Sophia Archives

The Sophia Archives promotes the preservation, publication, and utilization of Sophia University’s materials and records that have historical value to the university.

These valuable historical materials are stored in a database and made available to students and the public. The Sophia Archives regularly holds exhibitions on the first floor of Building No. 6 (Sophia Tower) on the Yotsuya Campus, as well as special online exhibitions for those materials.

Exhibition Information

Permanent and Temporary Exhibitions

The Sophia Archives regularly holds permanent and temporary exhibitions on the first floor of Building No. 6 (Sophia Tower).

One of the highlights of the permanent exhibit, “The Founding of Sophia University and the Jesuits,” is a portrait of St. Ignatius de Loyola, the founder of the Jesuits. The portrait is a reproduction of a work that has hung in St. Loyola’s room in the Church of the Gesù, the mother church of the Jesuit in Rome, for over 300 years.

Other valuable materials from the collection of the Sophia Archives are also on display, including a bell that is believed to have been used to announce the start of classes when the university first opened, a German textbook from 1921 (reproduction), and the notebooks of students who attended classes taught by Fr. Hermann Hoffmann,S.J., the first president of Sophia University (reproduction).

In addition to the permanent exhibit, the Sophia Archives regularly holds a variety of temporary exhibitions related to Sophia University.

 

About the Exhibition Space on the First Floor of Building No .6 (Sophia Tower)

Open: Weekdays and Saturdays, 10 a.m.– 5 p.m.

Closed: When Building No. 6 is closed and on holidays designated by Sophia School Corporation

*Free admission

For more information on the exhibition, please visit the “Sophia Archives Exhibition Guide” page on Web Piloti.

Special Online Exhibitions

The museum also holds online exhibitions on different themes from the rich variety of historical materials in the Sophia Archives collection.

  • Part 1: Message from Sadako Ogata to World Youth: Hope for the Future
  • Part 2: A Message From The Pope— Commemorating the One-Year Anniversary of Pope Francis’s Visit—
  • Part 3: 100 Years of Student Dormitories
  • Part 4: The History of the Sophia Jesuits and the College of Social Work

Sophia Archives Database

The Sophia Archives database is designed to promote public access and the use of catalog information and digital images of the valuable historical and academic materials collected and stored at Sophia School Corporation Archives, which have been digitized and are ready for public access. It is also possible to do a cross-search between the four databases available at the Sophia Digital Archive.

Sophia Archives Visitor Information

Sophia Archives, Sophia School Corporation

Place: Sophia University Yotsuya Campus, Central Library 9F
Open: Weekdays 9:30 a.m.–4:30 p.m.
Closed: Saturdays, Sundays, national holidays, and holidays designated by Sophia School Corporation
*The closing date and time may be changed for certain reasons. Please inquire in advance if you wish to visit us.

TEL: 03-3238-3294
E-mail: sophia-archives-co@sophia.ac.jp


For more information, please visit the “Sophia Archives” page on Web Piloti.

Sophia University

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