Okayama shihan gakkō?, founded in 1874), Okayama Youth's Normal School (岡山青年師範学校, Okayama seinen shihan gakkō?, founded in 1922) and Okayama (Prefectural) Agricultural College (岡山農業専門学校, Okayama nōgyō semmon gakkō?, established in 1946).
The new campus (Tsushima Campus) was the former camp of the Imperial Japanese Army (the 17th Division). After occupation army left the camp (in 1947), the students of the Sixth Higher School (whose buildings were burnt in the war) guarded the camp, residing in the former military barracks. They finally got the camp as their campus. The faculties of Okayama University, except the Medical School, were gradually removed to Tsushima Campus.
The university at first had five faculties: Law and Letters, Education, Science, Agriculture and Medicine. The latter history of the university is as follows:
- 1951: Ohara Institute for Agricultural Research (大原農業研究所, Ōhara nōgyō kenkyūsho?, founded in 1914 by Magosaburō Ōhara) joined the university.
- Later reorganized into the Institute for Agricultural and Biological Sciences (in 1953) and then the Research Institute for Bioresources (in 1988).
- 1960: the Faculty of Engineering was established.
- 1967: Professor Jun Kobayashi (analytic chemistry, Faculty of Agriculture) announced the cause of Itai-itai disease as cadmium poisoning. Itai-itai disease (meaning "ouch ouch" disease in Japanese), was a severe pain disease affecting Toyama Prefecture as a result of mining over the course of 1,500 years.
- 1976: the Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences was established.
- 1979: the Dental School was established (in Shikata Campus).
- 1980: the Faculty of Law and Letters was divided into three faculties: Letters, Law and Economics.
- 1994: the Faculty of Environmental Science and Technology was established.
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