The history of Tokiwamatsu Gakuen began with the Tokiwamatsu Private Girl School which was established in Shibuya-cho, Toyotama-gun, Tokyo (currently Shibuya-ku) in 1916. The first president was Ms. Suzuko Misumi. She is also known as a lyricist of “The Roots of White Fuji.” Ms. Suzuko Misumi established the Tokiwamatsu Private Girls School with the aim of educating girls to be independent with the expression of “a single violet with steel.” Her spirit of founding the school has been continued for many years and the school was established and transferred in Himonya, Meguro-ku, Tokyo in 1947. Later, Ms. Haya Murotani was appointed to be the chairwoman of Tokiwamatsu Gakuen in 1961, and then established the Tokiwamatsu Gakuen Women’s Junior College, which was a 2-year-college specialized in Art in Kohoku-ku (currently Aoba-ku), Yokohama-shi, Kanagawa in 1966. Since then, the school has evolved and progressed according to the needs of society. The school’s name changed to Yokohama Junior College of Art and Design in 2001 and became coeducational.

Yokohama University of Art and Design is proud of the above history and was established with an educational philosophy which is “Art education that cultivates the roots of creative activity is education in its most essential form” in 2010. We aim to foster human resources who can make a contribution to society in a creative way, as well as understanding the requirements of society in the international city of Yokohama. Tokiwamatsu Gakuen celebrated the 100th anniversary of it foundation in 2016. We will keep improving and activating our education and the level of study, as well as linking up with regional communities to increasingly become a creative university which appeals to society.