, commonly referred to as or , is a private flagship research university in Tokyo, Japan. Founded in 1885 as Igirisu Hōritsu Gakkō (the English Law School), Chuo is one of the oldest and most prestigious institutions in the country. The university operates four campuses in Tokyo: the largest in Hachiōji (Tama campus), one in Bunkyō (Korakuen campus), and two others in Shinjuku (Ichigaya and Ichigaya-Tamachi campuses). Chuo is organized into six faculties, ten graduate schools, and nine research institutes. There are also four affiliated high schools and two affiliated junior high schools. When written in Chinese characters, Chuo University shares the same name with National Central University in Taiwan and Chung-Ang University in South Korea. History Early days: 1885–1920 Chuo was founded as the in 1885 at Kanda in Tokyo by Rokuichiro Masujima together with some group of 18 young lawyers led by him. Before 1889, the school moved and was renamed to Tokyo College of Law (Tōkyō Hōgakuin). The curriculum was changed to reflect the government reform of Japanese law and creation of a new civil code. Opposition to the implementation of new civil code resulted in the government shuttering of the campus journal and the subsequent creation of the Chuo Law Review (Hōgaku Shinpō), which has been regularly published since then. The university was burnt down in the Great Kanda Fire that occurred in 1892, but was able to hold temporary classes. Before 1903, the school was promoted to Tokyo University of Law (Tokyo Hōgakuin Daigaku) and in 1905, the school expanded itself with the department of economics and renamed itself Chuo University. The origin of its name "Chuo" has not been certain. However, many founders of the university were once students of the Middle Temple, London, United Kingdom before they completed their training and became qualified as Barristers. This is one of the reasons why the university was renamed to "Chuo", which literally means middle, center or central. Another fire torched the campus in June 1917, but it was rebuilt in August 1918. Under the old University Ordinance: 1920–1949 In 1918, Japanese government enacted University Ordinance (Daigaku Rei) that set legal framework of universities except imperial universities established by Imperial University Ordinance. Under this University Ordinance, licensed universities were permitted to issue official degrees. Chuo University was successfully licensed in 1920 with three faculties (law, economics and commerce), graduate schools and preparatory schools. The 1923 Great