Kyoritsu Women's University 3.16

Kyoritsu Women's University is a private women's college in Chiyoda, Tokyo, Japan, established in 1949.HistoryThe vocational predecessor of the school was founded in 1886. The name "Kyoritsu", meaning "standing together" in Japanese, came from the fact that 34 people were involved in the foundation of the school; among them were educator Haruko Hatoyama, Kyuichiro Nagai (the father of writer Kafu Nagai) and educator Seiichi Tejima.MissionThe founding of Kyoritsu marked the very beginning of women's higher education in Japan: To recognize the need to "educate modern women in knowledge and skills, and to elevate the position of women in society."ExchangesThe university has established exchanges and links with international institutions of higher education—for example, the University of PennsylvaniaNotable facultyKaoru Hatoyama was a schoolmaster at the university founded by her mother-in-law, Haruko. (Kaoru was the wife of Ichirō Hatoyama, who was the 52nd, 53rd and 54th Prime Minister of Japan.)In 2006-2008, Eiko Ikui of Kyoritsu Women's University was an executive director of the Japanese Association for American Studies.