Education and Culture of Tokyo

Tokyo is Japan’s preeminent educational and cultural center.

Within Tokyo Metropolis are more than 100 public and private universities (one-fourth of the nation’s total), enrolling nearly 30 percent of the nation’s university students.

The most prestigious national university is the University of Tokyo (founded in 1877); two well-known private universities are Keio University (1858) and Waseda University (1882).

Located in the popular Ueno Park are the Tokyo National Museum (1871), which specializes in traditional Japanese art and is the country’s largest art museum; the National Museum of Western Art (1959); and the Tokyo Metropolitan Art Museum (1926), which houses collections on the modern art of Japan as well as the Film Center, which has a collection of approximately 10,000 Japanese and foreign films.

Also in Ueno Park are the National Museum of Science (1877), a popular attraction for children and school groups, and the municipal zoo.

The Nezu Art Museum (1959) is in Aoyama.

The Edo-Tokyo Museum, opened in 1993, is in Sumida Ward across the Sumida River from the center of Tokyo. It features exhibits on the history of the city.

The National Diet Library (1948), National Archives (1971), and National Museum of Modern Art (1952) are near the Imperial Palace in a district of government buildings.

Tokyo is also the national center of performing arts.

The city has numerous theaters in which both traditional forms of Japanese drama (such as nō and kabuki) and modern dramas are performed.

Several symphony orchestras and many smaller musical organizations perform both Western and traditional Japanese music.

There are also many theaters in Tokyo showing a large range of Japanese and foreign motion pictures.

The cultural life of Tokyo also includes many traditional festivals and celebrations.

In addition to the Kanda Festival, major festivals that draw people from all over Tokyo and beyond include the Sanno Festival at Hie Shrine and the Sanja Festival at Asakusa Shrine.

Other popular celebrations take place at the Meiji Shrine and Yasukuni Shrine.

There are also many neighborhood festivals at local shrines.

Every year on the last Saturday in July there is an enormous fireworks display over the Sumida River that attracts more than 1 million viewers.

When cherry blossoms bloom in spring, Tokyoites like to gather in parks such as Ueno Park, Inokashira Park, and the Shinjuku Gyōen National Gardens for picnics and strolls under the trees.

Tokyo Disneyland, located close to the eastern boundary of Tokyo Metropolis in Urayasu city in Chiba Prefecture, is another popular attraction.