University of Tokyo

The University of Tokyo (東京大学), abbreviated as Todai (東大), is one of the leading research universities in Japan.

The University has 10 faculties with a total of around 30,000 students, some 2,100 of them foreign. Its five campuses are in Hongō, Komaba, Kashiwa, Shirokane and Nakano.

History
The university was founded 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)" in 1886, and then Tokyo Imperial University (東京帝國大學) in 1887 when the Imperial University system was created. In 1947, after Japan's defeat in World War II, it assumed the original name again. 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 henceforth 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.

The University of Tokyo has since 2004 been incorporated as a "national university corporation" under a new law which applies to all national universities.

While nearly all academic disciplines are taught at the University, it is perhaps best known for its faculties of science, law, and literature (i.e., faculty of letters).

Furthermore, the law department has produced many Japanese politicians, though the power of the department has been gradually decreasing. For example; the ratio of its alumni in prime ministers is 2/3, 1/2, 1/4, 1/5 and 1/6 in the 1950s, 60s, 70s, 80s and 90s respectively.

The University of Tokyo is widely thought of as being one of the most prestigious schools over many areas while its rival schools are the other six of the Seven Universities, which were Imperial Universities before World War II, especially Kyoto University. In science, Kyoto University has produced more Nobel prize winners. One of the presidents of Tokyo Imperial University was Kikuchi Dairoku.

Faculties



 * Law
 * Medicine
 * Engineering
 * Letters
 * Science
 * Agriculture
 * Economics
 * Arts and Sciences
 * Education
 * Pharmaceutical Sciences

Graduate schools

 * Humanities and Sociology
 * Education
 * Law and Politics
 * Economics
 * Arts and Sciences
 * Science
 * Engineering
 * Agricultural and Life Sciences
 * Medicine
 * Pharmaceutical Sciences
 * Mathematical Sciences
 * Frontier Sciences
 * Information Science and Technology
 * Interdisciplinary Information Studies
 * Public Policy

Research institutes

 * Institute of Medical Science
 * Earthquake Research Institute
 * Institute of Oriental Culture
 * Institute of Social Science
 * Institute of Industrial Science
 * Historiographical Institute
 * Institute of Molecular and Cellular Biosciences
 * Institute for Cosmic Ray Research
 * Institute for Solid State Physics
 * Ocean Research Institute
 * Research Center for Advanced Science and Technology

Academic rankings
In the 2006 THES - QS World University Rankings, the University was placed 19th in the world and 2nd in Asia.

The 2005 "ARWU" rankings, drawn up by Shanghai Jiao Tong University placed the University of Tokyo first in the Asia Pacific region in terms of quality of scientific research leading towards a Nobel Prize.

Campus
The main Hongo campus occupies the former estate of the Maeda family, Edo period feudal lords of Kaga Province. The university's best known landmark, Akamon (the Red Gate) is a relic of this era. The symbol of the university is the ginkgo leaf, from the abundant trees throughout the area.

Sanshiro Pond


Sanshiro Pond (三四郎池), in the heart of the 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. As Maeda Tsunanori further developed the garden, it became known as one of the most beautiful gardens in Edo (now Tokyo), with the traditional eight landscapes and eight borders, but also known for its originality in its 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. However it has been commonly called Sanshiro Pond since the publication of Natsume Sōseki's novel Sanshiro.

Notable alumni and faculty members
University of Tokyo has produced many notable people. Six Japanese Prime Ministers have studied at University of Tokyo.