The Keio Institute for Tricultural Education
Founded in 1990, Keio Academy of New York primarily aimed to promote bilingual, bicultural education as its mission, with special emphasis upon the language and culture of Japan and the United States. In 2022 we closely reexamined and carefully upscaled the mission statement by creating the concept of “Triculture:”
Mission Statement Keio Academy of New York promotes trans-Pacific, trans-cultural and trans-disciplinary learning. The mission of Keio Academy of New York is to develop, foster and utilize “tri-cultural" education by combining the best of Japanese, American and Keio cultures, to produce graduates who have a strong sense of “moral-independence” and “self-reliance” which has been a Keio tradition since Keio Gijuku’s establishment by Fukuzawa Yukichi in 1858.
This new mission paved the way for new projects such as the Omnibus “Triculture” Lecture Series (2022~) as a lively intersection between North American Japanologists and Far East Americanists sharing the pedagogic imperative of Keio Gijuku. It is this transcultural milieu that will doubtlessly contribute much to the development of enormous potentialities inherent within the adolescents spending impressionable years at Keio Academy of New York.
Thus, in the course of academic events it becomes necessary for us to establish the new arena where Keio and non-Keio teachers and researchers join forces to envision the future of education and scholarship, tentatively called “the Keio Institute for Tricultural Education.” For its major activities, see below.
Section 2.2. Purpose.
In furtherance of its mission, the Institute may:
(1) conduct, support, and disseminate educational and scholarly research relating to the histories, cultures, languages, and educational philosophies of Japan, the United States, and Keio Gijuku;
(2) organize and host lectures, symposia, seminars, workshops, and public talks open to students, faculty, alumni, parents, and the broader community;
(3) develop curricular and co-curricular materials that reflect the tri-cultural mission of the Academy;
(4) facilitate scholarly and cultural exchange among educators, students, and researchers connected to the three traditions; and
(5) publish or distribute, in any medium, papers, reports, and other educational materials that further the Institute’s mission.
Please note that it is headmaster who will manage this institute in view of the educational activities of the school, with the help of the board of trustees of Keio Academy of New York.