Kumamoto University (KU) was founded in 1874 as a teacher’s college. After absorbing nearby establishments teaching engineering, medicine and pharmacology in 1949 and unifying with the region’s technical college, the university became a Japanese National University Corporation in 2004 ushering in a new era of progress and growth.
KU is now a vigorous research university with the motto “Forest of Creative Powers, Blaze of Challenging Spirits.”
The university campus is spread over 4 well-manicured sites in central Kumamoto, a hub city in the southern region of Kyushu. Kumamoto is known as "forest city" and the area is famous for its ancient castle, beautiful green hills and freshwater springs.
Kumamoto University has seven faculties and eight graduate schools teaching a wide array of subjects. The university also operates its own kindergarten, elementary and junior school. The separate faculties represent the original institutions that came together to make up the university; the Faculty of Letters, Education, Law, Science, Medicine, Pharmacy and Engineering.
The university is also home to some 18 research centres specialising in everything from Buried Cultural Properties, Molecular Embryology and Genetics and AIDS Research to Policy Studies and Globalization.
The university’s iconic red-brick Memorial Museum, on the site of the former fifth high school, is an enduring symbol of the university as a whole and has been afforded National Cultural Property status, protecting it and preserving the historical and cultural significance of the area.
KU has been accepting foreign students since the 1950s and is currently increasing its drive towards internationalization by working with 185 international partner institutions from 38 different countries and regions.
