Jiyu Gakuen was founded in 1921 by Motoko and Yoshikazu Hani. The elementary school was established in 1927, and the boys' department in 1935. In 1947, the school was approved as a junior high school and a high school due to the educational reform. In 1949, the highest department (equivalent to a university) was added, and the school has continued to provide an education to the present.

Jiyugakuen

Jiyu Gakuen Crafts Research Institute and Jiyu Gakuen Consumer Economics Research Department were merged in April 2014 to become the "Jiyu Gakuen Life and Crafts Research Institute." We will continue to strive to provide products that will satisfy our customers, with the philosophy of providing better products to as many people as possible. Jiyu Gakuen Crafts Research Institute was founded in 1932 by graduates of Jiyu Gakuen. It is an organization that has always worked on the family and society. Through research, The Institute produce product such as toys that foster children's creativity, textiles designed with beautiful colors found in daily life. The Institute also provides art education, and craft instruction at the National Friendship Association. Jiyu Gakuen Consumer Economy Research Department is an organization that has been active since its predecessor, the Jiyu Gakuen Consumer Union*, which was founded in 1930. Based on the concept of "what is necessary for life" and "what is truly good for life", the Department proposes carefully selected products. Original smocks and products jointly developed with the Crafts Research Institute are popular.

*It was established as an institution to propose and handle things necessary for practicing the "planned life" advocated by Jiyu Gakuen founder Motoko Hani.

Life and Crafts Research Institute

The Jiyu Gakuen Food Research Group has been making use of the school's studies on "food" since 1946. We sell cookies and cakes that are made with great care by our graduates. Please serve them for an afternoon tea at home, as gifts for celebrations, get well gifts, and wedding favors.

Food Research Group

The JM Shop is located in a corner of the grounds of Myonichikan. It is a shop created by the Crafts Research Institute, Consumer Economics Research Department, and Food Research Group, with the desire to make life itself beautiful, which has been cherished in Jiyu Gakuen education. In addition to the things we have created over the long history of each of the organizations, JM Shop provides attractive products that are "current" and "future". We look forward to your visit. Please stop by when you visit Myonichikan.

JM Shop

In 2003, the publisher Fujin-no-tomo Sha celebrated its 100th anniversary. The magazine "Fujin-no -tomo" was created by newspaper reporters Yoshikazu and Motoko Hani, who took inspiration from their own newlywed family and was the first to cover subjects that are commonplace in women's magazines today, such as cooking, cleaning, and childcare. "Life" is not a hobby, but it is life itself. This magazine, which takes a direct look at "life," which is often overlooked in today's busy society, through practical articles with reader participation, has been read by generations.

Fujin-no-tomo Sha

Loving readers of "Fujin-no-tomo" spontaneously gathered together to create small "Friends' Associations" all over Japan. In 1930, Hani Motoko founded the National Friendship Association. Simply put, the Friendship Association is an organization that seriously studies the everyday tasks of housewives, such as cleaning, cooking, and child rearing. Based on the motto of Fujin-no-tomo, "Good families create a good society," the Friendship Association's activities are spreading throughout society from the perspective of down-to-earth people.

Friend's Association

In 1941, the founder established an educational farm in Kuroiso City, Tochigi Prefecture, with the desire to "raise boys in nature". Over 60 years after its establishment, the farm was developed by many children, students, and farm staff, and now has five staff members who raise about 100 dairy cows and operate a dairy farm.

Nasu Farm

Address: 1-8-15 Gakuen-Cho, Higashikurume-Shi, Tokyo 203-8521


Schools: Senior High School, High School, Junior High School, Elementary School, Early Childhood Life Group


Address: 2-31-3 Nishi-Ikebukuro, Toshima-Ku, Tokyo 171-0021 JAPAN

Capital: 40 million yen (authorized capital 40 million yen)

Sales: 316 million yen (2023 fiscal year)
Shareholders: Jiyu Gakuen School Corporation
Fujin-no-Tomosha Co., Ltd.
Date of Establishment: February 2, 2006

Representative Director: Junkichi Murayama (Chairman of Jiyu Gakuen School Corporation)

Directors: Hiroko Akagi (Administrative Director, Jiyu Gakuen School Corporation), Ryu Fukuda (Director, Jiyu Gakuen Tomorrow Hall)
Auditor: Kohei Nagata (Director, Jiyu Gakuen School Corporation)

Event hall business, craft business, confectionery business, rental business

─Maintenance, rental of rooms, and public lecture operation of Jiyu Gakuen Myonichikan (an Important Cultural Property)

─Operation of Jiyu Gakuen Life and Crafts Research Institute

─Operation of Jiyu Gakuen Food Research Group
─Operation of Jiyu Gakuen Shinonome Tea House

52 (as of April 1, 2024)