University of Tokyo

The University of Tokyo
東京大学
Latin: Universitas Tociensis
Established 1877
Type Public (National)
President Junichi Hamada
(濱田純一)
Academic staff 2,429 full-time
175 part-time[1]
Admin. staff 5,779
Students 28,697[2]
Undergraduates 14,274
Postgraduates 13,732
Doctoral students 6,022
Other students 747 research students
Location Bunkyō, Tokyo, Japan
Campus Urban
Colors Light Blue     
Athletics 46 varsity teams
Mascot None
Affiliations IARU, APRU, AEARU, AGS, BESETOHA
Website u-tokyo.ac.jp

The University of Tokyo (informally Tokyo University) (東京大学 Tōkyō daigaku?), abbreviated as Todai (東大 Tōdai?),[3] is a major research university located in Tokyo, Japan. The University has 10 faculties with a total of around 30,000 students, 2,100 of whom are foreign. Its five campuses are in Hongō, Komaba, Kashiwa, Shirokane and Nakano. It is considered to be the most prestigious university in Japan.[4][5] It ranks as the highest in Asia and 21st in the world in 2011 according to Academic Ranking of World Universities.

Contents

History

The university was chartered 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 1897 when the Imperial University system was created. In September 1923, an earthquake and the following fires destroyed about 700,000 volumes of the Imperial University Library.[6] The books lost included the Hoshino Library (星野文庫 Hoshino bunko?), a collection of about 10,000 books.[7][8] The books were the former possessions of Hoshino Hisashi before becoming part of the library of the university and were mainly about Chinese philosophy and history.

In 1947, after Japan's defeat in World War II, it re-assumed its original name. 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.

Although the university was founded during the Meiji period, it has earlier roots in the Astronomy Agency (天文方; 1684), Shoheizaka Study Office (昌平坂学問所; 1797), and the Western Books Translation Agency (蕃書和解御用; 1811).[9] These institutions were government offices established by the 徳川幕府 Tokugawa shogunate (1603–1867), and played an important role in the importation and translation of books from Europe.

Kikuchi Dairoku, an important figure in Japanese education, served as president of Tokyo Imperial University.

For the 1964 Summer Olympics, the university hosted the running portion of the modern pentathlon event.[10]

Organization

Faculties

[11]

Graduate schools

[11]

Research institutes

[11]

The University's School of Science and the Earthquake Research Institute are both represented on the national Coordinating Committee for Earthquake Prediction.[12]

Ranking

Notable alumni and faculty members

  1. Yasunari Kawabata, Literature, 1968
  2. Leo Esaki, Physics, 1973
  3. Eisaku Satō, Peace, 1974
  4. Kenzaburō Ōe, Literature, 1994
  5. Masatoshi Koshiba, Physics, 2002
  6. Yoichiro Nambu, Physics, 2008
  7. Ei-ichi Negishi, Chemistry, 2010

Campus

Hongo 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 trees found throughout the area.

Sanshiro Pond

Sanshiro Pond (三四郎池 Sanshirō ike?), 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. With further development of the garden by Maeda Tsunanori, it became known as one of the most beautiful gardens in Edo (Now Tokyo), with the traditional eight landscapes and eight borders, and known for originality in 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. It has been commonly called Sanshiro Pond after the title of Natsume Sōseki's novel Sanshiro.

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 which has a system of two years of general education before students can choose and move on to special fields of study. 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 Ministry of Education and Science. There are currently over 7,000 students (freshmen and sophomores) enrolled in the general education courses, about 450 students (juniors and seniors) pursuing their specialties in the College of Arts and Sciences, and 1,400 graduate students in the advanced study.

See also

Tokyo portal
University portal

References

  1. ^ "University of Tokyo [Organization Number of Students / Personnel"]. http://www.u-tokyo.ac.jp/index/b02_03_e.html. Retrieved 2007-06-14. 
  2. ^ "東京大学 (学生数)学生・研究生・聴講生数". http://www.u-tokyo.ac.jp/stu04/e08_02_j.html. Retrieved 2007-06-14. 
  3. ^ What is Todai?
  4. ^ The School and the University. University of California Press. 1985. p. 156. ISBN 0-520-5423-7. http://books.google.com/books?id=NZ4pg2nL7asC&pg=PA156&dq=%22university+of+tokyo%22+prestigious#v=onepage&q=%22university%20of%20tokyo%22%20prestigious&f=false. 
  5. ^ Arthritic Japan: the slow pace of economic reform. Brookings Institution Press. 2001. ISBN 0815700733page=148. http://books.google.com/books?id=uEfpjsYFo1cC&pg=PA148&dq=%22university+of+tokyo%22+prestigious#v=onepage&q=%22university%20of%20tokyo%22%20prestigious&f=false. 
  6. ^ LOST MEMORY - LIBRARIES AND ARCHIVES DESTROYED IN THE TWENTIETH CENTURY (Archived at WebCite)
  7. ^ LOST MEMORY - LIBRARIES AND ARCHIVES DESTROYED IN THE TWENTIETH CENTURY (Archived at WebCite)
  8. ^ "漢籍関係年表" (in Japanese). Chinese classics. Tokyo University General Library. http://www.lib.u-tokyo.ac.jp/tenjikai/tenjikai95/nenpyo.html. Retrieved 5 September 2011. 
  9. ^ 東大と天皇-大日本帝国の生と死 (Todai and Emperors - Life and Death of Imperial Japan), by 立花 隆(Takashi Tachibana), (pp 22-62), ISBN4-16-367440-3
  10. ^ 1964 Summer Olympics official report. Volume 2. Part 2. p. 761.
  11. ^ a b c "Departments". The University of Tokyo. http://www.u-tokyo.ac.jp/index/c00_e.html. 
  12. ^ Organizations with ties to CCEP CCEP, accessed 2011-03-19
  13. ^ "Academic Ranking of World Universities - 2009". ShanghaiRanking Consultancy. 2011. http://www.shanghairanking.com/ARWU2011.html. 
  14. ^ "World University Rankings". The Times Higher Educational Supplement. 2010. http://www.timeshighereducation.co.uk/world-university-rankings/2010-2011/top-200.html. Retrieved 2010-09-16. 
  15. ^ "QS World University Rankings". Topuniversities. http://www.topuniversities.com/university-rankings/world-university-rankings/2011. Retrieved 2011-10-01. 
  16. ^ "QS World University Rankings". Topuniversities. http://www.topuniversities.com/university-rankings/asian-university-rankings/2011. Retrieved 2011-10-01. 
  17. ^ "TOP - 100 (Global universities ranking)". Global Universities Ranking. 2009. http://www.globaluniversitiesranking.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=94&Itemid=131. 
  18. ^ "300 Best World Universities 2010". ChaseCareer Network. http://www.chasecareer.net/news_detail.php?id=61. 
  19. ^ "International Professional Ranking of Higher Education Institutions". École nationale supérieure des mines de Paris. 2009. http://www.ensmp.fr/Actualites/PR/EMP-ranking.html#7. 
  20. ^ "Nature Publishing Index: Global Top 50". Nature Publishing Group. 2011. http://www.natureasia.com/en/publishing-index/global/. 
  21. ^ "大学別総理大臣リスト List of prime ministers by graduated universities" (in Japanese). 大学ranking.net. http://daigaku-ranking.net/data/prime-minister/. 
  22. ^ McGregor, Richard (15 May 2010). "China's Private Party". Wall Street Journal. http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704250104575238590027868792.html?mod=WSJ_hp_editorsPicks. 

External links