Faculty of Letters

A commitment to face-to-face, small-class education. An opportunity to study diverse fields of the liberal arts essential to life in the 21st century.

In the Faculty of Letters you can study the diversity of liberal arts fields essential in the 21st century, from education, ethics, and philosophy, history, archaeology, geography, environmental studies, languages and literature, and culture. Moreover, we prize “faceto- face” education and are committed to smallgroup instruction in seminars of fewer than ten students, where teachers and students can form warm personal relationships and academics can be pursued in both a serious and lively atmosphere. The Faculty of Letters is an ideal place for international students to study Japanese history, culture, and environment comprehensively and deepen international understanding through contact the many overseas students enrolled in it. We also have active exchange programs with overseas universities with academic agreement, providing students with an opportunity to study abroad. In addition to these unique opportunities for crosscultural experience, the Faculty offers practical training in information technology from the first and second years, and a choice of major and preparatory instruction for the graduation thesis from the freshman year onward, organically connecting robust specialization with an interface with contemporary society.

To train the future leaders of international society, providing them not only with knowledge and technical skills, but with well-balanced judgment and the capacity to act from a global perspective.

The goal of the Faculty of Letters is not to acquire skills that can be put to immediate practical use after graduation. Its aim is to foster individuals with well-balanced judgment and the capacity to act from a global perspective. It sends people out into the world who are confident, persuasive, and able to get their point across whenever necessary. This is what the Faculty of Letters sees as its basic mission, since survival as leaders of society in the new era of the 21st century will require not merely specialized knowledge and skills, but the development of logical modes of thinking and a clear sense of ethics. In the Faculty of Letters one can also earn teaching certificates and a wide range of accreditation for work as museum curators, social education directors, and the like. The Faculty aims at nurturing educational and cultural leaders who have an accurate grasp of the broader relationships between humanity and the environment, and whose actions are guided by reason and an international perspective.

Common Subjects in the Faculty of Letters are elective subjects that students in any major can take. These subjects have been introduced in response to the social need to foster human resources with sophisticated and wide-ranging basic knowledge at the time of the growing interdisciplinary trend of academic research.

In this major the following goals are pursued while deepening insight into human development:(1) serious reflection on the nature of education in the context of society and our changing times, (2) scientific understanding of the mechanisms of the human body and mind and their development, (3) cultivation of communication skills via presentations and discussions in smallgroup seminars, and (4) gaining the ability to act and a sense of responsibility through a variety of field work and social activities. Broad study of pedagogy and psychology prepare graduates not only for careers as teachers and librarians, but for work in social welfare, counseling, and related fields.

Elementary education is crucial as the foundation of a person’s life. Teachers must draw forth the greatest potential of their pupils. In this major, which stresses practical training through small-group seminars and student teaching, and by building strong relationships with their faculty supervisors, students deepen their understanding of elementary education, develop their sense of mission and their abilities as educators, and mature as human beings. Improvement of teaching skills is important, but even more important is to develop personality as a teacher, which is the foundation of the educational process. Our graduates are active in elementary schools and kindergartens throughout the country.

This course offers two areas of study: archaeology and documentary history. Archaeology considers history through archaeological sites and artifacts. In documentary history, we study Japanese history based on written sources such as ancient documents and ancient records. From the first year, students can participate in archaeological and archival training, and from the third year, students are divided into seminars based on themes and time periods to deepen their studies. Many graduates of this course contribute to the local community as curators and teachers.

This major, while centered on the discipline of geography, provides an opportunity for comprehensive study of contemporary issues such as global environment, resource problems, urban development, landscape design, and regional revitalization. From the first to third years all students are required to participate in fieldwork, developing their surveying and analytical skills. Research is also conducted using the latest weather satellite and GIS data, providing practical experience with cutting- edge technologies. Students find careers in cartography, weather, surveying, environment related businesses, and education, and many go on to graduate school.

In this major, we pursue the unique features of the Japanese language and its verbal arts and explore their expressive potentials by studying them from ancient times to the present and through comparison with those in Asia and Europe. The diverse curriculum makes possible a style of education tailored to students with broad and active intellectual curiosity. Students also acquire a systematic grounding in the information skills essential to life in contemporary society. Our graduates demonstrate the breadth of their learning and their capacity for information-processing in careers as teachers and civil servants as well as in business.