University of Tokyo
The University of Tokyo (東京大学; Tōkyō Daigaku, abbreviated as 東大 Tōdai) is generally ranked as Japan's most prestigious university. The University has fives campuses in Hongo, Komaba, Tsukuba, Shirokane and Nakano and 10 faculties with a total of around 28,000 students, some 2,100 of them foreign (a high number by Japanese standards). While nearly all academic disciplines are taught at the University, it is perhaps best known for its faculties of law and literature. Many top Japanese politicians are Todai graduates.The main Hongo campus occupies the former estate of the Maeda family, Edo-era feudal lords of Kaga domain. The university's best known landmark, the Akamon (Red Gate) is a relic of this era. The symbol of the university is the ginkgo flower, from the abundant trees throughout the area.
The university was founded by the Meiji government in 1877 under its current name by amalgamating older government schools for medicine and Western learning. It was renamed to Imperial University (帝國大學 Teikoku Daigaku) in 1886 and then "Tokyo Imperial University" (東京帝國大學 Tōkyō Teikoku Daigaku) in 1887, when the imperial university system was created. In 1947, after Japan's defeat in World War II, it assumed the original name again. With the start of the new university system in 1949, Todai swallowed up the old First Higher School (today's Komaba campus) and the old Tokyo Higher School, which henceforth assumed the duty of teaching first- and second-year undergraduates, while the faculties on Hongo main campus took care of third- and fourth-year students.
Famous alumni
See also: Kyoto University