University of Tokyo

Coordinates: 35°42′48″N 139°45′44″E / 35.71333°N 139.76222°E / 35.71333; 139.76222

The University of Tokyo
東京大学
Latin: Universitas Tociensis
Type Public (National)
Established 1877
President Makoto Gonokami
(五神真)
Academic staff
 2,429 full-time
175 part-time[1]
Administrative staff
 5,779
Students 28,697[2]
Undergraduates 14,274
Postgraduates 13,732
6,022
Other students
 747 research students
Location Tokyo, Japan
Campus Urban
Colors Light Blue     
Athletics 46 varsity teams
Affiliations IARU, APRU, AEARU, AGS, BESETOHA
Website u-tokyo.ac.jp
The site of the establishment of the University of Tokyo
Akamon (the Red Gate).
Yasuda Auditorium on the University of Tokyo's Hongō Campus
Entrance exam results being presented to the public and admitted students celebrating

The University of Tokyo (東京大学 Tōkyō daigaku), abbreviated as Todai (東大 Tōdai),[3] is a research university located in Bunkyo, 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 the first of Japan's National Seven Universities.[4][5] It ranks as the highest in Asia and 21st in the world according to the Academic Ranking of World Universities 2015. The University of Tokyo is widely considered to be the most prestigious university in Japan.[6][7]

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.[8] The books lost included the Hoshino Library (星野文庫 Hoshino bunko), a collection of about 10,000 books.[8][9] 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 thenceforth 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).[10] 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.[11]

On 20 January 2012, Todai announced that it would shift the beginning of its academic year from April to September to align its calendar with the international standard. The shift would be phased in over five years.[12][13]

According to the Japan Times, the university had 1,282 professors in February 2012. Of those, 58 were women.[12]

In the fall of 2012 and for the first time, the University of Tokyo started two undergraduate programs entirely taught in English and geared toward international students — Programs in English at Komaba (PEAK) — the International Program on Japan in East Asia and the International Program on Environmental Sciences.[14][15]

Organization

Faculties

[16]

Graduate schools

[16]

Research institutes

[16]

The University's School of Science and the Earthquake Research Institute are both represented on the national Coordinating Committee for Earthquake Prediction.[17]

Ranking

University rankings
Global
ARWU[18] 21
Times[19] 43
QS[20] 39
Asia
ARWU[18] 1
Times[19] 3
QS (Global version)[21]
QS (Asia version)[22]		 8
12

Campus

Hongo Campus

The main Hongo campus occupies the former estate of the Maeda family, Edo period feudal lords of Kaga Province. One of the university's best known landmarks, 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. The Hongo campus also hosts the University of Tokyo's annual May Festival.[32]

Sanshiro Pond

Sanshiro Pond detail, Tokyo University's Hongō campus.

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.

Shirokanedai Campus

The relatively small Shirokanedai Campus[33] hosts the Institute of Medical Science of the University of Tokyo (IMSUT), which is entirely dedicated to postgraduate studies. The campus is focused on genome research, including among its facilities the Human Genome Center (HGC), which have at its disposal the largest supercomputer in the field.[34]

Notable alumni and faculty members

  1. Kunihiko Kodaira, Mathematics, 1954
  2. Sin-Itiro Tomonaga, Physics, 1965
  3. Yasunari Kawabata, Literature, 1968
  4. Leo Esaki, Physics, 1973
  5. Eisaku Satō, Peace, 1974
  6. Kenzaburō Ōe, Literature, 1994
  7. Masatoshi Koshiba, Physics, 2002
  8. Yoichiro Nambu, Physics, 2008
  9. Ei-ichi Negishi, Chemistry, 2010
  10. Satoshi Ōmura, Medicine, 2015
  11. Takaaki Kajita, Physics, 2015
  1. Toyo Ito
  2. Kenzo Tange
  3. Fumihiko Maki

Nobel prize laureates

Scientists and foreigners

See also

References

  1. ↑ "University of Tokyo [Organization] Number of Students / Personnel". Retrieved 2007-06-14.
  2. ↑ "東京大学 (学生数)学生・研究生・聴講生数". Retrieved 2007-06-14.
  3. ↑ "The Todai-Yale Initiative". Retrieved 12 June 2015.
  4. ↑ The School and the University. University of California Press. 1985. p. 156. ISBN 978-0-520-05423-3.
  5. ↑ Arthritic Japan: the slow pace of economic reform. Brookings Institution Press. 2001. p. 148. ISBN 0-8157-0073-3. |first1= missing |last1= in Authors list (help)
  6. ↑ http://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2013/03/06/national/university-of-tokyo-maintains-reputation-as-top-institution-in-asia-survey/#.ViwYCn6rSUk
  7. ↑ http://www.usnews.com/education/best-global-universities/japan
  8. 1 2 LOST MEMORY - LIBRARIES AND ARCHIVES DESTROYED IN THE TWENTIETH CENTURY (Archived at WebCite)
  9. ↑ 漢籍関係年表. Chinese classics (in Japanese). Tokyo University General Library. Retrieved 5 September 2011.
  10. ↑ 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), ISBN 4-16-367440-3
  11. ↑ 1964 Summer Olympics official report. Volume 2. Part 2. p. 761.
  12. 1 2 Brasor, Philip, "Todai calls for change, but will others follow?", Japan Times, 5 February 2012, p. 9.
  13. ↑ Aoki, Mizuho, "Reform means the world for Todai", Japan Times, 18 February 2012, p. 3.
  14. ↑ "PEAK Programs"
  15. ↑ "The University of Tokyo, PEAK - Programs in English at Komaba - Introduction". Retrieved 12 June 2015.
  16. 1 2 3 "Departments". The University of Tokyo.
  17. ↑ Organizations with ties to CCEP CCEP, accessed 2011-03-19
  18. 1 2 "Academic Ranking of World Universities: Global". Institute of Higher Education, Shanghai Jiao Tong University. 2015. Retrieved August 18, 2015.
  19. 1 2 "World University Rankings 2015-2016". Times Higher Education. 2015. Retrieved October 1, 2015.
  20. ↑ "QS World University Rankings® 2015/16". Quacquarelli Symonds Limited. 2015. Retrieved September 18, 2015.
  21. ↑ "QS World University Rankings® 2015/16 (extracting Asian universities)". Quacquarelli Symonds Limited. 2015. Retrieved September 15, 2015.
  22. ↑ "QS University Rankings: Asia 2015". Quacquarelli Symonds Limited. 2015. Retrieved June 12, 2015.
  23. ↑ name="World University Rankings">"World University Rankings". The Times Higher Educational Supplement. 2013. Retrieved 2013-07-24.
  24. ↑ name="Asia University Rankings Top 100">"Asia University Rankings Top 100". The Times Higher Educational Supplement. 2013. Retrieved 2013-07-24.
  25. ↑ "World University Rankings 2014-15". The Times Higher Education. Retrieved 9 September 2015.
  26. ↑ "QS World University Rankings". Topuniversities. Retrieved 2011-10-01.
  27. ↑ "QS World University Rankings". Topuniversities. Retrieved 2011-10-01.
  28. ↑ "TOP - 100 (Global universities ranking)". Global Universities Ranking. 2009.
  29. ↑ "300 Best World Universities 2010". ChaseCareer Network.
  30. ↑ "International Professional Ranking of Higher Education Institutions". École nationale supérieure des mines de Paris. 2011.
  31. ↑ "Nature Publishing Index: Global Top 50". Nature Publishing Group. 2012.
  32. ↑ 第86期五月祭常任委員会. "トップページ｜東京大学　第86回五月祭". 第86回五月祭公式ウェブページ. Retrieved 12 June 2015.
  33. ↑ http://www.ims.u-tokyo.ac.jp/imswww/About/map0310-e.html
  34. ↑ Human Genome Center, the Institute of Medical Science, the University of Tokyo. "Human Genome Center". Retrieved 12 June 2015.
  35. ↑ "大学別総理大臣リスト List of prime ministers by graduated universities" (in Japanese). 大学ranking.net.
  36. ↑ McGregor, Richard (15 May 2010). "China's Private Party". Wall Street Journal.

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