Events

On August 21, 1913, Chika Kuroda, Raku Makita and Ume Tange passed Tohoku University's entrance examination, becoming the first female students to be accepted into a Japanese university.

History was thus made. And this "open-door policy" - which welcomes all qualified students without discrimination - would become one of the tenets that continues to define the university today.

Tohoku University has made August 21 an annual occasion to mark their historic feat and to celebrate our pioneering women - past and present.

The university will be commemorating the day with an online event.

The event is comprised of two parts.

Part One

Part one features two lectures along with the announcement of the 7th Masataro Sawayanagi Gender Equality Award winner. Started in 2014 and named after Tohoku University's first president and founder of the open-door policy, the award honors those who have made significant contributions to the promotion of a more gender equal society.

All lectures will be in Japanese.

Program

Greetings from Tohoku University President Hideo Ohno

Kato Satoshi
Title: "The Beginnings of Female University Students: Opening up a New Era"

Kuroda Kotaro
Title: "The Life of Chika Kuroda, Japan's First Female University Student"

7th Masataro Sawayanagi Gender Equality Award Presentation

Registration is not required for this part of the event and can be accessed on Zoom from the following link.

Part one flyer (in Japanese)

Date: Friday August 21
Time: 1 pm - 2 pm
Venue: Online (Zoom)

Part Two

The second part is an online open campus event for junior and high school students.

Graduate students in the natural sciences who are part of Tohoku University's Science Angels program will present their research fields and encourage students to get involved in the sciences.

The Science Angels program was initiated in 2006 and remains a cornerstone of Tohoku University's on-going efforts to promote the role of women in science and technology.

The presentations will be followed by a Q&A and discussion.

Registration is required before the deadline of August 19. Please register here. All presentations and correspondence will be in Japanese.

Part two flyer (in Japanese)

Date: Friday, August 21
Time: 2:30 pm - 4 pm
Venue: Online (Zoom)