Shinseikaikan’s history of more than
80 years dates back to 1934.
- February
1934 - St. Filippo Dormitory Foundation was established.
With the establishment of St. Filippo’s Dormitory for students, Father Iwashita started his Catholic lectures.
- February
1945 - The dormitory was torn down due to forced evacuation.
- October
1946 - A temporary shed, called the Shirobato Dormitory, was built.
- October
1948 - Japan Catholic Students Federation was formed.
- May
1951 - A decision was made to tear down the student dormitory to build a student culture center (Shinseikaikan).
The fund-raising committee for building Shinseikaikan was established (Honorable Chairman: Bank of Japan Governor Hisato Ichimata, Chairman:
Shigeo Mizuno)
Fund-raising began (funds totaling approx. 21 million yen were raised by November 1952). - February
1952 - Catholic and action lectures.
- May
1955 - Shinseikaikan’s Culture Course began.
- December
1971 - Shinseikaikan was closed for rebuilding and a temporary office was set up at 2-6 Kojimachi.
- February
1973 - The Shinseikaikan Bldg. was completed (the building was entrusted to Mitsubishi Trust and Banking Corp. and a part of it was leased to a third party).
The Culture Course “Shusaku Endo’s Image of Christ” began. - June
1974 - The Catholic Education Study Group was launched.
- May
1975 - The first symposium was organized.
- March
1977 - The first Southeast Asian tour (South Korea, Hong Kong, Thailand and Taiwan) was organized.
- July
- The first national Catholic student seminar was organized.
- June
1979 - The Bible class, reading club, Thomas Aquinas study group, etc., were organized.
- October
- A “gathering to think about Shinseikaikan” was organized.
- October
1980 - The Shinseikaikan debate, “Students and Daily Life,” was organized.
- May
1982 - A general assembly of the “gathering to think about Shinseikaikan” was organized.
- April
1987 - The Bible Center was inaugurated. Father Marcel Le Dorze’s “The Bible in 100 Weeks” was continued at Shinseikaikan.
- October
1988 - A mass commemorating the completion of repair work was held.
- April
1989 - The Bible Center began issuing “Materials of Lord’s Day Gospels” (ended in May 2014).
- September
1992 - The Lifelong Learning Center was inaugurated.
- July
2008 - The in-house publication, Vital, began (ended in May 2014).
- February
2011 - Became a general incorporated foundation
- September
2013 - We began rebuilding the Shinseikaikan Bldg. and examining the possibility of offering part of the site to Sophia School Corporation.
- October
- We began accepting donations to the rebuilding fund.
- April
2014 - Shinseikaikan was temporarily closed for preparations for rebuilding and began carrying out activities outside the facilities.
- October
- We reached an agreement with Sophia School Corporation on building a new Shinseikaikan along with Sophia’s student dormitory on the site.
- May
2015 - Demolition of the Shinseikaikan Bldg. began.
- October
2016 - The rebuilding of the Shinseikaikan Bldg. was completed.
