The Tokyo Army College was established by the Eighth U.S. Army during its occupation of Japan and became a center of educational and cultural activities for members of the occupational forces and Japanese citizens alike.

From 1947 to 1948, the Tokyo Army College was led by Captain Charles T. McDowell

Charles T. McDowell

Charles Taylor McDowell was professor emeritus and former director of the Center for Post-Soviet and Eastern European Studies at the University of Texas at Arlington, and a member of the Military Science Hall of Honor...

, whose staff included Chisaburo Yamada, the well known Japanese art expert, author, and future director of the National Museum of Western Art, and Faubion Bowers

Faubion Bowers

Faubion Bowers was General Douglas MacArthur's personal Japanese language interpreter and aide-de-camp during the Allied Occupation of Japan. He also was a noted academic in the area of Asian Studies.-Biography:...

, who also served as General Douglas MacArthur

Douglas MacArthur

General of the Army Douglas MacArthur was an American general and field marshal of the Philippine Army. He was a Chief of Staff of the United States Army during the 1930s and played a prominent role in the Pacific theater during World War II. He received the Medal of Honor for his service in the...

's personal interpreter and aide-de-camp

Aide-de-camp

An aide-de-camp is a personal assistant, secretary, or adjutant to a person of high rank, usually a senior military officer or a head of state...

 during the occupation and later became a respected authority on oriental art and culture. Bowers is known in Japan as "the man who saved Kabuki

Kabuki

is classical Japanese dance-drama. Kabuki theatre is known for the stylization of its drama and for the elaborate make-up worn by some of its performers.The individual kanji characters, from left to right, mean sing , dance , and skill...

" because he advocated successfully for the preservation of this form of art when General MacArthur held the view that it should be banned due to its portrayal of feudal values.

Theatrical Productions

During the occupation of Japan, the Tokyo Army College produced numerous plays, many of which belonged to the Kabuki tradition, performed by some of the most famous Kabuki actors in Japan. Playbills for these productions are considered collectors' items and are available through certain rare books dealers.

• July 2, 1946 - Two Kabuki
  Kabuki
  is classical Japanese dance-drama. Kabuki theatre is known for the stylization of its drama and for the elaborate make-up worn by some of its performers.The individual kanji characters, from left to right, mean sing , dance , and skill...
  
   Dramas, including Benten Musume Meo no Shiranami
  Benten Kozo
  ', as the original and fullest version of this play is known, is a tale in five acts of the shiranamimono sub-category of the kizewamono genre of kabuki plays. Written by Kawatake Mokuami, it first premiered at the Ichimura-za in Edo in March 1862.The play is frequently known by a number of other...
  
   and Kanjinchō
  Kanjincho
  Kanjinchō is a Japanese kabuki play by Namiki Gohei III, based on the Noh play Ataka. It is one of the most popular plays in the modern kabuki repertory....
  
   (both starring Onoe Kikugoro, Nakamura Kichiemon
  Nakamura Kichiemon I
  was a Japanese actor and kabuki performer. In 1945, he became the senior living kabuki actor in Japan.Kichiemon construed his career in terms of "lifelong study" of that which cannot be seen in an actor's performance....
  
  , and Matsumoto Kōshirō VII
  Matsumoto Koshiro VII
  Matsumoto Kōshirō VII was one of the leading tachiyaku Kabuki actors of Japan's Meiji period through the late 1940s.-Names:...
  
  ).

• May 28, 1947 - Two Kabuki Dramas, including "Imparting of the Secret Art of Calligraphy" from the historical play Sugawara Denju
  Sugawara Denju Tenarai Kagami
  is a Japanese bunraku and kabuki play jointly written by Takeda Izumo I, Takeda Izumo II, Namiki Sōsuke and Miyoshi Shōraku. Along with Yoshitsune Senbon Zakura and Kanadehon Chūshingura, it is one of the three most famous and popular plays in the kabuki repertoire...
  
   (starring Matsumoto Kōshirō VII
  Matsumoto Koshiro VII
  Matsumoto Kōshirō VII was one of the leading tachiyaku Kabuki actors of Japan's Meiji period through the late 1940s.-Names:...
  
  , Nakamura Shikan, Nakamura Kichiemon
  Nakamura Kichiemon I
  was a Japanese actor and kabuki performer. In 1945, he became the senior living kabuki actor in Japan.Kichiemon construed his career in terms of "lifelong study" of that which cannot be seen in an actor's performance....
  
  , Nakamura Tokizo, Nakamura Kichinojo, and Ichikawa Somegoro) and the Kabuki comedy Migawari Zazen
  Shinko engeki jisshu
  is a collection of kabuki plays strongly associated with the Onoe Kikugorō line of kabuki actors. Akin to the Kabuki Jūhachiban of the Ichikawa Danjūrō lineage, the compilation of the Shinko engeki jisshu was begun by Onoe Kikugorō V and completed by his son Onoe Kikugorō VI.These represent the...
  
   (starring Onoe Kikugoro, Bandō Mitsugorō VIII, and Ichikawa Omezo).

• June 11, 1947 - A Noh
  Noh
  , or - derived from the Sino-Japanese word for "skill" or "talent" - is a major form of classical Japanese musical drama that has been performed since the 14th century. Many characters are masked, with men playing male and female roles. Traditionally, a Noh "performance day" lasts all day and...
  
   play at the Somei Noh Theater

• October 1, 1947 - Two Bunraku
  Bunraku
  , also known as Ningyō jōruri , is a form of traditional Japanese puppet theater, founded in Osaka in 1684.Three kinds of performers take part in a bunraku performance:* Ningyōtsukai or Ningyōzukai—puppeteers* Tayū—the chanters* Shamisen players...
  
   performances, including Chikagoro Kawara no Tatehiki and Michiyuki Hatsunetabi, performed at the Tokyo Gekyo Theatre.

Musical Productions

• June 1, 1947 - Piano Concert by Tatsue Tanaka
• June 11, 1947 - Vocal Concert "Hugo Wolf Evening" by Teiichi Nakayama
• June 15, 1947 - Piano Concert by Koji Taku
• June 22, 1947 - Choral Concert by the Ueno Academy of Music
• June 29, 1947 - Piano Concert by Professor Paul Vinogradoff

Art Exhibitions

• June 12-14, 1947 - Modern French Painting
• June 16-18, 1947 - Japanese national treasures in the Okochi Collection
• June 19-25, 1947 - Japanese Wooden Sculpture

Students and Faculty

• The renowned German artist Willy Seiler instructed American Army personnel in oil painting, life drawing and sketching at the Tokyo Army College in the late 1940s. General MacArthur is known to have sat for an etching by Seiler in 1951.

• The famed poet, novelist, ethnographer, and journalist Americo Paredes
  Americo Paredes
  Americo Paredes was a Mexican-American author born in Brownsville, Texas who authored several texts focusing on the border life that existed between the United States and Mexico, particularly around the Rio Grande region of South Texas. His family on his father’s side, however, had been in the...
  
   completed several courses at the Tokyo Army College prior to his return from Japan and subsequent enrollment at the University of Texas at Austin
  University of Texas at Austin
  The University of Texas at Austin is a state research university located in Austin, Texas, USA, and is the flagship institution of the The University of Texas System. Founded in 1883, its campus is located approximately from the Texas State Capitol in Austin...
  
  , where he earned his bachelor's degree.

• Woodblock print artist Paul Jacoulet
  Paul Jacoulet
  Paul Jacoulet was a French, Japan-based woodblock print artist known for a style that mixed the traditional ukiyo-e style and techniques developed by the artist himself.- Biography :...
  
  was recruited by Commandant McDowell to serve as an art instructor at the Tokyo Army College in the late 1940s.