Tokyo Woman's Christian University
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, often abbreviated to TWCU or , is an independent
Protestant Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that emphasizes Justification (theology), justification of sinners Sola fide, through faith alone, the teaching that Salvation in Christianity, salvation comes by unmerited Grace in Christianity, divin ...
university in
Tokyo Tokyo, officially the Tokyo Metropolis, is the capital of Japan, capital and List of cities in Japan, most populous city in Japan. With a population of over 14 million in the city proper in 2023, it is List of largest cities, one of the most ...
,
Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...
.


Founding

TWCU was established by
Nitobe Inazō was a Japanese agronomist, diplomat, political scientist, politician, and writer. He studied at Sapporo Agricultural College under the influence of its first president William S. Clark and later went to the United States to study agricultural ...
(1862–1933), an author, diplomat and educator, who was appointed as the first president in 1918. The first classes were held in Tsunohazu. In the 1880s, while Nitobe was a student at
Johns Hopkins University The Johns Hopkins University (often abbreviated as Johns Hopkins, Hopkins, or JHU) is a private university, private research university in Baltimore, Maryland, United States. Founded in 1876 based on the European research institution model, J ...
in the United States, he became a member of the
Religious Society of Friends Quakers are people who belong to the Religious Society of Friends, a historically Protestant Christian set of denominations. Members refer to each other as Friends after in the Bible, and originally, others referred to them as Quakers ...
(
Quakers Quakers are people who belong to the Religious Society of Friends, a historically Protestantism, Protestant Christian set of Christian denomination, denominations. Members refer to each other as Friends after in the Bible, and originally ...
). The Quaker philosophy gave him a strong faith that Japanese women should be provided educational opportunities. Together with A.K. Reischauer (father of
Edwin O. Reischauer Edwin Oldfather Reischauer ( ; October 15, 1910 – September 1, 1990) was an American diplomat, educator, and professor at Harvard University. Born in Tokyo to American educational missionaries, he became a leading scholar of the history and cu ...
) and Tetsu Yasui, he was dedicated to the foundation of Tokyo Woman's Christian University.


Campus

The original TWCU campus in Iogi-mura, Toyotama-gun, to which the university moved in 1924, was built in the 1920s and is very significant architecturally. It was designed by
Antonin Raymond Antonin Raymond (or ), born as Antonín Reimann (10 May 1888 – 25 October 1976)"Deaths Elsewhere", ''Miami Herald'', 30 October 1976, p. 10 was a Czech American architect. Raymond was born and studied in Bohemia (now part of the Czech Republic ...
who came to Tokyo with
Frank Lloyd Wright Frank Lloyd Wright Sr. (June 8, 1867 – April 9, 1959) was an American architect, designer, writer, and educator. He designed List of Frank Lloyd Wright works, more than 1,000 structures over a creative period of 70 years. Wright played a key ...
to build the famous Imperial Hotel. The university includes seven registered tangible cultural properties, including the main building. In addition to TWCU's beautiful garden, the campus includes open spaces and a small forest behind the main building. In the forest, there are various plants such as plum trees, cherry trees, dogwood trees and tall pine trees, as well as raccoon dogs and many crows. Although the campus is in an urban area, it is unusually green and spacious. The Nitobe Memorial Room is in the main building. It contains documents and photographs to explain the history and the philosophy of the university. The chapel has colorful stained glass and a pipe organ. In the morning, there is worship every day. The auditorium is used for the entrance ceremony, the university festival and the graduation ceremony. The Reischauer House, in which Dr. A.K. Reischauer lived with his family, is a registered tangible cultural property. It is built in western style architecture and has a romantic atmosphere. Building No. 23 is the most recent building and was completed in 2009. It is the tallest building in the campus. There is a wooden deck and terraces in the building and on a clear day,
Mount Fuji is an active stratovolcano located on the Japanese island of Honshu, with a summit elevation of . It is the highest mountain in Japan, the second-highest volcano on any Asian island (after Mount Kerinci on the Indonesian island of Sumatra), a ...
and
Tokyo Tower , also known as the Japan Radio Tower (, ) is a Radio masts and towers, communications and observation tower in the district of Shiba-koen in Minato, Tokyo, Japan, completed in 1958. At , it was the List of tallest structures in Japan, tallest ...
are visible from the top floor.


Academics

TWCU has one faculty divided into twelve departments in which undergraduates can major. The biggest department was the Department of Literature and Culture in English. This department enrolls approximately 640 students. The smallest is the Department of Philosophy which has about 160 students. In 2018, the departments of the university will undergo restructuring. Department of International English :* Department of International English (the Department of Literature and Culture in English and the Department of Language Science will merge into the new Department of International English) Department of Humanities :* Department of Philosophy :* Department of Japanese Literature :* Department of History and Culture (formerly the Department of History) Department of International Society :* Department of International Relations :* Department of Economics :* Department of Sociology :* Department of Community Planning (newly established department) Department of Psychology and Communication :* Department of Psychology :* Department of Communication Department of Mathematical Science :* Department of Mathematics :* Department of Information Sciences TWCU provides a strong liberal arts education leading to a bachelor's degree. Students can make a curriculum from various fields, not only from their own major. Master's degree programs and doctoral degree programs are offered in the Graduate School.


Notable Alumnae

TWCU is ranked as one of the top women's universities in Japan. Among the famous students and graduates of TWCU are :*
Marie Kondo , also known as , is a Japanese organizing consultant, author, and TV presenter. Kondo has written four books on organizing, which have collectively sold millions of copies around the world. Her books have been translated from Japanese into s ...
(consultant, author) :* Sawako Ariyoshi (writer) :*
Hanae Mori was a Japanese fashion designer. She was one of only two Japanese women to have presented her collections on the runways of Paris and New York, and the first Asian woman to be admitted as an official ''haute couture'' design house by the Féd ...
(fashion designer) :* Jakucho Setouchi (writer) :*
Mikako Tabe is a Japanese actress from Nishitokyo, Tokyo. Starting acting in her teens with a role in the Sailor Moon musicals, she has developed into a lead actress in film and television, playing the heroine in the Asadora ''Tsubasa'', starring in TV ...
(actress) :* Ichiko Ima (manga artist)


International exchanges

The university maintains connections and exchanges with other highly selective universities around the world. :*
Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...
:
University of Wollongong The University of Wollongong (UOW) is an Australian public university, public research university located in the coastal city of Wollongong, New South Wales, approximately south of Sydney. , the university had an enrolment of more than 33,000 s ...
,
Australian Catholic University Australian Catholic University (ACU) is a public university in Australia. It has seven Australian campuses and also maintains a campus in Rome. History Australian Catholic University was opened on 1 January 1991 following the amalgamation ...
,
Flinders University Flinders University, established as The Flinders University of South Australia is a public university, public research university based in Adelaide, South Australia, with a footprint extending across a number of locations in South Australia and ...
:* China - Shanghai International Studies University :* Korea -
Ewha Womans University Ewha Womans University () is a private women's research university in Seoul, South Korea. It was originally founded as Ewha Haktang on May 31, 1886, by missionary Mary F. Scranton. Currently, Ewha Womans University is one of the world's largest f ...
, Sungshin University :* USA - St. Michael's College, Scripps College, California State University, Presbyterian College, Otterbein University :*
Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...
-
McGill University McGill University (French: Université McGill) is an English-language public research university in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Founded in 1821 by royal charter,Frost, Stanley Brice. ''McGill University, Vol. I. For the Advancement of Learning, ...
, Algoma University, University of the Fraser Valley :* UK -
Lancaster University Lancaster University (officially The University of Lancaster) is a collegiate public university, public research university in Lancaster, Lancashire, England. The university was established in 1964 by royal charter, as one of several new univer ...
,
Middlesex University Middlesex University London (legally Middlesex University and abbreviated to MDX) is a public research university based in Hendon, northwest London, England. The university also has campuses in Dubai and Mauritius. The name of the university is ...
,
The University of Edinburgh The University of Edinburgh (, ; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in Post-nominal letters, post-nominals) is a Public university, public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Founded by the City of Edinburgh Council, town council under th ...
,
The University of Leeds The University of Leeds is a public research university in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. It was established in 1874 as the Yorkshire College of Science. In 1884, it merged with the Leeds School of Medicine (established 1831) and was renamed Y ...
,
The University of York The University of York (abbreviated as or ''York'' for Post-nominal letters, post-nominals) is a public Collegiate university, collegiate research university in York, England. Established in 1963, the university has expanded to more than thir ...
:*
Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...
-
Dublin City University Dublin City University (abbreviated as DCU) () is a Third-level education in the Republic of Ireland, university based on the Northside, Dublin, Northside of Dublin, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Created as the ''National Institute for Highe ...
:*
Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...
- Alcalingua, Universidad de Alcalá :*
France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...
- Université Catholique de L'Ouest


English education

Tokyo Woman's Christian University provides a very high standard of English-language education. It offers a “Career English Program” where students take content courses conducted entirely in English and develop high-level critical thinking, debate, writing, speaking, and presentation skills. In addition, weekly English conversation classes are offered at the Career English Island (CEI) with English instructors and students from other universities. Any university member is eligible to participate. Tokyo Woman's Christian University is also one of the regular hosts of the International Theater Company London which comes from London to perform Shakespearean plays in English, directed by MBE Paul Stebbings and brought to Japan by Paula Berwanger. Past performances include
A Midsummer Night's Dream ''A Midsummer Night's Dream'' is a Comedy (drama), comedy play written by William Shakespeare in about 1595 or 1596. The play is set in Athens, and consists of several subplots that revolve around the marriage of Theseus and Hippolyta. One s ...
,
Romeo and Juliet ''The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet'', often shortened to ''Romeo and Juliet'', is a Shakespearean tragedy, tragedy written by William Shakespeare about the romance between two young Italians from feuding families. It was among Shakespeare's ...
and
Twelfth Night ''Twelfth Night, or What You Will'' is a romantic comedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written around 1601–1602 as a Twelfth Night entertainment for the close of the Christmas season. The play centres on the twins Viola an ...
. The 2020 performance of Othello was cancelled due to Covid-19.


Campus festival

Every year the university festival, called "VERA Festival," is held on campus in November. "VERA" comes from the Latin "QUAECUNQUE SUNT VERA." This phrase is engraved on Tokyo Woman's Christian University's main building. It comes from
Paul Paul may refer to: People * Paul (given name), a given name, including a list of people * Paul (surname), a list of people * Paul the Apostle, an apostle who wrote many of the books of the New Testament * Ray Hildebrand, half of the singing duo ...
’s famous letter to the Philippians 4:8: Whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. The VERA festival has a variety of performances by university clubs and many people visit.


University symbol

The university symbol was designed in 1918 by President Dr. Inazo Nitobe. The symbol has two linked “S's" which represent “service and sacrifice” and he took the initial letters of “service and sacrifice” and produced this mark expressing the Christian ethos. He taught that “service and sacrifice,” helping other people, is the best idea to represent the spirit of Christianity. This symbol appears on many kinds of things including stationery sold in the TWCU book store.


University song

During its history TWCU has had two university songs. The first song was composed by Kosaku Yamada. The second song for TWCU was composed by the English poet
Edmund Blunden Edmund Charles Blunden (1 November 1896 – 20 January 1974) was an English poet, author, and critic. Like his friend Siegfried Sassoon, he wrote of his experiences in World War I in both verse and prose. For most of his career, Blunden was als ...
in 1950. The fourth president, Isao Saito, asked Blunden, who was a professor at TWCU and the
University of Tokyo The University of Tokyo (, abbreviated as in Japanese and UTokyo in English) is a public research university in Bunkyō, Tokyo, Japan. Founded in 1877 as the nation's first modern university by the merger of several pre-westernisation era ins ...
, to compose a new university song. This song is based on an old English hymn and is sung in Japanese at the graduation ceremony each year.


References


External links


Tokyo Woman's Christian University
{{authority control Christian universities and colleges in Japan Private universities and colleges in Japan Women's universities and colleges in Japan Universities and colleges established in 1918 Association of Christian Universities and Colleges in Asia 1918 establishments in Japan Universities and colleges in Tokyo Buildings and structures in Suginami