History

January 17, 1884
Alexander D. Hail founded Wilmina Girl’s School on January 17, 1884 with his brother J.B. Hail for the Cumberland Presbyterian Church as a mission school. The school was located at Kawaguchi Foreigner Residence Settlement, and its name came from combining the names of the first donors, William Saunders and his wife, Armina.

1884

September 1886
In the beginning of September 1886, Ann E. Garvin founded the Osaka United Girls School as a mission school for the American Presbyterian Church. It was also located at the Kawaguchi Foreigner Residence Settlement. In January 1888 the school moved to its present location near Osaka castle which was then called Nishinari-gun, Kiyohori-mura. On April 1, 1892 Osaka United Girls School changed its name to Naniwa Girls School.
1886

August 3, 1899
On August 3rd, 1899 the Ministry of Education made a law prohibiting religious education, but Wilmina Girls School and Naniwa Girls School still continued to follow their mission statement and hold chapel services everyday. From 1889 due to the government’s campaign against foreign countries, first year students entering the schools declined. However, the situation turned around and by 1903 the number of students were increasing.
1899

April 1, 1904
Finally, on April 1st 1904 Wilmina Girls Schools and Naniwa Girls School merged to become one school due to the fact that their respective mission boards, the Cumberland Presbyterian Church and the American Presbyterian Church had combined. Since their mission statements were similar, they combined them and they decided to keep the name as Wilmina Girls School and move the school to the site of Naniwa Girls School.

1904

October 22, 1940
On October 22, 1940 the name was changed to Osaka Jogakuin Girls School because since 1939 the government had a policy that all foreign names must be changed to Japanese names. Therefore, Wilmina Girls School had to change its name to Osaka Jogakuin Girls School.
1940

April 1947
In April 1947 the government changed the educational system once more and Osaka Jogakuin Girls School became Osaka Jogakuin Junior High School and in the following year Osaka Jogakuin Senior High School was created.
1947

April 1968
In April of 1968 Osaka Jogakuin College was opened with one major, English. There were 107 students in the first year of operation. And in 1972 a third-year special intensive English program, Senkoka, was begun.
1968