Hosei University (法政大学 Hōsei daigaku) is a long-established private university based in Tokyo, Japan. The university originated in a school of law, Tōkyō Hōgakusha (東京法学社, i.e. Tokyo association of law), established in 1880, and the following year renamed Tōkyō Hōgakkō (東京法学校, i.e. Tokyo school of law). This was from 1883 headed by Dr. Gustave Emile Boissonade, and was heavily influenced by the French legal tradition. It merged in 1889 with a school of French studies, Tōkyō Futsugakkō (東京仏学校, i.e. Tokyo French school), that had been founded three years earlier. It adopted the name Hosei University (法政大学, Hōsei daigaku, i.e. Tokyo university of law and politics) in 1903 and was recognized as a private university in 1920.