Showa Women’s University (SWU) was founded in 1920 by renowned poet and literary critic Enkichi Hitomi and his wife Midori. Enkichi had a vision of forming a school for women when the chances of higher education for women was still scarce. This new school was based on Leo Tolstoy’s educational philosophy of “Love, Understanding and Harmony”. ”Be a Light to the World” – with this motto, SWU continues to develop female graduates who will play significant roles in the global society.

Although SWU’s main campus is located at the center of Tokyo, 10 minutes from Shinjuku / 5 minutes from Shibuya by train, the campus is surrounded by an abundance of nature. SWU offers 2 graduate schools with 11 departments and 5 faculties with 13 departments at undergraduate level. SWU is not only a university but encompasses schools for all ages and a variety of research institutions, and also shares the campus with the British School in Tokyo Showa (as well as with Temple University Japan from 2019), making the campus very diverse. SWU has been expanding its global partnerships with institutions that are willing to collaborate through student exchange programs. Currently SWU have partner agreements with 27 institutions from different countries. SWU welcomes international students from around the world who are eager to study Japanese and have an exciting study abroad experience in the center of Tokyo.