Tokyo Imperial University was the
hub of learning in the
Japanese Empire. It was formed by the Japanese government in 1877 as the Imperial University, Japan's first public institution of Westernized higher education. Before long, Imperial, along with
Keio University and the other
rokudai, was graduating most of Japan's
elite. Once Kyoto Imperial University (now the
University of Kyoto) opened in 1897, Imperial University became Tokyo Imperial University.
The university reopened in 1947 as the University of Tokyo, also known as Todai.