BUNKA GAKUEN LIBRARY

he Bunka Gakuen Library (Library of Bunka Women's University) was founded in 1950, the same year that the Junior College was established. Over the years the library has built a large collection of books, as well as data on clothing, fashion and design-related subjects. The Bunka Library specializes in clothing and fashion and has become one of the more recognized libraries of its kind in Japan.
It supports, not only all of the educational divisions of Bunka Gakuen, the University, the College, the Language Institute, and the Publishing Bureau, but also students and researchers in the field of clothing and fashion from outside the school. The Library has built a digital archive covering some 50 items (with an image database containing about 23,000 items) chosen from influential books on western clothing. About 500 items are now available on Bunka Gakuen's web site.

BUNKA GAKUEN COSTUME MUSEUM

The Bunka Gakuen Costume Museum opened in 1979, and in commemoration of the 80th anniversary of the founding of Bunka Gakuen was relocated in 2003 on the 1st and 2nd floors of the Shinjuku Bunka Quint Building located on Koshu Kaido highway. Since its foundation Bunka Gakuen had envisioned the establishment of a museum specializing in costume for education and research. Since then Bunka Gakuen has energetically collected articles from all over Japan and from around the world.
Some 20,000 articles are now housed in the museum. The museum hosts five public exhibitions every year, each with a specific theme. It is now widely known as an excellent museum, specializing in costume.
The articles in the collection are wide ranging. They include traditional Japanese clothing such as Kosode (short-sleeved kimono), Noh costumes, modern court dresses and clothes for ordinary people. Among the articles of Western clothing included in the museum are; typical dresses that represent each period from the 18th to 20th centuries, works of Haute Couture designers, ethnic clothes from Eastern Europe, hats, shoes and bags.
Other regions represented in the museum include China, South Korea, Indonesia, India, the Middle East and Africa. There are also clothes and dyed articles from Central and South America.
About 6,000 articles are now included in their database and are accessible through computers located in the museum. Of those 6000 articles, about 2,000 can now be accessed through the Internet.

BUNKA GAKUEN FASHION RESOURSE CENTER

The Bunka Gakuen Fashion Resource Center opened in July 1999. This facility is attached to both Bunka Women's University and to Bunka Fashion College.
The Fashion Resource Center is comprised of four sections, the Textile Reference Room, the Costume Reference Room, the Visual Reference Room and the Resource Center Research Laboratory. The Textile Reference Room stores textile samples from the very basic to the new and trendy. These samples are systematically stored, and linked to a computer textile index system. The Costume Reference Room stores a collection of various costumes; costumes produced for extension classes and fashion shows, as well as those made by prominent designers, and those which won awards in various contests. The Visual Reference Room stores an image database of various world collections, including film footage of the Paris Collection. The Resource Center Research Laboratory was set up to conduct fashion-related research.
The Resource Center finds itself to be a world fashion information base, collecting and analyzing a variety of fashion materials, and possessing original articles, images and data. It strives to contribute to both fashion education and to the fashion industry.

BUNKA GAKUEN INTERNATIONAL COMMUNICATION CENTER

The Bunka Gakuen International Communication Center was opened in July 2002 to promote international exchange activities for Bunka Gakuen. Its main operations include; serving as a contact point for exchange activities with Bunka Gakuen's overseas partner schools, consulting with students who wish to study abroad, and assisting Bunka Gakuen's foreign students or potential candidates who inquire about admission to Bunka Gakuen. The Consultation Section for Study Abroad, found within the center, provides a host of materials from various schools from around world, including those of Bunka Gakuenﾕs partner schools. As well it provides consultation services for those wishing to study abroad. The center is open to anyone who wishes access to these services. The center, which currently has six overseas liaison offices, in Seattle, Paris, Taipei, Seoul, Bangkok, and Beijing, has been developing Bunka Gakuen's public relations in these areas for quite some time. To promote exchange activities between foreign and Japanese students, the center organizes various programs, such as, the ﾔLet's be friends,ﾕ program, a ﾔHome Stayﾕ program, and a flea market. The Center is working hard to facilitate short and long-term study programs at Bunka Gakuen's overseas partner schools, and to further enrich the materials concerning studying abroad.

TRAINING FACILITIES

Bunka Gakuen has two training centers in Nagano Prefecture, located in the picturesque Shinshu highland area of Central Japan. Bunka Hokuryuuko Lodge (built in 1962), located in a suburb of Iiyama City, can accommodate 250 people in its 45 guest rooms. Guests can use its skiing facilities, miniature golf course, tennis courts, gymnasium, as well as either of its large or small sized conference rooms. The Bunka Karuizawa Lodge (built in 1967) located in Karuizawa, has 18 guest rooms, and large and small sized conference rooms able to accommodate a maximum of 70 people. Many students and faculty attend training and seminar programs at these two facilities.

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