Nanzan University

Nanzan University
南山大学
	;
Former name	Nanzan College of Foreign Languages (1946-1949)
Motto	Hominis Dignitati (人間の尊厳のために, Ningen no Songen no Tame ni)
Motto in English	For human dignity
Type	Private Roman Catholic Research Non-profit Coeducational Basic and Higher education institution
Established	1946
Founder	Fr. Joseph Reiners, SVD
Religious affiliation	Roman Catholic; (Divine Word Missionaries)
Academic affiliations	ASEACCU ACUCA
President	Rev.Fr.Robert Kisala, SVD
Academic staff	348
Students	9,199
Undergraduates	9,020
Postgraduates	179
Location	Nagoya, Aichi Prefecture, Japan; 35.1481°N 136.963°E
Campus	Urban/Suburban
Affiliations	Nanzan Gakuen
Website	http://www.nanzan-u.ac.jp/English/index.htm

Nanzan University (南山大学, Nanzan daigaku) is a private, Catholic and coeducational higher education institution run by the Society of the Divine Word (SVD) in the Shōwa Ward of Nagoya City, Aichi Prefecture, Japan. It is considered to be one of the most prestigious private universities in the Chūbu region.^[1]

History

Nanzan Gakuen Reiners Auditorium

Nanzan is named after the forested mountains near Goken'ya-chō (五軒家町), known as Minamiyama (南山), which literally means "southern mountain". The on reading for "南山" is Nanzan. Also, in Chinese poetry "南山" refers to Mount Lushan until the Tang dynasty and Mount Zhongnan thereafter. Notably, the word appears in the classical poetry collection Shi Jing and the works of famous poet Li Bai. Thus, the choice of name is a celebration of longevity, perseverance, and prosperity for both the school and its alumni.^[2]

Divine Word Missionary Josef Reiners founded Nanzan Junior High School in 1932. Nanzan Foreign Language School was added to the Nanzan system in 1946. Later, as the Society of the Divine Word appointed Rev. Ralph Thyken, the American representative of Fu Jen Catholic University, to Japan to participate in the establishment of a new Nagoya Catholic University,^[3] and Nanzan Foreign Language School was formally renamed Nanzan University in 1949.

Located to the east of the campus is the Divine Word Seminary Chapel, constructed in 1962. This is a building that exploits the plastic capacity of concrete, with two intersecting shells forming a bell tower. These are punctured with vertical slots which allow light to radiate along the curved interior walls.^[4]

Nanzan Junior College (南山短期大学, Nanzan Tanki Daigaku) opened in 1968 as a women's junior college affiliated with the university. In 2011 the junior college campus was closed and reorganized as a department on Nanzan University's Nagoya campus offering courses in English language.^[5]

In 1995, Nagoya Seirei Junior College was subsumed by Nanzan when the two schools' organizations merged.^[6] In 2008, Nanzan planned to open an elementary school, officially named Nanzan University Affiliated Elementary School.

Detail of one of the buildings designed by Antonin Raymond

In 1961, Czech architect Antonin Raymond was commissioned to design most buildings on the Nagoya campus. It was one of the largest projects that he would undertake. The campus was orientated on a north–south axis across rolling hills and the eight buildings were arranged to suit the typography and harmonise with the landscape. In-situ concrete is used throughout the scheme and each building has its own concrete form, some with pilotis, others with shells.^[7]

Organization

Nanzan University is part of Nanzan School Corporation (南山学園, Nanzan gakuen), an educational complex of four high schools, and the university itself. Among coeducational universities, Nanzan is the only Catholic missionary school in the Chūbu region.

Nanzan has an active study abroad program with over 100 partner universities around the world. The Center for Japanese Studies opened in 1974, and is now one of the most prestigious Japanese language programs in Japan, accepting over 300 students a year into its fall, spring and summer programs.

For many years, Nanzan has held an annual competition with its Catholic sister schools Sophia University (上智大学, Jōchi daigaku) primarily focusing on athletics. Combining the first two syllables in Japanese of the respective schools, the Nanzan-Sophia event is known as the Jōnan-sen (上南戦) .

The humanities department offers priest training courses through its Christian studies curriculum.

Campus

Nanzan's campus is in Yagoto, in the eastern part of Nagoya, in Shōwa-ku. The campus is about a 10-minute walk from either Nagoya Daigaku (名古屋大学) or Yagoto Nisseki (八事日赤) station on the Nagoya Municipal Subway's Meijō Line. Alternately, campus is a 15-minute walk from Irinaka (いりなか) on the subway's Tsurumai Line.

Main campus in Nagoya
The Divine Word Seminary Chapel, constructed in 1962 by Antonin Raymond
Sports ground on campus
International Student House

Faculties and departments

Humanities
- Christian Studies
- Human Culture
- Psychology and Human Relations
- Japanese Cultural Studies
Foreign Studies
- British and American Studies
- Spanish and Latin-American Studies
- French Studies
- German Studies
- Asian Studies
Economics
Business Administration
Law
Public Policy
Science and Technology
- Software Engineering
- Data Science
- Electronics and Communication Technology
- Mechanical Engineering and System Control
Global Liberal Studies

Graduate schools and programs

Humanities
- Christian Thought
- Religious Thought
- Anthropology
- Educational Facilitation
- Linguistic Science
International Area Studies
Economics
- Economics
- Management
- Policy Studies
Law
Sciences and Engineering
- Systems and Mathematical Sciences
- Software Engineering
- Mechatronics
- Data Science
Nanzan School of Law
- Legal Practice

Notable alumni and students

Ryohei, R&B singer.
Masato Hayakawa, frontman of rock band Coldrain.
Home Made Kazoku, hip hop trio.
Sakon Yamamoto, racecar driver (currently enrolled).
Kazuki Nakajima, racecar driver (currently enrolled).

Affiliations

Nanzan is a member of the ASEACCU (Association of Southeast and East Asian Catholic Colleges and Universities), an organization of Catholic institutes of higher learning in the Philippines, Australia, Thailand, Taiwan, South Korea, Indonesia and Japan. In addition to Nanzan, there are seven other Japanese members, including Sophia.

Sister schools

Associated schools

Nanzan Elementary School
Nanzan Boys' Junior and Senior High School
Nanzan Girls' Junior and Senior High School
Nanzan International Junior and Senior High School
Seirei Girls' Junior and Senior High School
Misono Jogakuin Junior and Senior High School
Misono Kindergarten
Misono Maria Kindergarten

References

^ http:// auabroad. american.edu/index.cfm?FuseAction=programs.ViewProgram&Program_ID=10515
^ "Nanzan University Founding Principles". Retrieved 2007-04-21.
^ "Peking Catholic University Head in Tokyo - from the Catholic Herald A…". archive.catholicherald.co.uk. Archived from the original on 29 June 2013. Retrieved 6 June 2022.
^ Helfrich & Whitaker (2006) p74
^ 南山短期大学の名称変更、キャンパス移転および定員変更について [Concerning Nanzan Junior College's name change, campus closing, and transfer of personnel] (in Japanese). Retrieved 2013-09-27.
^ "Nanzan University Children of the Light". Archived from the original on 2007-04-26. Retrieved 2007-04-20.
^ Japan Architect (2005), p124

External links

35°08′53″N 136°57′47″E / 35.1481°N 136.963°E / 35.1481; 136.963

[1] ttp:// auabroad. american.edu/index.cfm?FuseAction=programs.ViewProgram&Program_ID=10515

[2] "Nanzan University Founding Principles". Retrieved 2007-04-21.

[3] "Peking Catholic University Head in Tokyo - from the Catholic Herald A…". archive.catholicherald.co.uk. Archived from the original on 29 June 2013. Retrieved 6 June 2022.

[4] Helfrich & Whitaker (2006) p74

[5] 南山短期大学の名称変更、キャンパス移転および定員変更について [Concerning Nanzan Junior College's name change, campus closing, and transfer of personnel] (in Japanese). Retrieved 2013-09-27.

[6] "Nanzan University Children of the Light". Archived from the original on 2007-04-26. Retrieved 2007-04-20.

[7] Japan Architect (2005), p124

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