Masayoshi Oshikawa, cofounder of the UniversityWilliam Edwin Hoy, cofounder of the UniversitySeminarians in Sendai, 1888; Schneder is fourth from left
Founding
The university was founded in 1886 (Meiji 19) as Sendai Theological Seminary by Oshikawa Masayoshi (1850–1928), one of Japan's first Protestants, and Protestant missionary William Edwin Hoy.[1][2] Oshikawa, an ex-samurai in Matsuyama became the seminary's first president.[3] In 1891, the school was renamed Tohoku Gakuin (東北學院, Tōhoku gakuin) and a course for non-Christian students was added.[4]
Pre-war development and wartime
The first president Oshikawa resigned in 1901 and was succeeded by David Bowman Schneder (1857–1938).[3] In 1904, college courses were added and authorized by the Specialized School Order. The college at first had two Departments: Letters, Theology.[3] In 1918, Normal School and the Department of Commerce were added.[3] In 1926, the main building (still used today) was built in Tsuchitoi Campus.[5] Schneder left the college due to age, but even in his last days he had strong faith and gave the sermon titled "I am not ashamed of the gospel" (1936, the 50th anniversary of the school).[3]
During World War II, the college was virtually forced to stop functioning and Tohoku Gakuin College of Aeronautical Engineering (東北學院航空工業專門學校, Tōhoku gakuin kōkū kōgyō senmon gakkō) was established instead (1944–1947).[6]Due to the Sendai air-raid on July 10, 1945, the college lost the buildings of old Sendai Theological Seminary and normal school.[7]
Department of Theology,Tohoku Gakuin College (Old Sendai Theological Seminary)
Recitation Hall, Tohoku Gakuin Normal School in 1905
Main Building, Tohoku Gakuin College in 1926
Post-war growth
After the war, following education reforms in Japan, it was reorganized to the status of a university and established Faculty of Letters and Economics in 1949.[3] During the 1960s, Tohoku Gakuin University grew into a comprehensive university with 4 faculties and graduate school. In 1962, Faculty of Engineering opened on Tagajo campus, where was used for a United States Army base, Camp Loper from 1945 to 1954.[3] In 1964, Faculty of Letters and Economics was divided into Faculty and Letters and Faculty of Economics. Faculty of Law was established in 1965.[3] During the 1980s, the university expanded its campus in the suburb of Sendai City. In 1988, Izumi campus opened in the northern part of Sendai City, and established Faculty of Liberal Arts.[3]
21st century
However, during the 2000s, the university changed the development policy to bring the facilities at outer campuses back to Tsuchitoi main campus. In 2023, Itsutsubashi campus opened near Tsuchitoi campus and Tagajo campus was abolished. At the same time, instead of Faculty of Liberal Arts, four faculties including Faculty of Regional Studies, Faculty of Informatics, Faculty of Human Sciences and Faculty of International Studies were established.
Campus
The university operates across three campuses: Tsuchitoi Campus, Itsutsubashi Campus in central Sendai, and Izumi Campus in northern Sendai, but Izumi Campus is now used only for athletic fields. Sendai, which is 1.5 hours away from Tokyo by Tōhoku Shinkansen, is the capital city with 1.1 million residents in Tohoku region, northern Japan.[8] Two campuses are located close to each other and in only a 15-minute walk from Sendai Station.[8]
On campus, students are encouraged to participate in extracurricular cultural and athletic clubs or circles, of which there are around 200. Sports clubs range from judo to skiing, and cultural clubs cover a wide range of other interests, from choirs to esports. All official clubs are organized under the Student General Committee (Gakusei-kai).
Cultural activities
There are over 150 cultural clubs at Tohoku Gakuin University including both official and unofficial ones. Official clubs are organized under the Association of Cultural Clubs (Bunka Dantai Rengo-kai).
Athletics
41 sports clubs are active under Tohoku Gakuin Athlete Association (TGAA, Taiku-kai), which was founded in 1918. Tohoku Gakuin University – Hokkai Gakuen University Inter-University Athletic Tournament (since 1950), and Tohoku Gakuin University – Aoyama Gakuin University Inter-University Athletic Tournament (since 1955) have been held to strengthen bonds between Protestant universities, with the participation from all sports clubs.
University festivals
Itsutsubashi Festival(五橋祭)(Itsutsubashi Campus)
Rokkencho Festival(六軒丁祭)(Tsuchitoi Campus)
Centers and facilities
Centers
Christianity Center
Tohoku Gakuin Archives Center
Regional Liaison Center
Learning Commons Colatelier
Information Processing Center
Teacher-training Course Center
Industry-academia Collaboration Center
Science and Mathematics Basic Education Center
Foreign Languages Education Center
Student Health Support Center
Library system
The Tohoku Gakuin University Library System consists of the main library, the annex library located on Tsuchitoi campus, Colatelier library on Itsutsubashi campus and Izumi library storage in Izumi campus. As of 2024, the library has a collection of over 1.25 million books. The number of collections ranks it as the second-largest university library in Tohoku region, surpassed only by the Tohoku University Library.
D. B. Schneder Memorial Main Library (Tsuchitoi Campus)
Main Library Annex (Tsuchitoi Campus)
Colatelier Library (Itsutsubashi Campus)
Learning commons colatelier
Learning Commons Colatelier at W. E. Hoy Memorial Building
Learning commons colatelier is a self-learning space for students. The university installed one of the nation's largest spaces into Hoy Memorial Building (1-2 floors, including a bakery shop) in Tsuchitoi campus in 2016, and Schneder Memorial Building (2-5 floors, including a library) in Itsutsubashi Campus in 2023.
Museum
The museum is small, but active for preserving historical artifacts, educating visitors, and exhibiting the research activities in TGU. Since its founding in November 2009, the museum has offered training programs for museum curators.[12]
The Tohoku Gakuin Archives (東北学院史資料センター) is located in the basement floor of Rahauser Memorial Chapel in Tsuchitoi Campus. In 2001, the university established the university archives to preserve and exhibit historically important materials and records related to Christian missionaries in Tohoku region and development of the university.[3]
Inter-department institutes for education and research
Institute for Research in Business Administration (経営研究所)
Institute for Research in Christianity and Culture (キリスト教文化研究所)
Institute for Research in Data Science (データサイエンス研究所)
Institute for Research in Economics (経済研究所)
Institute for Research in English Language and Literature (英語英文学研究所)
Institute for Research in Human Sciences (人間科学研究所)
Institute for Research in International Studies (国際学研究所)
Institute for Research in Law and Political Science (法学政治学研究所)
Institute for Research on Northern Japanese Culture (東北文化研究所)
Institute for Research on Religious Music (宗教音楽研究所)
Institute for Research on the Historical Culture of the Asian River Basins Area (アジア流域文化研究所)
Research Institute for Education (教育総合研究所)
Research Institute for Engineering and Technology (工学総合研究所)
Research Institute for European Culture (ヨーロッパ文化総合研究所)
Research Institute for Regional Studies (地域総合研究所)
Registered cultural properties
Five historic buildings on Tsuchitoi campus are preserved as registered cultural properties in national and ministerial levels. In 2013, the DeForest family home was designated a registered tangible cultural property.[5] Then in 2014, the Main Building of Tohoku Gakuin, the Rahauser Memorial Chapel, and the Tohoku Gakuin University Graduate School Building followed. In 2016, the DeForest family home was designated a nationally important cultural property. Tohoku Gakuin University Main Gate was added to the list of registered tangible cultural properties in 2021.
DeForest Family Home (built in 1887)
Rahauser Memorial Chapel (built in 1932)
Tohoku Gakuin University Main Building (built in 1926, designed by Jay Herbert Morgan)
Tohoku Gakuin University Graduate School Building (built in 1952)
Tohoku Gakuin University Main Gate (built in 1926, designed by Jay Herbert Morgan)
Rahauser Memorial Chapel in 1932 (Tsuchitoi Campus).
Rahauser Memorial Chapel in 2016 (Tsuchitoi Campus).
Tohoku Gakuin University's Historical Buildings in 1937 (Tsuchitoi Campus).
Accreditation
The university has received accreditation from the Japan University Accreditation Association (JUAA).[13]
Rankings
Times Higher Education (THE) places Tohoku Gakuin University in the 150+ bracket in its ranking of Japan's 200 best universities.[14] In THE University Impact Rankings, the university was also ranked as 301+ in 2019, 601+ in 2020, 1001+ in 2021-2023, and 1501+ in 2024.[15]
The university has produced notable alumni from politicians and entrepreneurs to authors and actors, and a strong alumni network called "TG kai" with over 200 thousand members. [16] TG kai's influence extends over Tohoku region's business mainly.
The university runs study abroad programs with 39 universities in 13 countries including US, France, Germany, Australia, Thailand, Canada and the UK.[17]The programs started from Ursinus College in 1973.[18][19]
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