Tokyo University of the Arts

About Tokyo University of the Arts

Tokyo University of the Arts (東京藝術大学 Tokyo Geijutsu Daigaku, affectionately known across Japan and the world as Geidai - 藝大), founded in 1887 through the visionary establishment of the Tokyo Fine Arts School (led by Okakura Tenshin and Ernest Fenollosa) and the Tokyo Music School, is Japan’s only and most prestigious national university dedicated exclusively to fine arts, music, film, and global creative arts. Situated in the historic cultural enclave of Ueno Park in Tokyo, Geidai has served for nearly 140 years as the epicentre of Japanese cultural modernization and avant-garde creative innovation. The university counts among its legendary alumni Oscar and Grammy-winning composer Ryuichi Sakamoto, Cannes prize-winning filmmaker Kiyoshi Kurosawa, celebrated anime pioneer Taku Furukawa, acclaimed architect Junya Ishigami, and dozens of Living National Treasures (人間国宝) of Japan. Operating four specialized campuses across the Greater Tokyo Area — Ueno Main Campus (housing Fine Arts, Music, Sogakudo Concert Hall, and the University Art Museum), Toride Campus (advanced sculpture ateliers, foundry, and inter-media workshops in Ibaraki), Senju Campus (home to the Graduate School of Global Arts - GA and Musical Creativity & the Environment), and Yokohama Campus (housing the internationally renowned Graduate School of Film and New Media) — Geidai fosters elite creative talent through intensive studio masterclasses, interdisciplinary experimentation, and international curatorial dialogue under standard statutory national university tuition rates with generous 50% to 100% tuition exemptions.