TOHO Gakuen College of Drama and Music is a Tokyo-based two-year college which was established in 1964. The college now offers two courses of study: Drama and Music. The drama course was established to train high school graduates hoping to pursue careers in theatre, television and film.

The forerunner of the Drama Course was founded as Haiyuza-Yoseijo, the drama school of the famous Haiyuza-Theatre, one of the leading theatre companies in Japan. This school was a hugely influential contributor to the development of actor training in Japan, making drastic reforms and adopting new methods designed to synthesize the mind and body, and producing many actors and actresses who became key figures in theatre, film, and television.

In 1966 Haiyuza-Yoseijo was transformed into the Drama Course of TOHO Gakuen College of Drama and Music. This course at TOHO Gakuen proudly continues the traditions and educational principles of Haiyuza-Yoseijo.

The prestigious and well-renowned Drama Course has been providing professional training for those wishing to work in theatre, television, film and some other related fields for 50 years.

The course has three central aims. The first is to encourage students to interpret drama from the perspectives of an actor or actress. In the reading process, students develop an insight into dramatic creativity. The second is to foster students’ physical development as the capacity to express their imagination through their body. The third is to provide students with the opportunity to apply their skills in ensemble and to contribute to group productions. 

Famous Japanese teachers like Zenchiku Juro are teaching traditional Japanese theatre arts like Kyougen and Buyoh.Moreover, famous foreign directors or drama educationists were invited as visiting professors of the college. The visiting professors include Prof. Nicholas Barter (former President of Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts), Prof. Kuniaki Ida (professor at Milan City Paolo Grassi Drama School) and Prof. Aubrey Mellor (former Director of National Institute of Dramatic Art, Australia). The students got special lessons at the Loose-Moose Theatre, Calgary, Canada with Keith Johnstone, one of the most famous theatre teacher worldwide.

URL: college.toho.ac.jp/