History of Musashino Art University 1929-2019

Teikoku Art School, 1933.

Studio class in the Department of Western Painting at Teikoku Art School, circa 1935.

Musashino Art School's annual anniversary festival, 1950.

Students of the art teachers training department doing gymnastics at Musashino Art School (Mitaka field), 1954.

Building 4 under construction at the Takanodai campus in 1964.

Class in the Department of Sculpture, 1967.

Photography class in the Department of Visual Communication Design, 1978.

October 1929

  • Teikoku Art School founded

December 1948

  • Name changed to Musashino Art School

April 1957

  • Musashino Art School accredited as an educational institution
  • Musashino Junior College of Art founded

April 1959

  • Correspondence Course established in the Junior College of Art

April 1962

  • Musashino Art School renamed Musashino Art University
  • College of Art and Design created, consisting of:
    Department of Art
    ・Japanese Painting
    ・Oil Painting
    ・Sculpture
    Department of Industrial Design
    ・Commercial Design
    ・Industrial, Interior, and Craft Design
    ・Scenography and Display Design

October 1963

  • University participates as a founding member in the Cite Internationale des Arts, Paris

November 1963

  • International Exhibition of Art Universities, Fine Arts and Design 1963, held with Pratt Institute, New York, and Ecole Nationale Superieure des Beaux-Arts de Paris, in commemoration of the university's 35th anniversary

April 1965

  • Department of Architecture created in the College of Art and Design

April 1966

  • Museum & Library created following a library reorganization
  • Department of Science of Design created in the College of Art and Design

April 1967

  • Museum & Library opens
  • Japanese, German, and Swiss Students' Exhibition held to commemorate opening of Museum & Library

April 1973

  • Graduate School of Art and Design created

April 1974

  • College of Art and Design's Department of Art and Department of Industrial Design reorganized as 8 independent departments
    ・Japanese Painting
    ・Painting
    ・Sculpture
    ・Commercial Design
    ・Industrial, Interior and Craft Design
    ・Scenography and Display Design
    ・Architecture
    ・Science of Design

February 1978

  • 1st Five Art Universities Joint Graduation Exhibition in Tokyo held at the Tokyo Municipal Museum of Art by the Department of Art, Nihon University, Tama Art University, Women's College of Fine Arts, Tokyo University of Art and Design, and Musashino Art University

November 1979

  • Ceremony commemorating 50th anniversary held

February 1983

  • College of Art and Design holds first entrance examination for international students

April 1987

  • Printmaking Specialty established in the Graduate School of Art and Design

April 1988

  • Fashion Design programme established in the Scenography and Display Design Department, Graduate School of Art and Design

May 1989

  • Currents in Contemporary Design: the Hochschule fur Gestaltung Ulm exhibition commemorating the school's 60th anniversary, held at Shinjuku Asahi Life Insurance Gallery Commemorative symposium, “Ideology of Design,” held at the Sky Room, Shinjuku Center Building

April 1990

  • Department of Imaging Arts and Sciences established in the College of Art and Design

November 1990

  • “Franz Cizek (1865-1946):
    Pioneer in Art Education:
    Children, Achievement, Environment
    Exhibition held at Aoyama Kodomo-no-Shiro (Children's Castle), Tokyo Commemorative Symposium, Children's Creativity and Design Education,”
    held at Aoyama Gakuin University

March 1991

  • Construction of Building 12 in honor of the school's 60th anniversary begins

July 1991

  • The History of Sixty Years of Musashino Art University published

September 1993

  • Exchange exhibition of Musashino Art University student’s works held at Zhejiang Academy of Fine Arts (now China Academy of Art) in Hangzhou

May 1994

  • “The History of Design and Knowledge,”
    a symposium commemorating the 75th anniversary of Bauhaus, held at the OAG Hall, Goethe Institut, Tokyo

September 1994

  • Outstanding Student Works from the China Academy of Art and Fu Bao Shi exhibitions held at Museum & Library
  • Academic exchange agreement signed with the China Academy of Art, China

February 1995

  • System of entrance examinations for Japanese students returning from overseas begins in the College of Art and Design

December 1996

  • Academic exchange agreement signed with the University of Art and Design Helsinki UIAH (currently Aalto University School of Arts, Design and Architecture), Finland
  • Academic exchange agreement signed with Ecole Nationale Superieure des Beaux - Arts de Paris, France

September 1997

  • Academic exchange agreement signed with Instituto Profesional DUOC, Chile

April 1999

  • Department of Arts Policy and Management, Department of Design Informatics established in the College of Art and Design

August 2001

  • Academic exchange agreement signed with Politecnico di Milano, Scuola del Design, Italy

January 2002

  • Academic exchange agreement signed with Nottingham Trent University, School of Art & Design, UK

February 2002

  • Academic exchange agreement signed with Hongik University, Korea

April 2002

  • Four-year Correspondence Course established in the College of Art and Design

January 2004

  • Academic exchange agreement signed with Koeln International School of Design, Germany

April 2004

  • Doctoral degree program established in the Graduate School of Art and Design

September 2005

  • Academic exchange agreement signed with Dongseo University, Korea

November 2005

  • Academic exchange agreement signed with The Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts, School of Architecture, Denmark

December 2005

  • Academic exchange agreement signed with Shanghai Theatre Academy, China

February 2006

  • Academic exchange agreement signed with School of the Art Institute of Chicago, USA

June 2006

  • Academic exchange agreement signed with Pratt Institute, USA
  • Academic exchange agreement signed with University of the Arts London, UK
  • Academic exchange agreement signed with Universitaet der Kuenste Berlin, Germany

July 2006

  • Academic exchange agreement signed with Kungl. Konsthoegskolan / Royal Institute of Art, Sweden

October 2006

  • Academic exchange agreement signed with Konstfack / University College of Arts, Crafts and Design, Sweden

February 2007

  • Academic exchange agreement signed with The Glasgow School of Art, UK

September 2007

  • Academic exchange agreement signed with Shanghai Institute of Visual Arts, Fudan University, China

May 2009

  • Academic exchange agreement signed with Rhode Island School of Design, USA

October 2009

  • Ceremony commemorating 80th anniversary held

October 2010

  • Academic exchange agreement signed with Institut Teknologi Bandung, Indonesia

September 2013

  • Academic exchange agreement signed with National Taiwan University of Arts, Taiwan

October 2013

  • Academic exchange agreement signed with Central Academy of Fine Arts, China
  • Academic exchange agreement signed with LASALLE College of the Arts, Singapore

February 2014

  • Academic exchange agreement signed with The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, School of Design, Hong Kong
  • Academic exchange agreement signed with Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology, Australia

March 2014

  • Academic exchange agreement signed with Academy of Arts & Design, Tsinghua University, China

July 2014

  • Academic exchange agreement signed with University of Reading, UK

October 2014

  • Academic exchange agreement signed with Guangzhou Academy of Fine Arts, China

November 2014

  • Academic exchange agreement signed with Shih Chien University, Taiwan

July 2015

  • Academic exchange agreement signed with National Institute of Design, India

December 2015

  • Academic exchange agreement signed with Artesis Plantijn University College of Antwerp, Royal Academy of Fine Arts, Belgium

October 2016

  • Academic exchange agreement signed with Vilnius Academy of Arts, Lithuania

September 2017

  • Academic exchange agreement signed with Silpakorn University, Thailand

October 2017

  • Academic exchange agreement signed with National Academy for Educational Research, Taiwan

November 2017

  • Academic exchange agreement signed with St. Petersburg State Academic Repin Institute of Painting, Sculpture and Architecture, Russia

July 2018

  • Academic exchange agreement signed with Royal College of Art, UK

April 2019

  • Ichigaya Campus opens
  • College of Creative Thinking for Social Innovation created, consisting of:
    Department of Creative Innovation
    Department of Imaging Arts and Sciences
  • Graduate School of Creative Thinking for Social Innovation created, consisting of:
    Master's Degree Program
    Creative Thinking for Social Innovation Courses (Creative Leadership, Imaging Arts and Sciences)

April 2021

  • Graduate School of Creative Thinking for Social Innovation created, consisting of:
    Doctoral Degree Program
    Studies in Creative Thinking for Social Innovation