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The University of Tokyo (東京大学; Tokyo Daigaku,
abbreviated as 東大 Todai) 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
Kaga Yashiki, an
Edo-era feudal lord. 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, but was renamed to
Imperial University (帝国大学 Teikoku Daigaku) in 1886 and
then "Tokyo Imperial University" (東京帝国大学 Tokyo Teikoku Daigaku)
in 1887. In 1947, after Japan's defeat in
World War II, it assumed the original name again.
Famous alumni
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Abe Kobo, author
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Akutagawa Ryunosuke, author
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Esaki Leona, physicist, Nobel laureate
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Kawabata Yasunari, author, Nobel laureate
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Kishi Nobusuke, prime minister
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Koshiba Masatoshi, physicist, Nobel laureate
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Mishima Yukio, author
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Miyazawa Kiichi, prime minister
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Mori Ogai, author
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Nakasone Yasuhiro, prime minister
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Natsume Soseki, author
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Oe Kenzaburo, author, Nobel laureate
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Owada Masako, Crown Princess
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Sato Eisaku, prime minister
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Toyoda Eiji, industrialist
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Yoshida Shigeru, prime minister
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