What Mode Gakuen does

Mode Gakuen is a Japanese private specialized vocational school (senmon gakko / 専門学校) founded in 1965, offering education across fashion and apparel, makeup/hair/beauty, interior design, graphic design, and stylist disciplines, preparing students for 92 distinct career paths. The institution operates physical campuses in Tokyo, Osaka, Nagoya, Paris, and New York, with a curriculum structured around a proprietary triple guarantee system: a Complete Employment Guarantee System, a National Certification Pass Guarantee for beautician licensing exams, and a Salary Guarantee System. Mode Gakuen claims 19 consecutive years of 100% employment for graduates seeking employment (since 2007), and is part of a broader school corporation network (nkz.ac.jp) that includes HAL Tokyo/Osaka/Nagoya (technology and design), medical specialized schools, and international professional universities.

The school generates revenue primarily through tuition and enrollment fees charged to individual students across its programs, with pricing not publicly disclosed and prospective students directed to request materials for detailed fee information. Its go-to-market relies on direct outreach to Japanese high schools, counselor networks, campus visits, entrance examination programs, and annual nationwide television commercial campaigns (the 2026 campaign was filmed on the decommissioned Ginza KK Line). A multi-language website (English, Simplified Chinese, Traditional Chinese, Korean, Vietnamese) supports international student recruitment. Customer segments include Japanese high school students (primary) and adult learners/university students seeking career transition into creative industries. The school has no disclosed AI/ML capabilities, no venture funding, and operates as an independently governed school corporation (学校法人) with no parent-subsidiary ownership structure documented.

Name

Mode Gakuen

Legal name

Mode Gakuen (モード学園)

Website

https://mode.ac.jp

Company type

Private

Founded year

1965

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Mode Gakuen is a Japanese vocational school founded in 1965 that trains students in fashion, beauty, and design across campuses in Tokyo, Osaka, Nagoya, Paris, and New York, supported by a triple guarantee system (employment, national exam pass, salary) and a 19-year track record of 100% graduate employment.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Tokyo

HQ country

Japan

HQ region

Asia

Offices4 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure, Others

Revenue model

1. Tuition and Enrollment Fees: Mode Gakuen generates revenue primarily through tuition fees charged to enrolled students for vocational education programs in fashion, beauty, and design disciplines.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Mode Gakuen is a Japanese specialized vocational school (専門学校) that delivers on-campus, instructor-led training programs in fashion design and apparel, makeup, hairstyling and beauty, interior design, graphic design, and fashion styling. The school couples its core educational curriculum with a triple guarantee system comprising complete employment placement, national beautician licensing exam passage, and minimum starting salary, producing graduates prepared for 92 different career paths across the fashion and creative industries.

Product overview

Mode Gakuen is a Japanese specialized school (専門学校) offering vocational education in fashion, beauty, and design. The institution operates programs across fashion/apparel, makeup/hair/beauty, interior design, and graphic design, preparing students for 92 different career paths. The school operates campuses in Tokyo, Osaka, Nagoya, Paris, and New York. Mode Gakuen distinguishes itself through its 'Complete Employment Guarantee System' (完全就職保証制度), 'National Exam Pass Guarantee' (国家資格 合格保証制度), and 'Salary Guarantee System' (給与保証制度), achieving a documented 100% employment rate for job-seeking graduates for 19 consecutive years since 2007. The institution's product portfolio consists of core educational programs paired with comprehensive career support services.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Fashion and Apparel Programs

Quantifiable outcome

• 19 consecutive years of 100% employment rate for graduates seeking employment (since 2007)
• +1 more outcomes

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves4 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Bunka Fashion College: Japan's most prestigious fashion vocational school, offering apparel, design, and fashion business programs. Directly comparable to Mode Gakuen's fashion track and competes for the same Japanese high-school student pipeline.
• Istituto Marangoni: Italian-founded global fashion and design school with campuses in Milan, Paris, London, Miami, and Shanghai. Comparable to Mode Gakuen in fashion/design curriculum and international multi-campus structure.
• FIDM (Fashion Institute of Design & Merchandising): US-based for-profit fashion, design, and beauty vocational school offering career-focused programs with industry placement focus. Highly comparable business model and target student to Mode Gakuen.
• Yamano Beauty College: Established Japanese beauty vocational school offering hairdressing, makeup, and cosmetology licensing preparation. Directly overlaps with Mode Gakuen's makeup/hair/beauty programs and national beautician license prep.
• Vantan Design Institute: Japanese vocational school offering fashion, design, and creative programs. Comparable to Mode Gakuen across multiple design and fashion verticals and targets the same high-school student demographic.
• Shiseido Beauty Academy: Specialized cosmetology and beauty training school operated by Shiseido. Direct overlap with Mode Gakuen's beautician licensing track and benefits from Shiseido's industry employer relationships.

Emerging players

• ESP Music & Entertainment College: Japanese vocational college offering music and entertainment industry training. Comparable in scale, target demographic, and specialized-school positioning to Mode Gakuen, though in an adjacent creative vertical.

Others

• HAL Tokyo: Sibling institution within the same NKZ school corporation, focused on IT, game, and creative technology vocational programs. Operates with shared back-office and corporate resources alongside Mode Gakuen.

Broad incumbents

• London College of Fashion (UAL): UK-based fashion and design school within University of the Arts London. Comparable curriculum in fashion, beauty, and styling, but operates as a broader portfolio institution with degree-granting authority.
• Parsons School of Design: US-based design school within The New School, with programs in fashion design, interior design, and graphic design. Overlaps Mode Gakuen's design portfolio but operates as a four-year degree-granting institution with broader scope.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/TOKYOMODEGAKUEN
• Facebookfacebook.com/tokyomodegakuen

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Mode Gakuen