Due to an economic boom owing to Japanese-Sino War (July 1894 to April 1895) and reparations obtained from the Empire of China (Qing) by the Treaty of Shimonoseki, Minister of Education Kinmochi SAIONJI of the second Ito cabinet wrote a 'proposal to issue part of the reparations obtained from the Empire of China as the basic fund for building imperial universities' to the prime minister and insisted on establishment of Kyoto Imperial University.
日清戦争（1894年7月～1895年4月）による好景気、および、下関条約によって清から賠償金を得たことにより、第2次伊藤内閣の西園寺公望文相が「清国賠償金ノ一部ヲ東京及京都ノ帝国大学基本金トシテ交付セラレンコトヲ請フノ議」を、首相宛に執筆し、京都帝国大学の設置を主張した。