Showa Women's University

The university has undergraduate, graduate, and doctoral programs and five research institutes. It also contains affiliated schools that span from kindergarten to high school. Aside from the main campus in Setagaya, the university has two satellite campuses: Tomei Gakurin in Kanagawa, and Boshu Kaihin Gakuryo in Chiba. The Setagaya campus is home to The British School in Tokyo Showa Campus. according teachings of Leo Tolstoy. The university's education system was inspired by Tolstoy's teaching style at his estate in Yasnaya Polyana. Despite similar names, the university has no affiliation with Showa University or Showa Academia Musicae. == History ==

The university's history can be traced back to the Association of Cultural Exchange (文化懇談会, bunka kōndan-kai), an intelligentsia group founded by poet Enkichi Hitomi (人見圓吉, Hitomi Enkichi, pseudonym: Tōmei Hitomi) that later evolved into Japanese Ladies' Society (日本婦人協会, Shin-fujin kyokai). In September 1920, Enkichi Hitomi and his wife Midori (人見緑, Hitomi Midori) established the Japan Women's School of Higher Education (日本女子高等学院, Nihon Joshi Kōtō Gakuin) in Bunkyō Ward, Tokyo., which later became the university's official motto. The Showa Senior High School (日本女子高等学校, Nihon Joshi Kōtō Gakkō) was established soon after in 1922 as a five-year institution. The university's original buildings were destroyed in a bomb raid during World War II, and the university was moved to its current location in Setagaya Ward, Tokyo, in 1945. The university was renamed to Showa Women's University in 1949. The kindergarten was opened in 1951, and the elementary school was opened in 1953. The International Campus Boston (Showa Boston Institute for Language and Culture) was created in 1988. == Influence of Leo Tolstoy ==

The founding of the university was based on the teachings of Leo Tolstoy, a famous Russian author and thinker. Tolstoy believed that education should be made up of culture, which is the sum of a person's surroundings. and focusing too much on rote memorization of knowledge. and the universal right to free education. In his work Memoirs from a Half-Century at the University (学園の半世紀, Gakuen no Hanseiki), Hitomi Enkichi discussed his impressions of the Tolstoyan education and noted: "How happy it would be if there were such a school that strived for the perfect balance between love and reason." Additionally, the university teaches in seminars, a policy in place since its founding in 1920. This is based on the close-knit cohabitation of teachers and students found at Yasnaya Polyana. which is reflective of Tolstoy's belief that education should be meant to encourage critical thinking skills and self-reliance in students. a descendant of Tolstoy. The exhibit ran from December 8 to December 17, 2018, and was jointly hosted by the university and the Museum of Yasnaya Polyana. == Organisation ==

Undergraduate programs • Faculty of International Humanities • Faculty of Humanities and Culture • Faculty of Food and Health Sciences • Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences • Faculty of Global Business • Faculty of Environmental Science and Design Graduate programs • Letters • Human Life Sciences Others • Research Institutes • Institute of Modern Culture • Institute of Women's Culture • Institute of International Culture • Institute of Psychological Studies • Institute of Women's Health Sciences • Center for General Education • Junior College ==Hitomi Memorial Hall==

Completed in 1980, The Hitomi Kinen Kōdō on the university campus at Setagaya is famous for its great acoustics and has been used for many classical concerts with many famous conductors. Since the opening of Suntory Hall at Akasaka in central Tokyo in October 1986, the number of such prominent concerts have decreased, but it is still sometimes used for concerts open to the public. ==Primary and secondary schools on campus==

University-affiliated • Showa Women's University Junior-Senior High School (昭和女子大学附属昭和中学校・高等学校) • Showa Women's University Primary School (昭和女子大学附属昭和小学校) • Showa Women's University Kindergarten (昭和女子大学附属昭和こども園) British School in Tokyo Showa Campus was established in 2006 == Notable people ==

• Mitsu Dan – actress, model, and writer • Keiko Fukuda – highest-ranked female judoka in history • Satoko Kitahara – Catholic saint (The Venerable) • Emi Machida – master sake brewer (toji) • Yui Ogura – voice actress (graduated in 2018) • Junko Tabei – first woman to reach the summit of Mount Everest • Yuko Nagayama - architect and professor ==References==