IBU is a single-department college of physical education. Universities of physical education used to be places of higher education for selected students with excellent athletic talents and academic abilities. Today, they have become places where students with various intentions get together. The mission of IBU is to foster socially significant human resources. To achieve this mission, we have changed the curriculum drastically along with the faculties and departments in the school's 30th anniversary. In short, this new curriculum has been established with a strong sense of cooperation with society. We aim to nurture human resources who can respond flexibly to various circumstances by selecting and learning not only on campus but also in practical situations.
The establishment of IBU also rose from practical concerns regarding the internationalization of Budo. While engaged in international activities as the President of the International Judo Federation and the Nippon Budokan Foundation, Dr. Matsumae became aware of Budo's increasing overseas popularity. In the years following World War II, many foreigners were intrigued by how Japan rose so quickly from ruin to prosperity. Many attributed Japan's industriousness and vitality to the Budo Spirit and were eager to investigate Japanese martial traditions. However, in the course of the Budo's dissemination, the need for Japan to cultivate "well-qualified, internationally-minded instructors, who were familiar with the history, culture, and lifestyles of the various nations of the world, and who had a working knowledge of the relevant foreign languages" quickly became evident. In response, Dr. Matsumae established IBU to train such Budo instructors.
The goals of IBU with regards to the Budo Spirit, therefore, are twofold: to cultivate the Spirit of Budo at home through IBU's rigorous education based in Budo practice and to propagate the Spirit of Budo abroad by training internationally-minded and culturally sensitive instructors.
In our current climate of geopolitical and economic uncertainty, cultivation of the steadfast and honorable principles which form the core of Budo--peace, friendship, sincerity, perseverance, and respect--becomes urgently necessary work, for the sake of the individual as well as the welfare of the world community. This kind of contribution to world culture is the mission of International Budo University.
Enrollment at IBU has grown to over 2000 students, with students representing every Prefecture in Japan and over 30 foreign countries. IBU's faculty (now totaling 130 full- and part-time instructors) includes former world champions, Olympians, national champions, professional trainers, coaches, doctors, expert researchers, and professors. Teaching and research encompasses a wide variety of subjects associated with sport and Budo, including Budo culture, Budo education, the internationalization of Budo, Budo and the impaired, Budo history, sports science, sports management, coaching science, athletic training, exercise science, health science, sports education, and sports business.
IBU is uniquely committed to guiding the ongoing internationalization of Budo. The University and its faculty regularly work in partnership with the Nippon Budokan Foundation to conduct informational seminars to foreign Budo practitioners and to expand the current body of Budo-related articles, books, and scholarship available in English. In 1994 IBU established its Budo Specialization Program, a one-year immersive course designed to give twenty foreign practitioners of Judo or Kendo the requisite knowledge and training to teach Budo in their home countries. The program's alumni have included national team members and Olympians. In the last 15 years, IBU has hosted over 4000 short-term trainees, Budo Specialization Program students, and exchange students from 47 countries and has formed scholastic relationships with eight universities in 6 foreign countries and areas.
The IBU campus overlooks the Pacific Ocean from its perch in the mountains of Katsuura City (a city of approximately 21,000 people in the lower Boso Peninsula, Chiba Prefecture). The train station is a quick fifteen-minute walk from campus, and Tokyo is only one and a half hours away by limited express trains, which depart hourly. The climate in Katsuura is generally mild, though the area enjoys four distinct seasons.
