University of Tokyo

The place of the establishment of the University of Tokyo

The University of Tokyo (東京大学, Tōkyō daigaku^?), abbreviated as Todai (東大, Tōdai^?), is a major research university located in Tokyo, Japan. The University has 10 faculties with a total of around 30,000 students, some 2,100 of them foreign. Its five campuses are in Hongō, Komaba, Kashiwa, Shirokane and Nakano. It is widely considered to be the premier university in Japan, and one source rates it highest in Asia.^[3]

History

The university was founded by the Meiji government in 1877 under its current name by amalgamating older government schools for medicine and Western learning. It was renamed "the Imperial University (帝國大學, Teikoku daigaku^?)" in 1886, and then Tokyo Imperial University (東京帝國大學, Tōkyō teikoku daigaku^?) in 1887 when the Imperial University system was created. In 1947, after Japan's defeat in World War II, it assumed the original name again. With the start of the new university system in 1949, Todai swallowed up the former First Higher School (today's Komaba campus) and the former Tokyo Higher School, which henceforth assumed the duty of teaching first and second-year undergraduates, while the faculties on Hongo main campus took care of third and fourth-year students.

Kikuchi Dairoku, an important educational figure in Japan, was one of the presidents of Tokyo Imperial University.

Organization

Akamon (the Red Gate).

Yasuda Auditorium on the University of Tokyo's Hongō Campus.

Faculties

• Law
• Medicine
• Engineering
• Letters
• Science
• Agriculture
• Economics
• Arts and Sciences
• Education
• Pharmaceutical Sciences

Graduate schools

• Humanities and Sociology
• Education
• Law and Politics
• Economics
• Arts and Sciences
• Science
• Engineering
• Agricultural and Life Sciences
• Medicine
• Pharmaceutical Sciences
• Mathematical Sciences
• Frontier Sciences
• Information Science and Technology
• Interdisciplinary Information Studies
• Public Policy

Research institutes

• Institute of Medical Science
• Earthquake Research Institute
• Institute of Oriental Culture
• Institute of Social Science
• Institute of Industrial Science
• Historiographical Institute
• Institute of Molecular and Cellular Biosciences
• Institute for Cosmic Ray Research
• Institute for Solid State Physics
• Ocean Research Institute
• Research Center for Advanced Science and Technology

Academic ranking

Five alumni of University of Tokyo have received the Nobel Prize.

In the 2008 University ranking published by The Times Higher Education Supplement, the University of Tokyo was ranked 19th in the world and 1st in Asia.^[4]

Campus

The main Hongo campus occupies the former estate of the Maeda family, Edo period feudal lords of Kaga Province. The university's best known landmark, Akamon (the Red Gate) is a relic of this era. The symbol of the university is the ginkgo leaf, from the abundant trees throughout the area.

Komaba Campus

Main article: University of Tokyo, Komaba Campus

Komaba Campus detail, Tokyo University's Komaba campus.

One of the five campuses of the University of Tokyo, the Komaba Campus is home to the College of Arts and Sciences, the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, the Graduate School of Mathematical Sciences, and a number of advanced research facilities and campus services. This is the campus where all the freshmen and sophomores of the University of Tokyo spend their college life. The University of Tokyo is the only university in Japan that has a system involving two years of general education before students can choose and move on to their special fields of study. In this system, the Komaba Campus is the cornerstone of general education, and was designated as the "center of excellence" for three new areas of research by the Japanese Ministry of Education and Science. There are currently over 7,000 students (freshmen and sophomores) enrolled in the general-education course, about 450 students (juniors and seniors) pursuing their specialties in the College of Arts and Sciences, and 1,400 graduate students devoting themselves to further advanced studies.

Sanshiro Pond

Sanshiro Pond detail, Tokyo University's Hongō campus.

Sanshiro Pond (三四郎池, Sanshirō ike^?), in the heart of the university's Hongo campus, dates to 1615. After the fall of the Osaka Castle, the Shogun gave this pond and its surrounding garden to Maeda Toshitsune. As Maeda Tsunanori further developed the garden, it became known as one of the most beautiful gardens in Edo (now Tokyo), with the traditional eight landscapes and eight borders, but also known for its originality in its artificial pond, hills, and pavilions. It was at that time known as Ikutoku-en (Garden of Teaching Virtue). The pond's contours are in the shape of the character kokoro or shin (heart), and thus its official name is Ikutoku-en Shinjiike. However it has been commonly called Sanshiro Pond since the publication of Natsume Sōseki's novel Sanshiro.

Notable alumni and faculty members

Main article: List of University of Tokyo people

University of Tokyo has produced many notable people. Six Japanese Prime Ministers have studied at University of Tokyo.

See also

• Gakushi-kai　The club of the grade
• Imperial College of Engineering
• Earthquake engineering
• Kikuchi Dairoku
• Koishikawa Botanical Gardens
• Nikko Botanical Garden
• The University of Tokyo Library

References

External links

• University of Tokyo

University of Tokyo Faculties Law · Letters · Agriculture · Arts and Science · Economics · Education · Pharmaceutical Sciences · Sciences · Medicine Graduate Studies Arts · Music · Nursery and Obstetrics · Social Work Research Institutes IIS Facilities & Campi Hongo (Main Campus) · Komaba · Komaba 2 · Asano · Shirokane · Kashiwa · Nakano History University of Tokyo People Alumni & Faculty Sports & Organizations Press