The Faculty of Letters became part of the university when it was founded in 1877 through the merger of the Kaisei School and the Tokyo School of Medicine, the former of which included the Faculty.

The Faculty traces its roots to the Bansho Shirabesho and the Shōhei-zaka Gakumonjo, both established during the Edo period.

[1] In 1877, the Faculty comprised three departments: philosophy, politics, and Japanese and Chinese literature studies.

Over time, these departments were gradually divided into more specialised groups, but the reorganisation of 1963 classified them into four categories: Cultural Studies, History, Linguistics, and Behavioural Studies.

[1] The Department of Education became an independent faculty in 1949 at the request of SCAP, which sought to utilise education as a means to further democratise Japanese society.