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Message from the Chairman

Providing education for women for “Nurturing Humanity”

  • Yasuo Sugiyama
    Sugiyama Jogakuen
    Chairman of the Board of Trustees
Sugiyama Jogakuen was founded in 1905 by my great-grandfather, Masakazu Sugiyama, and his wife, Ima, as Nagoya Women's Sewing School. Since then, for nearly 120 years, Sugiyama Jogakuen has consistently strived to provide outstanding educational opportunities for women. Today, Sugiyama Jogakuen has developed into an all-encompassing educational system comprising a kindergarten, nursery school, childcare center, elementary school, junior high school, high school, and university.

The meaning of "providing outstanding educational opportunities for women" has changed with the times. When Nagoya Women's Sewing School was first established, the founders were concerned that "women were not making sufficient contribution to society" in Japan in the late Meiji Era, and they stressed the need for practical education. The necessary education for woman at that time was education for practical use in the home, including sewing. As time went by and women entered the workforce, the school began to steer the course of women's education to being useful in the workplace. Following the implementation of the Equal Employment Opportunity Law in the 1980s, women who graduated from universities began to play an active role in society. In order to support this trend, Sugiyama Jogakuen University has been working to expand the range of academic fields it offers and has developed into a general university with seven schools, aiming to nurture women who can play diverse roles in society.

Today, it is taken for granted that women work in society, but it is undeniable that there are still various invisible barriers to women's social participation. Japan's gender gap is considered one of the worst in the developed world, and there are still many issues that need to be resolved. To overcome this situation, women are expected to participate in decision-making in society more than ever before, and to take on more responsible jobs. At Sugiyama Jogakuen, we provide practical education necessary for women to play an active role in the modern world. We also provide careful support so that our students can acquire the ability to lead a fulfilling social life for the rest of their lives.

Sugiyama Jogakuen has committed itself to the motto "Nurturing Humanity." This motto embodies our wish that our students will develop the independence and proactivity necessary to put this motto into practice. We are committed to creating a society in which people around the world respect each other's humanity, and we will make concerted efforts to help all of our students participate in various activities, make efforts, and lead meaningful lives at our school.