Mahoutokoro University of Witchcraft & Wizardry

Mahoutokoro University of Witchcraft and Wizardry is the main Japanese school of magic. It is located on the small island of Nakano-shima in the Sea of Japan, which is also home to one of the few wizarding communities in the country. Mahoutokoro University’s houses are divided in to colors: The Red Dragon, the Yellow Kitsune, and the Blue Kappas. The Dragons celebrate Honor and Courage, the Kitsune celebrate Cunning and Wit, and the Kappas celebrate Wisdom and Patience. Students are instructed in very rigid fashion with high pressure due to inter house and peer competition.

Location and History

Founding the School

Before Mahoutokoro was founded, Japan had a long standing tradition of apprenticeship within the wizarding community, which often had a disparaging tendency to leave many manifesting wizards without a proper teacher, especially if they were muggleborns. After traveling the world for some time (Despite Japan's Isolationist stand) and seeing how other countries, an idealistic young aristocratic wizard brought together the finest wizarding minds in the country with the explicit intentions of founding (and funding) a wizarding school for Japan. The wizards that he invited would become known as the Triumvirate: a collection of Japan's most famous wizards, which consisted of . After debating what to do about the situation (and almost coming to blows), the three finally settled on a system that valued balance and equality; both in education and in terms of control of the school itself.

The main compromise included two tenants: That although each of the wizards would be able to create and lead their own house based on the characteristics they valued most, the other two heads of house were allowed to name the corresponding negative qualities that would represent the house as well, making certain that no one house would be stacked with the best and the brightest and that even those who might seem unteachable had a place within Mahoutokoro's walls. The second compromise was that there would be no one headmaster in charge of the entire school for life; instead, the three heads of houses and their successors would be allowed to become the headmaster of the school once every three years, with the lesser heads of houses of that year acting as a counsel. While the final word would often be in the hands of the headmaster, the two council members would have the power of veto. Thus, there is no one headmaster at Mahoutokoro. With the rules laid down, the Triumvirate signed the Hyakuhachi Kyoujou Pact and sealed it with powerful magics. They laid the pact within the cornerstone of the school itself, allowing their magical bond to strengthen the school and weave its power into the walls, insuring that any major breach of the Pact would mean the destruction of the school itself.

However, as time passed, the tenants of the pact were slowly forgotten. The heads of houses began to struggle amongst each other with the intent of taking complete control of the school. These struggles for power were never blatant. They mostly took place behind the scenes, sometimes in the form or whispers of incompetency in the dark, other times in the form of undermining another house's authority. These small slights slowly chipped away at the foundation of the school, wearing away at the threads of power that held the school together. Finally, one particularly brash head of house openly undermined the Pact in the year 1981, causing the school to tear itself down.

Mahoutokoro Rebuilt

After the fall of the school, the Japanese Ministry of Magic re-commissioned the original charter of Mahoutokoro and ousted the current administration. After rigorous testing, a new teaching staff was hired to help with the rebuilding of the school using the original Hyakuhachi Kyoujou Pact as the second charter for the school. The descendants of the original heads of houses were brought in as well, and amongst each of the families, one member was chosen to act as the new head of their respective house. The new school was then re-designed from the ground up in a completely modernist (with subtle nods to historic Japanese design) fashion using what could almost be described as suigin; living metal. While the building itself is as strong as any steel, one could almost swear that it is slowly moving, as if it flows through time and space on its own agenda. If you took a good look at the building as it stands today and compared it with a picture from when it was first built, you might just notice a subtle change in style and positioning over the years. However, one small problem remained: the school was still under the control of the Ministry.

Feeling that school and government shouldn't be connected, the descendants of the original Triumvirate pooled their resources to buy back the original charter to allow it to once again be an independent institution, fearing that a government mandated education could lead to a propaganda based education sometime in the future. At first, the government denied the request, citing that years of unchecked power at the school was what made the school collapse in the first place, but the new headmasters were undaunted. They fought hard in the courts, even taking the fight all the way to the Kaigishiyakusho after two years of mucking about in the court system. After weeks of debate and deliberation, the Kaigishiyakusho awarded custody of the school to the descendants of the founders, citing that the need for an unbiased education was far greater than the fear of it falling apart once again. With that, the school finally returned to an independent institution in 1984.



Building and Grounds

Mahoutokoro is located on a small island in the Pacific near Japan. The buildings are in the traditional Japanese pagoda style, and the grounds consist of a courtyard where students are allowed to spend their free time as well as for recreational purposes, and a traditional rock garden, which fosters meditation and enjoyment of nature.
Academics

Students are divided into years by age, with the youngest students starting their first term at age eleven, and graduating at age seventeen or eighteen after completing seven full years of education. Required lessons start at first year, and others are optional after the third year.

Curriculum

Many classes are available at Mahoutokoro, some which are mandated at most schools, and others that are exclusive to the school. Courses listed with a * are mandatory for students at some point throughout their school career.

Arithmancy
Astrology*
Care of Magical Creatures
Charms*
Defense Against the Dark Arts*
Divination
Flying* (For first years)
Asian History*
History of Magic
Martial Arts*
Muggle Studies
Potions*
Transfiguration*

Extracurriculars

Clubs at Mahoutokoro are similar to those at most schools, with a few unique additions.

Quidditch Club - Students skirmish amongst themselves, learn new skills, and play matches against other schools.
Dueling Club - Students are taught to duel in the practice of the ancient Japanese wizards, and are instilled with a strong sense of honor, as well as valuable life skills.
Judo Club - This martial arts club meets on Saturdays in order to improve their skills in Judo and foster discipline and strength of the mind and body.
Kendo Club - This martial arts club meets twice a week on Tuesdays and Thursdays to practice Kendo and participate in sparring matches against other students of their levels.

Student Requirements

Enrollment

Mahoutokoro, similar to Hogwarts, operates on a birth record system where students are invited to attend after their names have been recorded on a special list. Students can also submit an essay, a letter of request from a parent, and a primary school record to be considered for acceptance if their name is not already on the list.

Students may enroll if they were born and/or raised for at least five years in any Asian country - such as Japan, China, Thailand, Korea, Vietnam, Cambodia, etc. Japanese is the primary language of the school, although students are required to be proficient in conversational English before the beginning of their first term.

Uniform

Mahoutokoro faculty and students uphold a level of honor and dignity in their uniforms. All students are required to have both common school robes and dress robes.

The Mahoutokoro uniform consists of robes which match the students' respective houses:

Crimson for Red Dragons
Gold for Yellow Kitsunes
Royal blue for Blue Kappas.

In the winter, students also are equipped with warm cloaks in standard black.

Students are also issued a standard traditional Japanese school uniform for wear under their robes and during free time or warmer spring days.