Tohoku University (東北大学,Tōhoku daigaku) is a publicresearch university inSendai, Miyagi, Japan. It is colloquially referred to asTohokudai (東北大,Tōhokudai) orTonpei (トンペイ,Tompei).
In 2016, Tohoku University had 10 faculties, 16 graduate schools and 6 research institutes, with a total enrollment of 17,885 students.[2] The university's three core values are "Research First (研究第一主義)," "Open-Doors (門戸開放)," and "Practice-Oriented Research and Education (実学尊重)."
Albert Einstein visiting Tohoku Imperial University in 1922Tohoku University (Katahira campus Main Gate)
On 22 June 1907 (Mēji 40),Tohoku Imperial University (東北帝國大學,Tōhoku teikoku daigaku) was established by theMeiji government as the thirdImperial University of Japan, afterTokyo Imperial University (1877) andKyoto Imperial University (1897). From its inception, it advocated 'Open-door' policies, becoming the first university in Japan to accept both female students in 1913, and foreign students.[3]
It was not until 1911 that teaching and research activities started in Sendai. When the university was founded in 1907 it only had one faculty (college), the College of Agriculture, in Sapporo, Hokkaido. This college, originally founded in 1875 as theSapporo Agricultural College (札幌農學校,Sapporo nō gakkō), precedes the establishment of the university, and in 1918, it became independent to form another imperial university,Hokkaido Imperial University, in its own right. The School of Science was established in Sendai in 1911, followed by the School of Medicine (formerly Sendai Medical College) in 1915, the Faculty of Engineering in 1919, and the Faculty of Law and Literature in 1922.[4]
In 1947, during thepost-war educational reform, the university dropped the word 'imperial' along with other imperial universities, and assumed its current name, Tohoku University. It was also this year that the university's academic scope came to cover agriculture again, with the establishment of a new Faculty of Agriculture in Sendai. In 1949, the Faculty of Law and Literature was split to form independent faculties of Law, Literature, and Economics. A Faculty of Education was added in 1949, Dentistry in 1965, and Pharmacy in 1972. Tohoku has been aNational University Corporation since April 2004.[4]
Subsequent to the2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami, the university was declared closed until further notice, but with a tentative re-opening date of the end of the following April.[5] The Aobayama, Katahira, Amamiya, and Kawauchi campuses are all at least 12 kilometers (7.5 mi) from the ocean, towards the mountains, and therefore suffered no damage resulting from the tsunami. No deaths or serious injuries within the faculty and student body were reported on campus grounds. However, earthquake damage lead to the closure of 27 buildings and caused millions of dollars of damage to equipment. Classes have resumed normally since early May 2011 and plans for restoring, reinforcing or replacing damaged buildings are underway.
In theTimes Higher Education World University Rankings 2026, it is ranked 103rd globally, making it the third-highest-ranking university in Japan, after theUniversity of Tokyo (26th) andKyoto University (61st).[24] The Times Higher Education Japan University Rankings, which is entirely based on teaching, resources, educational outcome, environment, and engagement, unlike the world university rankings, placed Tohoku University 1st in Japan in 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, and 2025 (no ranking in 2024).[25][26]
Tohoku University is one of the top research institutions in Japan. According toThomson Reuters, Tohoku University is the ninth most innovative university in the Asia-Pacific area.[37]Its research excellence is especially distinctive in Materials Science (1st in Japan, third in the world), Physics (2nd in Japan, tenth in the world), Pharmacology & Toxicology (3rd in Japan, 64th in the world) and Chemistry (6th in Japan, 20th in the world).[38]
Times Higher Education also reported that Tohoku University was ranked 3rd in Japan (201st - 250th in the world) for the World University Rankings 2022 by Subject:social sciences.[39] The social sciences ranking includes the weightings such as Research: volume, income and reputation (accounts for 32.6 per cent) and Citations: research influence (accounts for 25 per cent).[40]
In addition,Nature Index ranked Tohoku University as 4th in Japan (90th in the world, 38th in Asia Pacific) on 2023 tables: Institutions.[41] The 2022 tables are based on Nature Index data from 1 January 2021 to 31 December 2021. Before the 2022 edition, Nature Index also ranked Tohoku University as 5th in Japan (77th in the world, 28th in Asia Pacific) on 2021 tables: Institutions, that are based on Nature Index data from 1 January 2020 to 31 December 2020.[42]
According to theQs World university rankings on 2012/9 surveyed about the general standards in Engineering&Technology field, Tohoku university was placed 56th (world), fifth (national).[43]
As Tohoku University has been emphasizing 'practical' research, Tohoku received the top place for its number of patents accepted (324) during 2009 among Japanese Universities.[44]
Tohoku University Law School is one of the most famous Law schools in Japan, as it was ranked fifth in the passing rate of JapaneseBar Examination in 2020.[45]
Tohoku University is regarded as a selective university, with its faculty of medicine being particularly noted for its selectivity. It is usually ranked amongst the most selectiveSTEM degrees in the country, alongside the medicine, engineering and science degrees at theUniversity of Tokyo and the faculties of medicine ofTMDU,Kyoto,Osaka,Nagoya, andKeio.[47]
Masataka Nakazawa, pioneer of optical solitons in high-speed optical communication in fiber optic networks and rare earth-doped optical amplifiers (such as EDFA)
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Kawauchi
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