Nishimachi International School
| Nishimachi International School 西町インターナショナルスクール |
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|---|---|
| Location | |
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2-14-7 Moto Azabu Minato-ku, Tokyo 106-0046 Tokyo, Japan Japan |
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| Coordinates | 35°39′13″N 139°43′50″E / 35.6536°N 139.7305°ECoordinates: 35°39′13″N 139°43′50″E / 35.6536°N 139.7305°E |
| Information | |
| Type | Private International |
| Established | 1949 |
| Head of school | Terence Christian |
| Grades | K - 9 |
| Color(s) | Blue and White |
| Mascot | Vikings |
| Accreditation | WASC & CIS |
| Affiliation | none |
| Website | Nishimachi International School Website |
Nishimachi International School (西町インターナショナルスクール), established in 1949, is a co-educational, non-sectarian, private K-9 day school located in the Azabu area of Tokyo, Japan. The main language of instruction is in English. Japanese is taught to all students every day from beginner to native speaker level.
Nishimachi International School was founded by Tané Matsukata, granddaughter of former Prime Minister of Japan Matsukata Masayoshi, and sister of Haru M. Reischauer, wife of former United States Ambassador to Japan Edwin O. Reischauer.
Tané Matsukata returned to Japan after seventeen years in the U.S., where she received her education and spent the war years. She found Tokyo still badly scarred from the war although the slow process of rebuilding had begun. In discussion with friends, she began to realize the important role that education would play in the reconstruction process. Together they explored the alternatives and concluded that a new approach other than traditional education was needed, one that stressed the human side of learning and had peaceful coexistence with others as an objective. Learning a second language, in this case English, was step one in the educational process. They saw this as fundamental to extending the children's understanding beyond the boundaries of their own culture and into other cultures. They hired a teacher for Japanese, and the school that was eventually to become Nishimachi opened its doors to its first four students. Matsukata is related by marriage to the late Harvard professor, Edwin O. Reischauer.
The Nishimachi school year, for grades 1-9, begins on August 23, and finishes on June 13th. Middle school enjoy dances, a week-long ski trip, and many other holidays and traditions. Nishimachi owns a piece of land about 3 hours travel away from the city. This camp includes a main house, a traditional Japanese farmhouse that has been converted to another sleeping place, and a traditional Japanese storage house that has been renovated. The main house has two rooms or bunk beds downstairs, and a kitchen and dining room upstairs. The farmhouse has four rooms of tatami with wooden screens that can be pulled away to open up the room.
Nishimachi International School is accredited by the Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC) and the Council of International Schools (CIS), and is a member of the Japan Council of International Schools (JCIS) and the East Asia Regional Council of Overseas School (EARCOS).
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