One of Japan’s most well-regarded universities, Waseda is a private tertiary institution located in Tokyo’s Shinjuku area. Its alumni include seven Japanese Prime Ministers, and its students are distinguished by their trademark Waseda academic cap.
In addition to its main campus of Nishi-Waseda in Shinjuku, the university also has campuses in Toyama, Nihonbashi, Higashifushimi, Tokorozawa, Honjō and Kitakyūshū. Its undergraduate schools include those of Political Science and Economics, Law, Business, Humanities and Social Sciences, Education, International Liberal Studies, and Advanced Science and Engineering, in addition to graduate schools of Japanese Applied Linguistics, Asia-Pacific Studies, Journalism, Environment and Energy Engineering. The Ōkuma Memorial Hall, designed by architect SatōKōichi, is one of the university’s most iconic buildings, constructed as a tribute to its founder. The adjacent seven-story clock tower was specifically built with a height of 37 metres to represent his theory surrounding a “life of 125 years”. The nearby Ōkuma Garden blends both Japanese and Western landscaping within the former mansion of Edo period feudal landlord Matsudaira Sanuki and now functions as a recreational space for students. The Old Library is another of the university’s symbols, originally designed in 1925 and now housing the Takata Sanae Memorial Research Library, the University Archives and the Aizu Yaichi Museum. The library is renowned not only for its pre-war Japanese history and literature, having survived the World War II bombing of Tokyo, but also the world’s largest hand-made washi Japanese paper whose “Meian” masterpiece was painted by Yokoyama Taikan and Shimomura Kanzan. Waseda University is also home to the Tsubouchi Memorial Theatre Museum which illustrates the history of drama and serves as an important cultural performance space in Tokyo.
The main campus is served by the Waseda tram stop to its north, as well as by the Tokyo Metro Tozai subway line which runs along its western edge. The campus itself can easily be explored on foot, with cafes, restaurants and supermarkets scattered around its faculty buildings.
Waseda University was first established in 1882 as Tōkyō Senmon Gakkō by samurai scholar and politician Ōkuma Shigenobu. It changed its name to Waseda University in 1902 after the founder’s hometown Waseda Village, but it was not until 1920 that the Japanese Government formally recognised its university status.