History|The Naganuma School Tokyo School of Japanese Language

Concepts for Japanese language education at The Naganuma School and its teaching method were developed in the 1940's. The school's founder Naoe Naganuma believed the enhancement of students' communication skills to be the most important factor in Japanese language teaching. This idea has continued to live as the basic principle in our current teaching method and learning materials throughout the many revisions and changes over the years.

Graduation ceremony, 1954. To date, more than 25,000 students from over 100 countries have graduated from The Naganuma School.

History prior to the opening of the school

Naoe Naganuma's encounter with Harold E. Palmer

Naoe Naganuma, who had graduated from Tokyo Higher Commercial School (currently Hitotsubashi University), once attended a lecture by Harold E. Palmer, a British linguist visiting Japan as an English education advisor to the Japanese Ministry of Education.
He was deeply impressed with Palmer's lecture, and this was the beginning of a friendship between them. Naoe Naganuma learned about Palmer's teaching method called "English Education as a Foreign Language" and adopted it to create his own Japanese teaching method. After Palmer had established an English teaching institute in the Ministry of Education, he took a post as president of the institute, and Naoe Naganuma as manager.
Later, given a recommendation by Palmer, Naganuma became an instructor of Japanese at the American Embassy.

Standard Japanese Readers

From 1931 to 34, Naoe Naganuma published the Japanese language course material, "The Standard Japanese Readers" (in seven volumes). Since then, the Readers have been used in universities and other education organizations, making the name "Naganuma Readers" famous throughout the world. Edward Seidensticker and Donald Keene, both scholars and translators of Japanese literature, used the books to study the Japanese language.

Opening of the Tokyo School of the Japanese Language, 1948

In 1946, the Institute for Research in Linguistic Culture was established with the approval of the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and Naoe Naganuma became its president. In 1948, he established the Tokyo School of the Japanese Language as an attached organization of the Institute for Research in Linguistic Culture which was approved as a miscellaneous school by the Tokyo Metropolitan Government in 1949. Most students at the time were missionaries and embassy staff.

History after the opening of the school

	Era of Naoe Naganuma, First Principal ＜1948～1964＞ Naoe Naganuma, starting with Palmer's Oral Method, systematized it as the "modified direct method" and put it into practice. At the same time, he published "The Revised Standard Japanese Readers." A new school building was built in 1952 at the current location and audio-visual education was introduced.
	Era of Tsuruko Asano, Second Principal ＜1964～1982＞ "The Second Revised Standard Japanese Readers" were published. The school started to accept students commissioned by DAAD, EC and other organizations. The school was commended by the Agency for Cultural Affairs for excellence in Japanese language education, as well being awarded the Japan Foundation Prize for its Contributions to International Exchange by the Japan Foundation. DAAD: German Academic Exchange Service
	Era of Morito Naganuma, Third Principal ＜1982～1998＞ Morito Naganuma, a younger brother to Naoe Naganuma, became President and Principal. "The Naganuma New Modern Japanese" series was published. The school provided special courses, commissioned by organizations such as the Daiwa Anglo-Japanese Foundation, Japan Business Federation, Ministry of Foreign Affairs (JET), Japan-Netherlands Institute and The Maureen and Mike Mansfield Foundation. A building was rebuilt (currently Building No.1).
	Era of Minako Naganuma, Fourth Principal ＜1998～2007＞ A new school building (currently Building No.2) was constructed, and an old building (currently Building No.3) was structurally reinforced to make it earthquake-resistant. A school-wide computer network was installed and new teaching materials were produced. A general purpose textbook for beginners, "Learning Japanese Anytime, Anywhere", was created. Programs to improve the overall skills and abilities of the teachers were implemented.
	Era of Junkichi Suzuki, Fifth Principal ＜2007～＞ Multimedia teaching materials such as Naganuma e-School were designed and developed. The school has been engaged in the development of new Japanese education-related business projects, and is in the process of expanding the scope of the student services. As an incorporated educational institution, The Naganuma School reorganized as of April 2009, our current aim being to ensure the continuation, innovation, development and enhancement of our educational activities and education-related research ＆ development.