The RINRI Institute of Ethics, Gotemba

The RINRI Institute of Ethics
倫理研究所
and its
Fuji Education Center
富士高原研修所

The RINRI Institute of Ethics is a private social education organization committed to promoting lifelong learning with the aims of life improvement, moral upliftment, and cultural development for all. It was founded immediately after the end of World War II on September 3, 1945 by Maruyama Toshio, a Japanese teacher, social educator and calligrapher.

The English name of the institution, “RINRI Institute of Ethics”, is a bilingual pleonasm as RINRI is Japanese: 倫理 「りんり」– engl. “ethics”.

While the headquarter of the RINRI Institute of Ethics is located in Tokyo, the members of the 67th Annual Meeting of the PIAC will be hosted at the “Fuji Education Center” in Gotemba, Shizuoka Prefecture. A bus ride from the Metropolitan area of Tokyo to Gotemba takes approx. two hours. The Fuji Education Center, founded in 1966, comprises accommodation, dining facilities and lecture halls. Within the complex, there is the Fuji Manyo Botanical Garden, Toshio Maruyama Memorial Museum, and Fuji RINRI School. The Fuji Education Center usually offers  educational programmes targeted at various types of audiences, including but not limited to companies and families.

Bird's Eye View of RINRI Institute of Ethics, Gotemba, near Mt. Fuji

Bird’s Eye View of RINRI Institute of Ethics, Gotemba, near Mt. Fuji

The buildings reflect the calm and refined aesthetics which is so typical for Japanese architecture as the next pictures show.

Main Hall of RINRI Institute of Ethics, Gotemba.

Main Hall of RINRI Institute of Ethics, Gotemba

The Dining Hall at the RINRI Institute of Ethics, Gotemba

The Dining Hall at the RINRI Institute of Ethics, Gotemba

Guests of the Fuji Education Center will usually share their rooms, which includes also the use of the Japanese-style shower and bathing facilities, jp.お風呂 ofuro. There is only one important rule to observe: Guests clean their bodies thoroughly with soap and shower (in the picture below, on the left side of the room) before they enter the bath tub. Be aware that the water in the bath tub can be very hot, so take your time when entering the bath tub.

A Japanese-style bathroom at the RINRI Institute of Ethics, Gotemba

A Japanese-style bathroom at the RINRI Institute of Ethics, Gotemba