Sophia University

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Sophia University

上智大学
Bringing the World Together
Latin: Universitas Sedis Sapientiae (University of the Seat of Wisdom)
Motto	Lux Veritatis (Latin) 真理の光 (Japanese) Shinri no Hikari (Romaji)
Motto in English	Light of Truth
Type	Private Roman Catholic Research Coeducational Higher education institution
Established	1913
Founder	Society of Jesus
Religious affiliation	Roman Catholic (Jesuit)
Academic affiliations	AALAU, IAU, IFCU
Chancellor	Fr. Tsutomu Sakuma, SJ[1]
President	Yoshiaki Terumichi, PhD[2]
Academic staff	1271 * 522 (Full-time) * 749 (Part-time)
Administrative staff	293
Students	13,435
Undergraduates	12,117
Postgraduates	1,153
Other students	165 (Law)
Location	7-1 Kioi-cho, Chiyoda , Tokyo , Japan
Campus	Urban: -Yotsuya main campus -Mejiro campus -Shakujii campus
Alma Mater song	Sophia
Colors	Maroon
Nickname	Sophians
Sports	8 varsity teams
Mascot	Eagle named Sophia-Kun
Website	www.sophia.ac.jp

Sophia University, also known by its Japanese name 上智大学 (Jōchi Daigaku) is a private research university in Japan. Sophia is one of the 3 prestigious Sōkeijōchi (早慶上智) private universities, a group of the top 3 private universities in Japan with the other 2 being Keio University and Waseda University,^[3][4] according to the Times Higher Education. It is also ranked number 18 in the 2021 Times Japan University Rankings.^[5] Founded by the Roman Catholic religious order of the Society of Jesus in 1913, the University has grown from its 3 original academic departments of Philosophy, German Literature, and Commerce to 9 undergraduate Faculties and 10 Graduate Schools, with over 13,900 students in total at the present moment.^[6][7][8]

Sophia University is a member academic institution affiliated with the Sophia School Corporation, which is also known in Japanese as 学校法人上智学院 (Gakkō Hōjin Jōchi Gakuin). As an independent academic group, it helps coordinate the activities of and manages six other schools in addition to Sophia. These educational institutions include:

• Sophia University,
• Sophia University Junior College Division,
• Sophia School of Social Welfare,
• Eiko Gakuen Junior and Senior High School,
• Rokko Junior and Senior High School,
• Hiroshima Academy Junior and Senior High School, and
• Sophia Fukuoka Junior and Senior High School.^[9]

Sophia shows a rapid growth since it was established and it is known for its diversity. In fact, the University has been a leader in the internationalisation of Japanese universities. It conducts classes both in English and Japanese to welcome students from overseas such as China, Korea, and Europe. There are international students from 77 countries and it has forged agreements with 298 overseas universities in 59 countries to encourage students joining the exchange programs with several other top universities throughout the world, including Georgetown University, Yale University, The University of Georgia, Sogang University, Hong Kong University, and the University of Cologne.

Sophia also gained national repute as the leading institution in globalisation, foreign languages, and literature in Japan. As a prominent institution for research and higher learning in the fields of the social sciences, humanities, and natural sciences, the University has been selected by the Japanese Ministry of Education to be one of 37 universities to receive funding for its internationalisation efforts through the "Top Global University Project".^[10]

Sophia is also nationally acclaimed for its research prowess. There are many institutes and centres that support Sophia's goals in pursuing excellence in research. These institutes and centres include the Sophia Asia Centre for Research and Human Development, Semiconductor Research Institute, the Institute of International Relations, and the Institute of Media, Culture and Journalism. Sophia is also known for storing and maintaining centuries-old texts dating back from Catholic missionaries during the period of Christian persecutions in Japan between 1617-1632. Sophia also produces research journals, most notably the Monumenta Nipponica.

Before 1957, the university only admitted male students to degree programs, but the numbers of male and female students are now more or less equal. Sophia's alumni are referred to as "Sophians"; they include the 79th Prime Minister of Japan, Morihiro Hosokawa, several politicians represented in the Japanese National Diet, professors at various higher education institutions, and even actors and musicians in the Japanese film and music industries.

Origins of the University Name[]

The name of the University is traced to letters of correspondence between two of the three founders of what would become Sophia University, Fr. James Rockliff, SJ and Fr. Hermann Hoffmann, SJ. The Japanese term 上智 ("higher wisdom" or "supreme wisdom", Jōchi) was the equivalent of the Latin word sapientia, which means wisdom. According to Catholic Church tradition, the term sapientia refers to the one of the Church's devotional titles for the Blessed Virgin Mary, the Seat of Wisdom.

When Joseph Eylenbosch, SJ began teaching Greek at the University in April 1924, he taught that the Japanese term jōchi was the equivalent of the Greek term σοφία (sofia). Afterwards, the students had proposed that the school be known as Sophia University.

Fr. Hoffmann, SJ, who was serving as University President at that time, initially opposed the proposal. However, he soon accepted the idea and submitted the proposal to Rome for the approval.

The English language-based, peer-reviewed academic journal Monumenta Nipponica, which was first inaugurated in 1938, identified itself as being published by Sophia University. The use of Sophia as the University name then became firmly established in Japan and overseas.^[11]

History of the University[]

Early History[]

The origins of Sophia University could be traced to 1549 when Saint Francis Xavier, a prominent member and co-founder of the Society of Jesus, arrived in Japan to spread Christianity. In his letters to his fellow Jesuits, he had expressed hopes of establishing a university in Japan.^[12][13]

During the so-called Kirishitan period of Japanese history, the Catholic Church had been responsible for establishing and administering educational institutions in Japan called Collegios and Seminarios, serving as bridges between the East and West.

William H. O'Connell had been appointed as a special ambassador of the Vatican to Japan.

The establishment of the University only began to take place more than 400 years from St. Francis Xavier's arrival in Japan. In 1903, three Jesuit priests from Europe came to Japan to continue the missionary work of the Church and to help establish Sophia University. One of the founders, Fr. Joseph Dahlmann, SJ from Germany, who had come to Japan via India, had listened to the requests of Catholics in the country, who expressed their desires to construct a Catholic university to serve as the cultural and spiritual base of the Church's missionary operations in Japan.

Dahlmann heeded the requests and sent a proposal to the then-Bishop of Rome, Pope Pius X, at the Holy See in Rome. In 1905, Dahlmann was granted a private audience with the Pope, who promised to assign the Society of Jesus to create and administer a Catholic university in Japan. In Dahlmann's Latin memoirs regarding the encounter with Pius, he recounted that he spoke as follows: "Habebitis collegium in Japonica, magnam universitatem (in English: "You (plural) will have in Japan a college that is a great university".).

On that same year, the then-Bishop of Portland, Maine in the United States, William H. O'Connell, was appointed by the Pope to serve as a special ambassador of the Vatican to Emperor Meiji in Japan. O'Connell was also tasked to survey the situation in Japan. When he was granted an audience with Emperor Meiji, he had ascertained the education policy directions of the Japanese Ministry of Education, and reported to officials at the Holy See regarding the possible establishment of a Catholic university in Japan.

At the 25th General Congregation of the Society of Jesus in held in Rome in September 1906, Pius X issued a formal written statement to the Jesuits to establish a Catholic university in Japan. Thus, the delegates at the Congregation voted unanimously in favour of the Pope's commands, and the first concrete steps were taken to prepare a university institution in the East.^[14]

History of the University After Its Establishment[]

An academic building at Sophia University, a year after its establishment.

Sophia University in 1945.

Sophia University was founded by Jesuits in 1913. It opened with departments of German Literature, Philosophy and Commerce, headed by its founder Fr. Hermann Hoffmann, SJ (1864–1937) as its first official president.^[15]

In 1932, a small group of Sophia University students refused to salute the war dead at Yasukuni Shrine in the presence of a Japanese military attache, saying it violated their religious beliefs. The military attache was withdrawn from Sophia as a result of this incident, damaging the university's reputation in the eyes of the government of the Japanese Empire. The Archbishop of Tokyo intervened in the standoff by permitting Catholic students to salute the war dead, after which many Sophia students, as well as Hermann Hoffmann himself, participated in rites at Yasukuni. The Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples later issued the Pluries Instanterque in 1936, which encouraged Catholics to attend Shinto shrines as a patriotic gesture; the Vatican re-issued this document after the war in 1951.^[16]

Sophia University continued to grow by increasing the numbers of departments, faculty members and students, in addition to advancing its international focus by establishing an exchange program. Many of its students studied at Georgetown University in the United States as early as 1935. Sophia's junior college was established in 1973, followed by the opening of Sophia Community College in 1976. With the founding of the Faculty of Liberal Arts in 2006, Sophia University presently holds 27 departments in its eight faculties. Its current president is Yoshiaki Terumichi. Toshiaki Koso serves as head of its board of directors. Since 2008, the Global Leadership Program was started for students from four Jesuit universities in East Asia: Ateneo de Manila University in the Philippines, Fu Jen Catholic University in Taiwan, Sogang University in South Korea, and Sophia University in Japan.^[17] In 2016 the University reached out to the four Jesuit junior-senior high schools in Japan, joining them in the Sophia College Corporation to help them pass on the Jesuit charism to their lay faculty through workshops and other assistance. These schools are Sophia-Fukuoka, Eiko Gakuen, Hiroshima Gakuin, and Rokko School.^[18]

Sophia's Research Institutes Division includes 11 research institutes with about 200 researchers.

Campuses[]

Sophia University

Sophia's main campus at Yotsuya is urban, consisting of roughly 25 large, modern buildings in the center of Tokyo. The majority of Sophia's 10,000 undergraduate students spend nearly all their time here. The faculties of Humanities, Law, Foreign Studies, Economics, Liberal Arts, and Science and Technology have their home here, as do the main library, cafeteria, gymnasium, chapel, bookstore, and offices. In April 2006, the Faculty of Comparative Culture (FCC), which had been located at the smaller Ichigaya campus, moved to the main Yotsuya campus and changed its name to the Faculty of Liberal Arts.^[20] Nearly all of Sophia's foreign exchange and international students study at the FLA.

The Tokyo office of the Council on International Educational Exchange, the student exchange organisation, which oversees roughly half of the international students, is also based on the main Yotsuya Campus. The Shakujii (Tokyo) campus houses the Faculty of Theology. The Hadano campus in Kanagawa Prefecture is home to the Sophia Junior College, as well as a number of seminar halls and athletics complexes.^[21]

Sophia School Corporation[]

Established in 1911, the Sophia School Corporation provides administrative support to academic institutions in its higher education division and secondary school education division, managing a total of 7 schools. In 1951, the Sophia School Corporation was then established as an academic legal entity according to provisions of the Private School Law.

Academics[]

The University has 9 undergraduate faculties with 29 departments as well as 10 graduate schools with 25 programmes. With over 14,021 students as of 2017, the University provides academic opportunities for students from Japan and overseas to study in Japan. Sophia also possesses a wide-variety of English-taught academic programmes such as those provided by the Faculty of Liberal Arts (FLA). English programmes are also provided by the Faculty of Science and Technology (FST) through two programmes and the Green Science Program, provided by the Department of Materials and Life Sciences, and the Green Engineering Program, provided by the Department of Engineering and Applied Sciences.^[22]

Photograph of the Sophia University Yotsuya Campus in Chiyoda, Tokyo.

Undergraduate Faculties and Programmes[]

• Faculty of Liberal Arts
• Sophia Program for Sustainable Futures
• Faculty of Economics
• Faculty of Science and Technology
• Faculty of Foreign Studies
• Faculty of Law
• Faculty of Human Sciences
• Faculty of Global Studies
• Faculty of Theology
• Faculty of Humanities

Graduate Schools and Programmes[]

• Graduate School of Science and Technology
• Graduate School of Global Environmental Studies
• Graduate School of Economics
• Graduate School of Human Sciences
• Graduate School of Law
• Graduate School of Theology
• Graduate School of Applied Religious Studies
• Graduate School of Humanities
• Graduate School of Global Studies
• Graduate School of Languages and Linguistics

University Academic Research[]

Sophia University is a comprehensive research university with 9 undergraduate faculties with 10 graduate schools located on a single campus in Chiyoda, Tokyo. Leading higher education institutions in Japan toward globalisation and academic research, the University provides a strong international network of scholarship, attracting researchers and students from overseas to study in Japan.

As a research institution, the University established the Sophia Research Organisation (SRO) in April 2005 in order to promote and facilitate interdisciplinary and organisational research activities. The SRO possesses two research divisions: the Research Institutes Division and the Project Research Division. The University also has affiliated Research Organisations.

Simultaneously, Sophia's Centre for Research Promotion and Support provides additional support to general research activities and strengthens the a three-way collaboration initiative among industries, government, and academia. The Intellectual Property Rights Committee, established in 2005, ensures smooth collaborative support among the three individual groups and examines the inventions and intellectual properties of the researchers affiliated with Sophia University.^[23]

Sophia University, Yotsuya Campus, Tokyo, Japan.

Academic rankings[]

Sophia University.

There are several rankings below related to Sophia University.

University Rankings[]

Japan University Rankings[]

According to the Times Higher Education 2021 Japan University Rankings, Sophia University is ranked 18th in the nation.^[49]

Global University Rankings[]

According to the 2021 QS World University Rankings, Sophia University is ranked 801-1000.^[50] Its 2021 Times Higher Education Impact Ranking, which assesses universities against the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (UN SDGs), is 601-800.^[51]

Alumni Rankings[]

Alumni of Sophia have good employment prospects in Japanese industries. According to the Weekly Economist's 2010 rankings and the PRESIDENT's article on 2006/10/16, graduates from Sophia have the 8th best employment rate in 400 major companies, and the average graduate salary is the 6th best in Japan.^[52][53]

Popularity and Selectivity[]

Admission to Sophia is highly selective and competitive in Japan. As such it is considered as one of the top private universities along with Keio University and Waseda University. Typical acceptance rate is 5%.^[54] Its entrance difficulty is considered one of the toughest along with Waseda and Keio among 730 private universities.^[55][56][57]

Overseas Partner Institutions[]

Sophia University has student and academic exchange agreements with 387 overseas partner universities in 81 countries. and regions as of June 2021.^[58]

Notable faculty[]

• Father Peter Milward, SJ, emeritus professor of English Literature
• Gregory Clark, former professor of economics; currently a Japan Times contributor
• Kuniko Inoguchi, former professor of law, and Permanent Representative of Japan to the Conference on Disarmament in Geneva
• Jun-ichi Nishizawa, electronic engineer, inventor and specially-appointed professor;
• Sadako Ogata, former professor of political science, and former United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees; currently serving as President of the Japan International Cooperation Agency

Notable alumni[]

Government, Politics and Society[]

• Benigno Aquino III, 15th President of the Philippines
• Agnes Chan, singer and ambassador of the Japan Committee for UNICEF
• Kōichirō Genba, DPJ member of the House of Representatives and former Minister for Foreign Affairs
• Sumihiro Kuyama, former Chairman, Joint Inspection Unit, United Nations
• Yukari Sato, economist and LDP member of the House of Representatives
• Shoichi Kondo, DPJ member of the House of Representatives and former Senior Vice-Minister of the Environment
• Noboharu Yonenaga, politician
• Kuniko Inoguchi, political scientist and politician, member of LDP
• Seiko Noda, politician, member of LDP
• Takuya Hirai, politician, member of LDP
• Seiichirō Dōkyū, politician, member of DPJ
• Yoshio Maki, politician
• Li Linsi, Chinese diplomat, educator, diplomatic consultant to Chiang Kai-shek
• Toshitsugu Saito, politician, 65th and 66th Minister of Defense
• Morihiro Hosokawa, 79th Prime Minister of Japan
• Mukhriz Mahathir, 11th Menteri Besar of Kedah, Malaysia
• Rizal Ramli, 3rd Coordinating Minister for Maritime Affairs of Indonesia
• Carlos Holmes Trujillo, former Colombian Minister of Foreign Affairs and current Colombian Minister of Defense

Academia[]

• Ruben Habito, associate professor at Southern Methodist University
• Yuya Kiuchi, sport and pop culture scholar at Michigan State University
• Fidel Nemenzo, mathematician, chancellor of University of the Philippines Diliman
• Junko Shigemitsu, theoretical physicist, emerita professor at Ohio State University
• Kyouichi Tachikawa, historian
• Takayuki Tatsumi, American literature scholar at Keio University
• Dominique Turpin, Dean & President of IMD, Switzerland
• Shōichi Watanabe, English scholar

Business[]

• Hassan Jameel, Saudi businessman
• Johnny Kitagawa, founder and CEO of Johnny & Associates
• Shawn Layden, President & CEO of Sony Interactive Entertainment America
• Peer Schneider, Co-founder and SVP/Publisher at IGN Entertainment
• Shuzo Shiota, CEO and president of Polygon Pictures

Media and literature[]

• Jake Adelstein, journalist, consultant, and author of Tokyo Vice
• Beni Arashiro, singer
• Yoshitaka Asama, screenwriter and film director
• Vernon Grant, first American cartoonist to introduce manga concepts to English-language readers
• Boyé Lafayette De Mente, author on Japanese culture ('54)
• Kōichi Mashimo, anime director, founder of studio Bee Train
• Yuriko Nishiyama, manga writer, including Harlem Beat
• Maureen Wartski, author, including A Boat to Nowhere and Yuri's Brush with Magic
• Robert Whiting, author on Japanese culture, including The Chrysanthemum and the Bat and You Gotta Have Wa about Japanese baseball
• Yūki Yamato, Japanese screenwriter and director
• Tadatoshi Fujimaki, Manga artist and creator of Kuroko's Basketball

Others[]

• Kurara Chibana, Miss Japan 2006 and 1st Runner-up at Miss Universe 2006
• Tina Chow, model and jewellery designer^[59]
• Bruce Frantzis, Taoist Master, USA
• Yū Hayami, actress, singer
• Sumire Uesaka, anime voice actress
• Carrie Ann Inaba, American dancer, choreographer, actress, and singer
• Hisashi Inoue, author
• Maiko Itai, Miss Universe Japan 2010 winner
• Crystal Kay, singer
• Stephen Kim Sou-hwan, Korean Roman Catholic cardinal and Archbishop of Seoul
• Peter Shirayanagi, Japanese Roman Catholic cardinal and Archbishop of Tokyo
• Saori Kumi, author
• Alan Merrill, a 1960s Group Sounds pioneer gaijin tarento and later composer of the classic song "I Love Rock N Roll"
• Osamu Mizutani, high school teacher, famous for his book "Yomawari Sensei" and his efforts to redress delinquents
• Father Adolfo Nicolás, S.J., Superior General of the Society of Jesus
• Hikaru Nishida, actress, Japanese drama
• Judy Ongg, singer/actor
• Zomahoun Idossou Rufin, a gaijin tarento, philanthropist and diplomat who has been Benin's Ambassador to Japan and the Philippines
• Emyli, singer
• George Takei, Japanese-American actor most famous for his role as Star Trek's Mr. Sulu
• Tadashi Yamamoto, Founder of the Japan Center for International Exchange and the Shimoda Conference
• Michelle van Eimeren, Miss Universe Australia 1994

See also[]

• Education in Japan
• Catholic Education
• Japanese Educational System
• History of the Catholic Church in Japan
• List of Jesuit sites
• Society of Jesus (Jesuits) in Japan
• Catholic Church in Japan
• Christianity in Japan
• List of Jesuit Educational Institutions

References[]

External links[]

• Sophia University Homepage (in Japanese)
• Sophia University Homepage (in English)
• Sophia University Old Homepage (in English)
• Sophia University Faculty of Liberal Arts (FLA) Homepage (English only)
• Sophia University Faculty of Economics Homepage (Japanese and English)
• Sophia University Graduate School of Global Studies (Japanese and English)
• Sophia University Faculty/Graduate School of Science and Technology (Japanese and English)

Coordinates: 35°41′03″N 139°43′55″E / 35.68417°N 139.73194°E / 35.68417; 139.73194