Showa Women's University is a private university for women in Sangenjaya, Setagaya Ward in Tokyo, Japan. SWU was founded in 1920 and re-established in 1949. The university shares a campus with a graduate school, a high school, a junior high school, an elementary school and a nursery school. Showa's founder, Enkichi Hitomi, was influenced by the educational ideas of Lev Tolstoy.

History
Showa Women’s University as we know it today is a women’s private university. It was opened in 1920 and was named ‘Japan Women’s Institute’. The ‘Institute’ as it was known at that time, was founded by Mr. Hitomi Enkichi, whose educational ideas were influenced by the infamous Lev Tolstoy. The institute was in the Bunkyo Ward of Tokyo. In 1922, the school changed its name from ‘Japan Women’s Institute’ to ‘Japan Women’s College’. They had moved location from Bunkyo Ward in Tokyo to its present location in Taishido, Setagaya Ward, in Tokyo. In 1949, the College had changed its name one final time from ‘Japan Women’s College’ to ‘Showa Women’s University’ as they are known today. Showa Women’s University has been offering excellent educational opportunities from Kindergarten to Graduate School.

Departments

Undergraduate School

Faculty of Humanities & Culture
Department of Japanese Language & Literature
The 3 fields of Japanese studies include Japanese Literature, Japanese Language and Teaching Japanese as a Foreign Language.

Department of English Language and Communication
Students have the opportunity to work on their English skills by studying abroad at Showa Boston Institute of Language and Culture in Boston, Massachusetts.

Department of History & Culture
Students study and compare history and culture between Japan and the rest of the world.

Department of International studies
Students learn and study global issues while attaining fluency in both English and other foreign languages.

Faculty of Human & Social Sciences
Students investigate and study the social groups in human society using history, economics, geography, law, psychology and international relations.

Department of Psychology
Students use scientific processes to study both human and animal behavior, with the object of understanding why living beings behave as they do.

Department of Welfare Society
Students may choose from 3 courses that include Social Work, Welfare Career and Parenting Support.

Department of Contemporary Liberal Arts
Students learn social sciences including subjects such as literature, languages, philosophy, history, mathematics, and science.

Department of Elementary Education
Students learn to become educators and obtain multiple licenses allowing them to teach nursery school, kindergarten and elementary school.

Faculty of Human Life & Environmental Sciences
Students learn a wide variety of professional careers that include community service, education, business, government and industry. From these careers, finds ways of improving life for individuals and/or families to live and function in society. Furthermore, students also study the management of resources, human goals and needs for family relationships, working environments, human development, living environments, food and apparel.

Department of Human Environmental Science and Design
Students study more in depth the following four fields including costume design management, product design, design production and architecture interior design.

Department of Human Health and Design
Students learn the health science] and can choose to specialize in either exercise, perception or food science.

Department of Food Science & Nutrition
Students study food science which is the chemical, biological, and physical nature of food components – and the technology to bring good, healthy food from the farm to the table. Nutrition is where students study various foods chemistry, ways of cooking and eating well so they can prescribe diets for both health and disease.

Junior College
Is a two-year college program aimed at offering students academic, professional and vocational training and education. An associate degree is the highest certificate offered at the Junior College level. Students may opt to transfer their Junior College credits to a four-year college or university.

Department of Culture and Creative Arts
Students learn the differences and similarities of English and Japanese cultures using television, film, theatre, music and art history.

Hitomi Memorial Hall
The Showa Women’s University Hitomi Memorial Hall on the university campus is famous for its great acoustics. Many classical concerts with many famous conductors have used this now famous concert hall. In 1986, the Suntory Hall at Akasaka opened in central Tokyo causing a slight decrease in the number of concerts in the Hitomi Memorial Hall. It is still used for concerts for the public still.

The General Education Center
This education center offers students teacher training programs, foreign language studies and liberal arts.

Graduate School Of Letters
This consists of the Doctoral and Master of Arts programs that consists of 12 subjects including Department of Japanese Language and Literature, Department of English and American Literature,
Department of Language Educational Communication, Graduate School of Human Life Sciences, Department of Human Science and Culture, Department of Psychology, Department of Welfare Society, Department of Education, Department of Environmental Design, Department of Human Science and Design, and Department of Human Life Science and Culture.

Showa Junior & Senior High School
Showa Junior & Senior High School is included in the Showa School network and was established in 1922. Students study for 6 years. This school is in Taishido, Setagaya Ward in Tokyo. Currently, approximately 44.2%, or 100 students, enter the Showa Women’s University after graduating from Showa Junior & Senior High School.

Showa Elementary School
Showa Elementary was established in 1953. This is a coed elementary school. About 75% of the girls that complete Showa Elementary School enter Showa Junior & Senior High School.

Showa Kindergarten
Showa Kindergarten was established in 1951. Children here learn English, science, and arts. Most students from the kindergarten enter Showa Elementary School.

Study Abroad
Showa Women’s University has numerous programs to study abroad in the USA and around the world. Showa Women’s University places a heavy emphasis on study-abroad programs because of the growing demand for global communications and business. Many students are currently involved in these exchange programs.
Showa Boston Institute for Language and Culture in Massachusetts opened in 1988 and is a key campus in our study abroad program. Because of Boston’s rich academic, culture and history, it helps in the cultural experience the students. Over 700 students travel to the Boston campus to experience the school and its culture every year. Showa was recognized by the Foreign Minister in 2010 for this ongoing effort. The Japanese students learn English and about American culture while experiencing schooling in an American school environment. English majors spend up to three (3) semesters there. For Nutrition, Teaching Japanese and Early Elementary Education there is a specialized two-week program.
There is a 15-week program that focuses mainly on English. Students can learn about American society and culture by experiencing their community learning and field work.
There is also a one-month Summer Session during their summer break that gives students one (1) choice out of seven (7) programs to choose from based on their interest.
American Culture, Volunteer, American Food and Culture, Museum, Education, Psychology, Business English

Other Showa Campuses
Include Boshu, Tomei, Aizu, Boston

Other websites
 Map in English  to Showa.

Colleges and universities in Tokyo
1920 establishments in Asia
1920s establishments in Japan