About Komaba
History
History of the College and Graduate School
Clock Tower, Bldg. 1
The Komaba Campus of the University of Tokyo is comprised of 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. What is now the College of Arts and Sciences was founded on May 31, 1949, when the new University of Tokyo started under the present system. Unlike general education sections in other national universities all over Japan, the College was established as an autonomous institution from the very beginning. In addition to its role in educating first-and second-year undergraduate students in the Junior Division, the College established its own Senior Division for third-and fourth-year students and, later, the Graduate School. The guiding spirits behind this special independence were the late Tadao Yanaihara, the first Dean of the College, and his colleagues, who believed in an integrated approach to learning and in "fostering the spirit of a life-long quest for truth", whereby "unbiased individuals with all-round knowledge" would be trained.
The Senior Division duly commenced in 1951 with the inauguration of the Department of Liberal Arts. The aim was to introduce new interdisciplinary approaches to the academic convention of compartmentalized specialties, a challenge which has been met by the practice of the Department in its education and research. The Department of Basic Sciences was established in 1962 in order to offer advanced courses in the fundamentals of natural sciences. Expanding steadily, the Department of Liberal Arts was reorganized into three sections in 1977. The Department of Basic Sciences was also restructured in 1981, with one section specializing in Pure and Applied Sciences and the other in Natural and Artificial Systems.
Turning to graduate provision, some parts of the University's graduate programs have in fact been provided at the Komaba Campus ever since the College produced its first graduates. In 1983, however, the College instituted its own Graduate Division of International and Interdisciplinary Studies. This comprised four programs: Comparative Literature and Culture, Area Studies, International Relations, and Social Relations. Three more programs, Cultural Anthropology, Multi-Disciplinary Sciences, and Culture and Representation were later added.
One important development in recent years has thus been a change in the College's emphasis from undergraduate to graduate education. This increased commitment to advanced contemporary research obviously involves major decisions at graduate school level about the allocation of both personnel and budgetary resources. All faculty members, for example, are now affiliated with the Graduate Division, while remaining fully responsible for undergraduate education. The new focus on graduate education within the College is a reflection of changing circumstances in higher education in Japan today: a higher percentage of high school graduates entering college, a consequent need for more specialized postgraduate education to serve both college-age students and those already in professional careers, and an increasing social responsibility in graduate education to provide new intellectual paradigms to deal with a rapidly changing world. In specific institutional terms, this reinforcement of graduate research and educational capabilities entails not only full-scale reassignment of faculty members and a redesigned curricular structure, but also an expanded recruitment base for prospective students, and government approval and funding from the Ministry of Education.
The next phase of restructuring began with the creation of Language and Information Sciences (1993). In 1994-95, Multi-Disciplinary Sciences was expanded to embrace Life Sciences, Basic Science, and General Systems Studies. In 1996 the existing six programs in Humanities and Social Sciences were reorganized into the three sections of Interdisciplinary Cultural Studies, Area Studies, and Advanced Social and International Studies, thus completing the restructuring of the College's graduate division (renamed the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences in 1996).
The Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, with these newly restructured programs, has been successful in fostering the intellectual initiative of students, thereby providing them with insights into the latest trends in learning and with the ability to cross disciplinary boundaries in fruitful ways. The Ministry of Education has duly acknowledged our educational and research achievements and has adopted a number of our "Center-of-Excellence" (COE) projects: "The University of Tokyo Center for Philosophy" (in 2002 and 2007), the "Research Center for Integrated Science" (2002), and the "Center for Evolutionary Cognitive Science" (2003).
In 1992, the Graduate School of Mathematical Sciences was established at the Komaba Campus as an independent institution.
Tadao YANAIHARA
However, nearly half of the members of the faculty of this division are also responsible for teaching courses in the Junior Division and its representatives attend the faculty meeting of the College of Arts and Sciences.
A number of special research and teaching facilities are also located on the Komaba Campus. The Komaba Branch of the Educational Computer Center, originally opened in 1987, was reorganized into the Information Technology Center in 1999. The institute originally established as the Center for American Studies in 1967 and reorganized into the Center for Pacific and American Studies in 2000 has now become the core component of the new Institute for Advanced Global Studies, which was opened in April 2010. The Komaba Organization for Educational Development (KOMED), which was established in 2005, merged with the Center for Structuring Life Sciences to become the Komaba Organization for Educational Excellence in April 2010.
The history of the Komaba Campus has therefore been one of growth. When it started in 1949, the Junior Division had two sections each for human sciences and natural sciences. Currently there are three sections for each branch, and the total enrollment in the Junior Division is 6,570, double what it was in 1949. There are 428 students in the Senior Division, and 1,357 (master's and doctoral) in the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences. The official members of faculty, including professors, associate professors, and full-time lecturers, numbered 278 as of May 1, 2010, which is about three and a half times as many as in the first year of the College's existence.
History of the Campus
The Komaba Campus has a long and intriguing history. The campus and its environs were formerly called the Komaba Meadows, the whole area having been set aside as hunting grounds for the Tokugawa family from the time of the eighth Shogun Yoshimune (early 18th century). According to tradition, the estate included a medicinal herb garden as well. The Meadows covered 50 hectares of land, extending over what is now Komaba Park. There is still a small spring in the campus, reminding us of the way ancient Musashino must have looked.
In 1878, against the background of the Meiji Restoration, the Komaba School of Agriculture was established at the northwestern corner of the grounds, where the College now stands. This School was eventually incorporated into the Tokyo Imperial University, the predecessor of the University of Tokyo, as the Faculty of Agriculture in 1890. Some of the buildings of the school were destroyed by fire during World War II, and the others were all demolished later.
In 1935 the Faculty of Agriculture was transferred to grounds adjacent to the Hongo Campus, and its place was assumed by the Dai-ichi Koto Gakko, the preeminent three-year preparatory college for admission into Imperial Universities. At about the same time, new buildings were constructed at Komaba, following the architectural styles used for the Hongo Campus. When the Dai-ichi Koto Gakko was incorporated into the postwar University of Tokyo, the Komaba Campus finally became the seat of the University's College of General Education, which was later renamed the College of Arts and Sciences.
The College thus began its life with what was left of the war-damaged buildings of the Dai-ichi Koto Gakko and some temporary structures built after World War II. In addition to renovating these buildings, the College also made great efforts to restore and expand the campus gardens. This is one of the reasons why the Komaba Campus boasts so many old trees, including some very rare ones. Many of the famous cherry trees on the campus, including those adorning the edges of the Rugby Field, were planted after the war. Since 1980, new construction projects have been undertaken, changing the face of the western part of the campus. Recently, with the construction of Campus Plaza and Komaba Communication Plaza in the eastern part of the campus, the whole of Komaba is developing a new image.
Timeline
| May 1949 | College of General Education (Kyoyo Gakubu) established by amalgamating Dai-ichi Koto Gakko and Tokyo Koto Gakko, to form part of the University of Tokyo (formerly Tokyo Imperial University) under the new National University Establishment Law. |
| July 1949 | First matriculation of students at the College of General Education (1,804 entered including 9 women). |
| March 1950 | Dai-ichi Koto Gakko abolished. |
| March 1951 | Tokyo Koto Gakko abolished. |
| April 1951 | Department of Liberal Arts (Kyoyo Gakka) established in the College. |
| June 1952 | Students' Clinic opened. |
| March 1953 | Graduation of the first class of students of the University under the new system, including 51 Bachelors of Liberal Arts, from the College. |
| April 1953 | Student Counseling Center opened. |
| April 1962 | Department of Basic Sciences (Kiso Kagakuka) established in the Senior Division of the College. |
| April 1964 | Komaba Department of the Administration Bureau created (General Affairs, Academic Affairs, and Student Affairs Divisions). |
| July 1965 | "Komaba-Todai-Mae" station on the Inokashira Line inaugurated, replacing "Komaba" and "Todai-Mae" stations. |
| January 1967 | Students' Clinic reorganized as the Komaba Branch of the newly-established Health Service Center of the University. |
| June 1967 | The Center for American Studies established. |
| April 1975 | Library Division established. |
| April 1977 | Reorganization of the Department of Liberal Arts. |
| July 1979 | 30th anniversary of the establishment of the College celebrated. College of General Education: The First Thirty Years published. |
| April 1981 | Reorganization of the Department of Basic Sciences. Finance Division established. |
| April 1983 | Graduate Division of International and Interdisciplinary Studies (Sogo Bunka Kenkyuka) established in the College. College of General Education renamed College of Arts and Sciences. |
| April 1987 | Komaba Branch of the Educational Computer Center opened. |
| July 1989 | 40th anniversary of the establishment of the College celebrated. College of Arts and Sciences: The First Forty Years published. |
| October 1989 | Academic Guidance Center opened. |
| April 1992 | Graduate School of Mathematical Sciences established. |
| April 1993 | Graduate Department of Language and Information Sciences established. New curriculum for the Junior Division of the College implemented. |
| June 1993 | Mitaka International Hall of Residence opened (Komaba Student Dormitory abolished). |
| April 1994 | Graduate Department of Multi-Disciplinary Sciences-Life Sciences established. Reorganization of Graduate Department of Multi-Disciplinary Sciences-Basic Science, and Department of Multi-Disciplinary Sciences-General Systems Studies begun. |
| April 1995 | Graduate Departments of Multi-Disciplinary Sciences-Basic Science, and Multi-Disciplinary Sciences-General Systems Studies restructured. |
| February 1996 | Graduate Division of International and Interdisciplinary Studies renamed Graduate School of Arts and Sciences. |
| April 1996 | Graduate Programs of Comparative Literature and Culture, Cultural Anthropology, and Culture and Representation integrated and restructured as Interdisciplinary Cultural Studies. Graduate Programs of Social Relations and International Relations integrated and restructured as Advanced Social and International Studies. Graduate Program of Area Studies restructured into a department. (Restructuring of the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences completed.) Undergraduate (Senior) Department of Liberal Arts reorganized into Department of Interdisciplinary Cultural Studies, Department of Area Studies, and Department of Social and International Relations. Department of Basic Sciences reorganized into Department of Basic Science, Department of General Systems Studies, and Department of Life and Cognitive Sciences. |
| April 1999 | Komaba Branch of the Educational Computer Center reorganized into the Information Technology Center. |
| April 2000 | Center for American Studies reorganized into the Center for Pacific and American Studies. |
| November 2000 | College of Arts and Sciences 50th Anniversary Symposium : "Exploring the Role of the University in the 21st Century." |
| December 2001 | Fifty Years of Komaba, 1949-2000 published. |
| October 2002 | Opening of the new Komaba Library. |
| April 2004 | The University of Tokyo reorganized as an incorporated national university. |
| April 2005 | Komaba Organization for Educational Development established. |
| April 2006 | New curriculum for the Junior Division of the College implemented. The North Building of Komaba Communication Plaza opened. |
| July 2006 | Administration offices restructured. |
| December 2006 | The whole complex of Komaba Communication Plaza opened. |
| March-October 2009 |
Commemoration of the 60th anniversary of the establishment of the College of Arts and Sciences. |
| April 2010 | Komaba Organization for Educational Excellence and Institute for Advanced Global Studies established. |
Deans past and present
DEANS Tadao YANAIHARA (May 31, 1949-December 13, 1951)
Isoji ASO (Acting, December 14, 1951-December 20, 1951)
Isoji ASO (December 21, 1951-December 21, 1952)
Teiji TAKAGI (December 22, 1952-March 30, 1954)
Naoshiro TSUJI (March 31, 1954-March 31, 1958)
Atsushi KAWAGUCHI (April 1, 1958-March 31, 1960)
Natsuo SHUMUTA (April 1, 1960-March 31, 1963)
Shigeru AIHARA (April 1, 1963-March 31, 1966)
Akio ABE (April 1, 1966-March 31, 1968)
Mokichiro NOGAMI (April 1, 1968-November 13, 1968)
Jiro TAMURA (November 14, 1968-February 13, 1969)
Sachio TAKAGI (Acting, February 14, 1969-February 19, 1969)
Tadashi TAKAHASHI (February 20, 1969-May 25, 1969)
Tasuku HARA (May 26, 1969-March 31, 1971)
Hajime YAMASHITA (April 1, 1971-March 13, 1972)
Sachio TAKAGI (March 14, 1972-March 13, 1974)
Hiroshi KOYAMA (March 14, 1974-March 13, 1976)
Shozo OMORI (March 14, 1976-December 31, 1977)
Motoo KAJI (January 1, 1978-December 31, 1979)
Hiroshi ISODA (January 1, 1980-December 31, 1981)
Nagayo HONMA (January 1, 1982-December 31, 1983)
Shoichiro KOIDE (January 1, 1984-January 9, 1985)
Hideo MOHRI (Acting, January 10, 1985-February 15, 1985)
Akira TAKEDA (February 16, 1985-February 15, 1987)
Hideo MOHRI (February 16, 1987-February 15, 1989)
Koichi AOYAGI (February 16, 1989-February 15, 1991)
Yoshiya HARADA (February 16, 1991-February 15, 1993)
Shigehiko HASUMI (February 16, 1993-February 15, 1995)
Munetake ICHIMURA (February 16, 1995-February 15, 1997)
Wataru OMORI (February 16, 1997-February 15, 1999)
Setsuro ASANO (February 16, 1999-February 15, 2001)
Motoo FURUTA (February 16, 2001-February 15, 2003)
Makoto ASASHIMA (February 16, 2003-February 15, 2005)
Yoichi KIBATA (February 16, 2005-February 15, 2007)
Norimichi KOJIMA (February 16, 2007-February 15, 2009)
Susumu YAMAKAGE (February 16, 2009-present)
