School Motto and Philosophy of Each Faculty
School Motto
Soai University’s school motto, “To–So–Kyo–Ai,” from which the name of Soai derives, has guided this school for a long time. “To–So–Kyo–Ai” comes from a line of the “Sutra of Immeasurable Life as Expounded by Sakyamuni Buddha,” which is one of “The Three Pure Land Sutras” upon which Mahayana Buddhism (especially Jodo Shinshu Buddhism ) is based. As for the translation of “To–So–Kyo–Ai”, “To” means “should,” “So” means “each other,” “Kyo” means “respect,” and “Ai” is “love.” In total, the phrase means that people should love and respect each other. In extending this phrase, we can arrive at the meaning, “You should love and respect other people just as you do yourself.” Moreover, this motto teaches us to live our lives with “mind,” “behavior,” and “words” well-proportioned. Therefore, the spirit of “To–So–Kyo–Ai” is a fundamental concept for living together in harmony and acting unselfishly. This is the basis of educational ideology today.
The Fundamental Law of Education revised in 2006 indicates that a decline in internal normative consciousness exists as the basis of contemporary social problems that occur frequently, and it takes notice of the role religious education plays in shaping a person’s character. In present-day society where social gaps are widening under globalization and economic confusion, the educational ideology based on the motto “To–So–Kyo–Ai” contributes deeply to forming the internal normative consciousness that enables us to live together in harmony and act unselfishly, and, therefore, “To–So–Kyo–Ai” can be regarded as a motto that is essential for human education even today.
Since the foundation of Soai School in 1888, the motto “To–So–Kyo–Ai” has gradually become the motto of the whole Soai academic institution (including Soai Junior and Senior High School and Soai Junior Conservatory of Music). The motto has also become Soai University’s motto because it is the basis of the sort of human education that society demands from universities, regardless of the times.
The Philosophy of Each Faculty
In order to connect the school motto with concrete results in education and research without it becoming an empty phrase, it is essential that the school motto be reflected consistently in each Faculty of the university. In our university, each Faculty’s ideal is stipulated as follows:
Faculty of Music:
The department, aiming at developing excellent musicians, teaches and researches special arts and sciences in depth, lets students develop intellectual and applied skills, lets them foster fertile sensitivity based on the motto “To–So–Kyo–Ai”, and graduates a principled, highly-educated student who can truly contribute to society.
Faculty of Humanities:
This faculty is based on the school motto “To–So–Kyo–Ai,” which originates from the Buddhist thought that we should pursue truth, loving and respecting both ourselves and others. The faculty aims to fully and richly develop each student’s human potential and his or her strong will to realize co-existence in society. This is done through various studies about humanities, which pursues the past situations of the people seen in history, ways of thinking and psychology, as well as present conditions and problems of human society.
Faculty of Human Development:
On the basis of the school motto “To–So–Kyo–Ai,” this faculty provides education and research concerning human growth and development and it supports and contributes to society by producing capable people who can professionally support others’ mental and physical development.
