Thank you all for braving this summer heat and coming to our open campus event.
Let me first remind you to be cautious of the heat and your health throughout the day.

This main building, including this auditorium, was built around 80 years ago in 1932. The school’s history began in 1875, 138 years ago, when Tokyo Women’s Normal School was established in Yushima near Ochanomizu Station. When some of the school buildings were destroyed in the 1923 Great Kanto Earthquake, the school was transferred to Otsuka, where it remains today. Records show that when the school became a university under the new education system, the name “Ochanomizu University” was chosen in tribute to its nickname ever since its establishment, “the school at Ochanomizu.”
It is this history that led to the construction of this building in reinforced concrete with maximum earthquake and fire resistance. The design should also be noted, such as the tiled exterior which was a popular style at the time, or the entrance floor made from high-quality Japanese marble and featuring the same design as the National Diet’s floor. These details symbolize the high hopes that society saw in this university at the time, and I believe that we have consistently lived up to such expectations ever since our establishment as the first national higher educational institution for women.
This school has produced Japan’s first woman to earn a doctorate in science, the first woman to earn a doctorate in agriculture, and the first woman medical doctor. Many of our alumni have worked tirelessly for the establishment of universities and educational institutions, for example Tetsu Yasui, who founded Tokyo Woman’s Christian University and later became its president, and others who founded the current Kyoritsu Women’s University and the predecessor to Japan Women’s College of Physical Education. In addition, the Ouinkai Alumni Association established Ouin Gakuen in 1924, one year after the Great Kanto Earthquake.
Some alumni currently play important roles in today’s national commissions of inquiry, academic associations and other fields. When I have the opportunity to speak with people in the business field, I am often told, “We have one of your alumni i