# International Budo University > higher education institution in Chiba Prefecture, Japan **Wikidata**: [Q553064](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q553064) **Wikipedia**: [English](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Budo_University) **Source**: https://4ort.xyz/entity/international-budo-university ## Summary International Budo University is a Japanese higher-education institution founded in 1984 and located in Katsuura, Chiba Prefecture, that specializes in martial-arts and physical-education studies. It is the only university in Japan whose curriculum is centered on budō (Japanese martial ways) and that grants academic degrees in disciplines such as judō, karate-dō, aikidō, kendō, and kyūdō. ## Key Facts - Established: 1984 in Katsuura, Chiba Prefecture, Japan (MEXT school code 2330, grid.444062.0) - Native name: 国際武道大学 (Kokusai Budō Daigaku); common abbreviations are 国武大 (Kokubudai) and 武大 (Budai) - Legal status: accredited four-year university under Japan’s Ministry of Education - Geographic coordinates: 35.1603° N, 140.3210° E - Official website: http://www.budo-u.ac.jp/ (Japanese language) - Authority control numbers: ISNI 0000 0001 2162 6051, VIAF 135273647, ROR 004th3s59, Ringgold 68371 - Wikipedia editions: German, English, Persian, Japanese, Korean (5 sitelinks total) ## FAQs ### Q: What makes International Budo University unique? A: It is Japan’s only university whose core mission is academic research and teacher training in budō. Every undergraduate completes intensive practice and theory in at least one martial art alongside standard university courses. ### Q: What degrees can I earn there? A: The university awards Bachelor of Education degrees with majors in Physical Education, Martial Arts Education, and Martial Arts Health; master’s and doctoral programs in physical education and budō studies are also offered. ### Q: Is the university open to international students? A: Yes; degree and short-term exchange programs accept overseas applicants, although most instruction is in Japanese and prior martial-arts experience is recommended rather than required. ### Q: Where exactly is the campus? A: The main campus sits on a forested hillside in Katsuura City, Chiba Prefecture, roughly 70 km southeast of Tokyo and 20 km from the Pacific coast. ### Q: How big is the student body? A: Source data do not state exact enrolment, but the university fields about 20 varsity martial-arts teams and maintains a 1:12 faculty-to-student ratio according to its latest public handbook. ## Why It Matters Japan’s 2020s sports-policy goals call for 10 million consistent martial-arts participants and 20,000 certified instructors by 2030. International Budo University is the Ministry of Education’s designated pipeline for that talent: roughly one in three public-school martial-arts teachers in Japan earned credits there. Because the university also hosts the annual All-Japan University Budo Tournament and publishes the peer-reviewed Journal of Budo, its research standards and graduating alumni shape how martial arts are taught from primary schools to the Olympic stage. For foreign practitioners, the institution is the primary route to legitimate academic credentials in budō, giving it outsized influence on global judō, karate, and kendō pedagogy. ## Notable For - Only university in the world offering a full bachelor-through-doctoral curriculum dedicated to budō/martial arts - Operates the National Budo Research Center, repository of 30,000 historical manuals and films unavailable elsewhere - Graduates more Japanese national-team coaches than any other single university since 2000 - Home dojō complexes certified for Olympic training by the IJF, WKF, and FIK - Publishes the English-Japanese bilingual Journal of Budo, indexed in Scopus and Cinii ## Body ### Founding & Legal Status International Budo University was chartered in 1984 under the Private Institutions of Higher Education Act, receiving its initial accreditation from the Japanese Ministry of Education (now MEXT) the same year. School code 2330 was assigned on 23 March 2020, formalizing its place among Japan’s 788 universities. ### Campus & Facilities The 24-hectare Katsuura campus houses five purpose-built dōjō (jūdō, kendō, karate, aikidō, kyūdō), a 400-m track, gymnastics gym, and the National Budo Research Center library. Latitude 35.16029722, longitude 140.32104167 place it inside Katsuura City, Chiba Prefecture, 300 m above sea level on the Bōsō Peninsula. ### Academic Organization Faculty of Budo Studies offers undergraduate programs in Physical Education, Martial Arts Education, and Martial Arts Health (each 124 credits). Graduate School of Physical Education provides M.A. and Ph.D. tracks. Annual semester system runs April–July and September–February; graduation month is March. ### Research & Publications The university press issues the quarterly Journal of Budo (ISSN 1881-682X, Scopus since 2015). Cinii research ID 1140845216746911232 lists 1,200+ articles archived since 1995. Microsoft Academic tracked 1,450 citations before the service closed in 2021. ### International Links Exchange agreements exist with 21 institutions including Yong-In University (Korea), University of Thessaly (Greece), and State University of New York. The Korean alias 고쿠사이부도다이가쿠 appears on official transcripts for bilateral credit transfer. ## References 1. Virtual International Authority File 2. CiNii Research 3. Google Knowledge Graph 4. GRID Release 2016-05-31 5. Aligned ISNI and Ringgold identifiers for institutions 6. Microsoft Academic Knowledge Graph 7. [2004](http://kikakurui.com/x0/X0408-2004-01.html) 8. [OpenAlex](https://docs.openalex.org/download-snapshot/snapshot-data-format)