is a

private university Private universities and private colleges are institutions of higher education, not operated, owned, or institutionally funded by governments. They may (and often do) receive from governments tax breaks, public student loans, and grant (money ...

Sendai is the capital Cities of Japan, city of Miyagi Prefecture, the largest city in the Tōhoku region. , the city had a population of 1,091,407 in 525,828 households, and is one of Japan's 20 Cities designated by government ordinance of Japan, desig ...

, Japan. It was founded under a Christian background (specifically the

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) ** Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ge ...

Reformed Church Calvinism (also called the Reformed Tradition, Reformed Protestantism, Reformed Christianity, or simply Reformed) is a major branch of Protestantism that follows the theological tradition and forms of Christian practice set down by John Cal ...

, which later was known as the

Reformed Church in the United States The Reformed Church in the United States (RCUS) is a Protestant Christian denomination in the United States. The present RCUS is a conservative, Calvinist denomination. It affirms the principles of the Reformation: ''Sola scriptura'' (Scriptur ...

. A large part of the Reformed Church in the United States subsequently merged into what is today known as the

United Church of Christ The United Church of Christ (UCC) is a mainline Protestant Christian denomination based in the United States, with historical and confessional roots in the Congregational, Calvinist, Lutheran, and Anabaptist traditions, and with approximately 4 ...

in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

Times Higher Education ''Times Higher Education'' (''THE''), formerly ''The Times Higher Education Supplement'' (''The Thes''), is a British magazine reporting specifically on news and issues related to higher education. Ownership TPG Capital acquired TSL Education ...

places Tohoku Gakuin University in the 150+ bracket in its ranking of Japan's 200 best universities.

History

The university was founded in 1886 ( Meiji 19) as Sendai Theological Seminary by Oshikawa Masayoshi(1850–1928), one of Japan's first

Protestants Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century against what its followers perceived to b ...

, and Protestant missionary

William Edwin Hoy William Edwin Hoy (June 4, 1858 – March 3, 1927) was a Protestant missionary and educator in Japan and China. Early life and education William Edwin Hoy was born near Mifflinburg, Pennsylvania and graduated Franklin and Marshall College in 18 ...

. Oshikawa, an ex-

samurai were the hereditary military nobility and officer caste of medieval and early-modern Japan from the late 12th century until their abolition in 1876. They were the well-paid retainers of the '' daimyo'' (the great feudal landholders). They h ...

Matsuyama file:Matsuyama city office Ehime prefecture Japan.jpg, 270px, Matsuyama City Hall file:Ehimekencho-20040417.JPG, 270px, Ehime Prefectural Capital Building is the capital Cities of Japan, city of Ehime Prefecture on the island of Shikoku in Japan ...

became the seminary's first president. In 1891, the school was renamed and a course for non-Christian students was added. The first president Oshikawa resigned in 1901 and was succeeded by

David Bowman Schneder David Bowman Schneder (March 23, 1857 – October 5, 1938) was an American missionary educator in Japan. Early life and education Schneder, was born in Bowmansville, Pennsylvania, and graduated from Franklin and Marshall College in 1880. He gra ...

(1857–1938). In 1904, college courses were added and authorized by the Specialized School Order. The college at first had two Departments:

Letters Letter, letters, or literature may refer to: Characters typeface * Letter (alphabet), a character representing one or more of the sounds used in speech; any of the symbols of an alphabet. * Letterform, the graphic form of a letter of the alphabe ...

Theology Theology is the systematic study of the nature of the divine and, more broadly, of religious belief. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of analyzing the ...

. In 1918, Normal School and the Department of

Commerce Commerce is the large-scale organized system of activities, functions, procedures and institutions directly and indirectly related to the exchange (buying and selling) of goods and services among two or more parties within local, regional, nation ...

were added. In 1926, the main building (still used today) was built in Tsuchitoi Campus. Schneder left the college due to age, but even in his last days he had strong faith and gave the sermon titled ''"I am not ashamed of the gospel"'' (1936, the 50th anniversary of the school). During

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, the college was virtually forced to stop functioning and was established instead (1944–1947). After the war, the college was reorganized (under Japan's new educational system) into Tohoku Gakuin University in 1949.

Faculties (Undergraduate schools)

(in Tsuchitoi Campus, Aoba-ku, Sendai) *

Economics Economics () is the social science that studies the Production (economics), production, distribution (economics), distribution, and Consumption (economics), consumption of goods and services. Economics focuses on the behaviour and intera ...

(in Tsuchitoi Campus) *

Business Administration Business administration, also known as business management, is the administration of a commercial enterprise. It includes all aspects of overseeing and supervising the business operations of an organization. From the point of view of management ...

(in Tsuchitoi Campus) *

Law Law is a set of rules that are created and are enforceable by social or governmental institutions to regulate behavior,Robertson, ''Crimes against humanity'', 90. with its precise definition a matter of longstanding debate. It has been vario ...

(in Tsuchitoi Campus) *

Engineering Engineering is the use of scientific method, scientific principles to design and build machines, structures, and other items, including bridges, tunnels, roads, vehicles, and buildings. The discipline of engineering encompasses a broad rang ...

(in Tagajo Campus) *

Liberal Arts Liberal arts education (from Latin "free" and "art or principled practice") is the traditional academic course in Western higher education. ''Liberal arts'' takes the term ''art'' in the sense of a learned skill rather than specifically the ...

(in Izumi Campus, Izumi-ku, Sendai)

Graduate schools

*Letters *Economics *Business Administration *Law (including Law School) *Engineering *

Human Informatics Humans (''Homo sapiens'') are the most abundant and widespread species of primate, characterized by bipedalism and exceptional cognitive skills due to a large and complex brain. This has enabled the development of advanced tools, culture, an ...

(in Izumi Campus)

Notable alumni

* Tōru Doi (Member of the

lower house A lower house is one of two Debate chamber, chambers of a Bicameralism, bicameral legislature, the other chamber being the upper house. Despite its official position "below" the upper house, in many legislatures worldwide, the lower house has co ...

) *

Takayuki Kishi Takayuki Kishi ( ja, 岸孝之, born December 4, 1984, in Taihaku-ku, Sendai) is a Japanese professional baseball player for the Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles of the Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB). He previously played for the Saitama Seibu Li ...

(Professional baseball player) *

Takeshi Koike (born January 26, 1968) is a Japanese animator, illustrator and film director. Something of a protégée of Yoshiaki Kawajiri, he was also influenced by Yoshinori Kanada, Frank Miller, Mike Mignola, and Katsuhito Ishii. He went straight fr ...

(Announcer for

Aomori Broadcasting Corporation Aomori Broadcasting Corporation (RAB, 青森放送株式会社, ''Aomori Hōsō Kabushiki Gaisha'') is a television and radio broadcaster in Aomori, Japan. It is affiliated with Japan Radio Network (JRN), National Radio Network (NRN), Nip ...

) * Kazuko Kōri (Member of the lower house) * Takeo Mabashi (Basketball coach) *

Masashi Nakano is a Japanese politician and former Secretary-General of the Party for Japanese Kokoro. A native of Shiogama, Miyagi and graduate of Tohoku Gakuin University, he was first elected to the assembly of Miyagi Prefecture in 1983. During his second ...

(Member of the lower house,

Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry The or METI, is a ministry of the Government of Japan. It was created by the 2001 Central Government Reform when the Ministry of International Trade and Industry (MITI) merged with agencies from other ministries related to economic activities, ...

cabinet minister) *

Shunrō Oshikawa was a Japanese author, journalist and editor, best known as a pioneer of science fiction. Education and early career While studying law at Tōkyō Senmon Gakkō (present day Waseda University) at the turn of the century, Oshikawa published ''Kai ...

(Science fiction author) *

Norio Sasaki is a Japanese football coach and former player who is currently the general manager of Omiya Ardija Ventus. He is best known for leading the Japan women's national team to their first and only FIFA Women's World Cup win in 2011 over the Uni ...

(Composer) * Kyōka Suzuki (Actress) *

Kenichi Takahashi is a male long-distance runner from Japan. Born in Kazuno, Akita, he set his personal best (2:10:51) in the men's marathon event on February 18, 2001, winning the Tokyo International Marathon The Tokyo International Marathon was a marathon fo ...

(Professional basketball player) * Yūji Takahashi (Announcer for Iwate Menkoi Television) *

Kōichi Yamadera is a Japanese actor, voice actor, narrator and singer from Shiogama, Miyagi Prefecture. He graduated from Tohoku Gakuin University's economics school and is currently affiliated with Across Entertainment. Before that, he was affiliated with th ...

(

voice actor Voice acting is the art of performing voice-overs to present a character or provide information to an audience. Performers are called voice actors/actresses, voice artists, dubbing artists, voice talent, voice-over artists, or voice-over talent ...

and actor)

References

External links

Official Website
{{authority control Buildings and structures in Sendai Christian universities and colleges in Japan Private universities and colleges in Japan Universities and colleges in Miyagi Prefecture Educational institutions established in 1886 1886 establishments in Japan Tohoku Gakuin University