The Nippon Dental University

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The Nippon Dental University is the only dental university that has two schools of dentistry. Comprising two campuses, one in Tokyo and the other in Niigata, it has two schools of dentistry, three affiliated hospitals, two junior colleges, and a museum. At present, there are about 2,000 students, 1,000 teaching staff, and over 19,800 graduates.
The Nippon Dental University, Japan's first dental university, was founded by Ichigoro Nakahara in 1907 under the Japanese Dental Law, which introduced regulations for the accreditation of both public and private dental schools. Dentistry was in its infancy at the time, and the purpose of establishing this school was "to foster excellence in dentists as regards their character as well as their scholastic achievements and technique." The school trained students on the medical aspects of the teeth, jaw, and oral cavity and produced dentists with the necessary academic and technical knowledge and an appropriate ethical attitude.
The Nippon Dental University is a private school dedicated to continuing the founder's spirit of "independence," In 2006, it celebrated the 100th anniversary of its foundation. These one hundred years of continuing tradition and history are why the school is regarded as "the fountainhead of dentistry" in Japan.
Nippon Dental University has changed the school and faculty names to include the words "life dentistry." Dentistry involves the study of life in general, and dental treatment involves medical treatment relating to life. For this reason, the word "life" was added to the school and faculty names.
In recent years, universities have been required to have the quality of their education evaluated and accredited every seven years and to make the results of that assessment public. At the core of the assessment is the university's mission. Consequently, the university's mission, which had previously received little notice, has suddenly become the focus of attention.
In 1906 the Japanese Dental Law was established, which introduced regulations on both public and private dental schools' accreditation. But, as it turned out, the number of people who took the exam in Tokyo that year to become certified dentists numbered no more than 187. Dr. Ichigoro Nakahara, a highly respected private practitioner, repeatedly urged the central government to establish public (i.e., national) dental schools. But since dentistry was considered to have little relevance to the national goals of building a robust industrial base and a mighty army, Dr. Nakahara's entreaties fell on deaf ears. In short, for the government, dental care was not regarded as a priority.
In the school's prospectus at the time of its founding, the following was written: "Working together, our goal is to assist private practitioners during the day, and in the evening to teach dentistry to those who have daytime jobs: first, by supplementing the deficiencies of the educational system second, by lightening the burden borne by private practitioners who act as our mentors. This is the rationale behind our plan to establish a school devoted to the teaching of dentistry.… One goal is to introduce dentists into society who are versed in both the theoretical and practical aspects of dentistry; another is to produce dentists of high moral character." In other words, the school's mission was to produce skilled and knowledgeable dentists of high moral character.
Thus, without relying on others or calling for outside assistance, Dr. Nakahara one-handedly founded a private school and steadfastly maintained its independence. Although he was modest about his achievements, Dr. Nakahara deserves praise for his unswerving lifelong devotion to private education.
This spirit has been maintained down the decades, and Nippon Dental University still operates on the principles of, and a deep belief in, independence and self-reliance. Throughout the 100 years since its founding, Nippon Dental University has never wavered from its stance of self-reliance and self-responsibility, and that, in truth, is what constitutes the school's true spirit and mission.

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