First Higher School

It is the direct predecessor of the College of Arts and Sciences of the University of Tokyo.

Modelled after pre-university colleges in the United Kingdom and the United States, its role was to provide future university students with liberal arts education as opposed to specialised university education (教養主義, Kyōyōshugi).

[3] Nine prime ministers of Japan were educated at the First Higher School (Kato, Wakatsuki, Hirota, Konoe, Hiranuma, Ashida, Hatoyama, Kishi and Fukuda).

After World War II, American-led educational reforms, targeting 'elitism', abolished higher schools, incorporating them into universities.

The First Higher School was closed on 24 March 1950, and it became the College of Arts and Sciences of the University of Tokyo.