Tokyo University of Agriculture, Setagaya Campus

Tokyo University of Agriculture (Tokyo NODAI) was founded by Viscount Takeaki Enomoto, a cosmopolitan figure in modern Japan and a scientist who served as Minister of Education, Foreign Affairs, Post and Telecommunications, and Agriculture during the Meiji Period. Tokyo NODAI was originally established as the Department of Agriculture at the Ikueiko School of the Tokugawa Ikuei-kai Foundation in 1891. Today, it has grown into a full-scale agricultural university with two graduate schools, six undergraduate faculties with 22 departments, and a junior college with three departments conducting education and research across a wide range of areas, including bioscience, food science, environmental science, health science, energy, and regional regeneration.

Going forward, Tokyo NODAI will continue to develop human resources with “agricultural spirit” that values life, in order to fulfill our mission to contribute to the world with morality, for the happiness of humanity, based on “Return Man to the Farm,” the educational principle of our University, and “Practical Science”, our approach to teaching and research.

What is "Practical Science" at the time of foundation of Tokyo University of Agriculture?

• "Practical Science" is the school motto advocated by the first President YOKOI Tokiyoshi.
• Its original fundamental principle lies in the rational spirit in which problems are totally grasped and analyzed considering diversified conditions and eventually solved through pursuing theories and means.
• "Practical Science" is multi-disciplinary science and the fundamental principle is "Return man to the farm".
• Agriculture science is wisdom of agriculture.
• The inductive approach is symbolized by the words, "Ask rice plant about rice plant, ask farmers about agriculture".
• Introduction of rural idea to city and creation of cultural and creative agricultural village is aimed.
• The views of self-sufficiency in food production and maintaining sustainable land are emphasized.

Tokyo University of Agriculture celebrated the 125th anniversary on 2016. Before reaching the milestone, we has been promoting redevelopment of the campus in order to enhance the university’s function as an international educational institution and to progress to a research institute which take a central role globally. With such a background, the new library opened in April 2014.

The library holds a collection of approximately 550,000 items. We are unique among university libraries as 80% of the holdings deals specifically with agricultural sciences. We are also well known for our collection of classic and rare books on agriculture dating back to the days of the Edo period.

The new library was established with an aim to embody the university’s identity. The library building is next to the forested campus garden, which is regarded as a symbolic space as our university attaches weight to co-existing with nature. The building has been designed in the image of a giant tree standing powerfully in the garden. Each floors of the library is furnished with bookshelves made from domestic timber. Users can see trees of the garden down below from the library. These offer users a comfortable study environment and may help to induce a feeling of harmony with nature.

At the Extension Center, we provide a variety of learning opportunities geared toward the needs of society. We also publish and publicize scholarly information from many different areas and scopes offered at Tokyo NODAI, and outcomes of research and education conducted here at our institution.