History
The institution was established by American members of the YMCA after the end of World War II. Their hope was that the Yamate Gakusha would enable young men from poor, rural areas of Japan to attend universities located in Tokyo. (At the time the Yamate Gakusha was established, the monthly fee was quite low. This was because the greatest obstacle preventing rural citizens of Japan from attending universities in Tokyo was the high cost of housing). Historically, an obachan (elderly woman) served as dorm cook. However, sometime prior to the 1990s she died and was never succeeded.
Although the majority of the members of the dormitory are Japanese, in the past decade students from China, Korea, Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, Singapore, and the United States have cycled through the Yamate Gakusha.
The working language of the dormitory is Japanese.
The administrators of the Yamate Gakusha attempted to unilaterally shut down the dormitory's operations. However, a hunger strike was launched by the dormitory residents and a shut-down was averted.
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