The University of Tokyo slogan Slogan and associated visual chosen as part of 140th anniversary celebrations
Slogan and associated visual chosen as part of 140th anniversary celebrations
Japanese
English
As a part of the University of Tokyo’s 140th anniversary celebrations, the Public Relations Department ran a competition in July 2017 to choose Japanese and English slogans for the university. After careful deliberations, these slogans have now been chosen. In October 2017, we announced the best 14 candidates (nine in Japanese and five in English) at a homecoming day event commemorating the 140th anniversary. After the student body, faculty, and staff chose their favorites through an online poll, the Public Relations Department's working group, selected the two slogans shown above.
Mineki Kokubu, a graduate student of the Graduate School of Interdisciplinary Information Studies (GSII), created the Japanese slogan that we chose as the winner. For the English version, the working group produced a slogan adapted from the word “excellence,” a word used in other top candidates’ ideas and similar in meaning to the Japanese word “takuetsu.” Our selections were founded in the University of Tokyo Charter and the spirit of the University of Tokyo: Vision 2020.
The award ceremony for the winning submissions was held on October 30. Takenori Toyoda and Taisei Fujimoto, two creators from Hakuhodo who significantly contributed to the process of planning the anniversary events up through their completion, were also recognized for their contributions.
We decided on these two slogans with the hope that their use by the student body, faculty, and stafft will support the university's brand image on websites and in other locations. We ask for your cooperation in realizing the idea of excellence expressed in the slogans.
The Designs Used with the Slogan
What is the Chain of Excellence?
We have designed a pattern that can be freely used with either of the slogans so that they can find a wide range of applications. The basic design resembles the two gingko leaves of the University of Tokyo logo. The design is meant to express the “chain of knowledge” that develops through the interaction of the diversity of “excellence” gathered at UTokyo and the “ambitious” futures which our students aim to reach. You can express this symbolism by freely arranging the pattern in a manner that suits the application. Users are free to come up with their own ideas for how to use the pattern and anyone can download the resources from the web. Modifications are permitted and there is no need to ask for permission to use the pattern. (However, you need to apply for permission when combining the slogan with the UTokyo logo.)
For more details, please visit the University of Tokyo slogan page on the university website.