Established in the last decades of the long peace of the Edo period and right before Japan was to re-open to foreign trade and exchange, Tekijuku was a forward-looking school focused on the Western sciences, especially the body of knowledge developed through contact with Dutch traders in Nagasaki. It was founded in 1838 by the physician and scholar Ogata Koan, renowned as one of the forefathers of modern medicine in Japan, and operated until 1862.
Considered a predecessor of Osaka University, the school was located in the city’s bustling Senba area. Its buildings and grounds have been designated a historic landmark and are open to the public. The site is administered by Osaka University, which operates a Tekijuku-focussed research centre on the premises.