Did you know that a Belgian founded a Musical university in Hiroshima?

In 1947, Jesuit Father Ernest Goossens founded the Elizabeth University of Music in Hiroshima.

Shortly after the nuclear bomb explosion, Father Ernest Goossens decided to embark on a new project to give new impetus to this ruined city. He then created a new school for music learning. The Hiroshima Music School is named after Queen Elizabeth, wife of Belgian King Albert I and patron of the project. Over the years, the institution grew, becoming a college in 1952 and then officially a university in 1963. Among other things, the institution created a department on sacred music in collaboration with the Vatican and received government approval to open a doctorate, the first on music in private Japanese universities.

The school, which is Catholic in faith, offers both the study of musical culture and musical research and history. There are four departments in the university program: musicology, religious music sciences, vocal music and instrumental music. The Master's and Doctoral degrees are designed to further research in specialized fields.