Tokyo College of Music, the oldest private school of music in Japan, was founded as Toyo Conservatory of Music in Kanda, Tokyo in 1907. It moved to its current location in Ikebukuro, Tokyo after the original buildings were destroyed by the Great Kanto Earthquake of 1924. Tokyo College of Music is a coeducational institute that has contributed significantly to the development of Western classical music in Japan.
  In its early years, the college created the Tokyo Orchestra which was comprised of former graduates. The founder of the college, Yonejiro Suzuki, and the orchestra boarded a Pacific Ocean steamer and went to America to conduct musical research. This was the first time that such a project was undertaken in Japan's musical history. For 17 years the orchestra performed on Pacific Ocean steamers from 1912 to 1929.
  Over the years, Tokyo College of Music has taken great strides in strengthening its faculty and staff as well as expanding the facilities of the school. The college now boasts of a highly qualified and distinguished faculty of more than 300 teaching personnel. Many internationally acclaimed artists and educators regularly visit to conduct master classes and college ensembles have toured Asia, Europe and the US.
  The goals of the college are to educate young musicians with a high standard of theory and technique, cultivate and enrich their sensibilities and characters with culture and nurture their ability to adapt in an international and information-oriented society.
  The main campus facilities consist of a five-story administration/classroom building with concert hall, a twelve-story classroom/studio building with recital hall and pipe organ, a practice room facility, the Graduate School with performance space and recording studio, and an extensive library. In addition there are a two story ensemble rehearsal building, the Traditional Japanese Music House, Institute of Ethnomusicology, high school, kindergarten, and dormitories.