History and Development

Our Approach to Education

Tradition and Beyond

2015 marks the 110th anniversary since the founding of Aichi Shukutoku Gakuen and the 40th anniversary since the establishment of Aichi Shukutoku University.

Aichi Shukutoku Gakuen stood at the dawn of women’s education in Japan when it was founded in 1905, serving as a major progressive step forward as the first private girls’ high school in Aichi Prefecture. In contrast to Meiji Period trends where girls’ education focused mainly on household duties and sewing, the school’s founder, Professor Seisaku Kobayashi, made English and science compulsory subjects and actively encouraged participation in sports as he saw the way forward. The school continued to put into practice an advanced educational outlook distinct from that of other girls’ schools by introducing a Western-style uniform, implementing school trips, and building a foundation for a new form of girls’ education in other ways. The educational goal of the time was to be represented in the words “fostering talent to bloom decades from now,” and this has created a firm basis for the school’s achievements right up to the current day.

As Japan’s education system changed greatly following the war, the school continued to respond to the changes of the times and meet the needs of a diversifying society, opening the Aichi Shukutoku University in 1975. In the university’s 20th year in 1995, as society moved toward a period where “living together in harmony” was a major issue, the university introduced a co-educational format and expanded to encompass multiple academic disciplines. To carry on the school’s educational objectives held since its founding, and to achieve them in a more concrete and realistic manner amidst these changes, a principle of “living with diversity” was born. This principle was further expanded upon in the form of three specific themes, “rooted in the community, open to the world,” “that which is useful and that which is unchanging,” and “strength and compassion.” This philosophy is reflected in the establishment of a gender/women’s studies research center, foreign language education and international exchanges, the enrichment of computer-related qualification and other qualification training and hands-on education such as volunteer activities, in addition to the establishment of a barrier-free campus as well as a wide range of other educational systems and educational practices. As suggested in its slogan of “tradition and beyond,” Aichi Shukutoku University acknowledges differences in nationality, language, culture, age, and the presence or otherwise of disabilities within its stance as a university continually evolving forwards, and strives to constantly act as a university fit for a new age – one that continues to seek ways of living with all other life.

Timeline

1905	Aichi Shukutoku School for Girls opens
1961	Aichi Shukutoku Junior College opens
1975	Aichi Shukutoku University opens. Establishes the Faculty of Letters, Department of Japanese Language and Literature, Department of English Language and Literature
1985	Establishes the Faculty of Letters, Department of Library and Information Science
1989	Establishes the Aichi Shukutoku University, Graduate School
1991	Establishes the Faculty of Letters, Department of Communication Studies
1995	Establishes the Faculty of Studies on Contemporary Society. Makes the transition to a co-educational system.
2000	Establishes the Faculty of Communication Studies, and Faculty of Creativity and Culture
2004	Establishes the Faculty of Business, and Faculty of Medical Welfare
2007	Establishes the Faculty of Letters, Department of Education
2010	Reorganizes Aichi Shukutoku University faculties Establishes the Faculty of Human Informatics, Department of Human Informatics Title of Department of Communication Psychology of the Faculty of Communication is changed to Department of Psychology of the Faculty of Psychology Establishes the Faculty of Media Theories and Production, Department of Media Theories and Production Establishes the Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, Department of Medical Sciences, and the Department of Sports and Health Sciences Establishes the Faculty of Human Services, Department of Social Services Establishes the Faculty of Global Culture and Communication, Department of Global Culture and Communication
2013	The Aichi Shukutoku University Graduate School is reorganized
2015	110th anniversary of the school’s founding, 40th anniversary of the establishment of the university
2016	Establishes the Faculty of Global Culture and Communication, Global Culture and Communication Faculty of Media Theories and Production renamed to the Faculty of Creation and Representation
2017	Establishment of the Department of Health and Nutritional Sciences, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, Aichi Shukutoku University