Mahoutokoro

Mahoutokoro
School information
Location	Minami Iwo Jima, Japan
Headmaster	Unidentified Headmaster (c. 1990) Norihiko Senju (c. 2011)
Permanent residents	Mahoutokoro students and staff
Affiliation	Japanese Ministry of Magic International Confederation of Wizards Educational Office

"Mahoutokoro's reputation rests not only on its impressive academic prowess, but also on its outstanding reputation for Quidditch..."

— Mahoutokoro's impressive reputation

Mahoutokoro (Japanese: 魔法処マホウトコロ, Mahōtokoro), or Mahoutokoro School of Magic, was the Japanese wizarding school, located on the topmost point of the volcanic island of Minami Iwo Jima. It had the smallest student body of the eleven major wizarding schools.

Location

The school was located at the topmost point of Minami Iwo Jima, a volcanic island in the southern tropical region of Japan. Described as an ornate and exquisite palace made of nephrite or "mutton-fat jade", a translucent white stone. Both island and palace were thought to be uninhabited by Muggles.

History

"As our competitors ascend to the second stage of the championship, our Japanese champion from Mahoutokoro still leads the group."

— Mahoutokoro student competing in the Wizarding Schools Potions Championship

Mahoutokoro was possibly one of the oldest wizarding schools, as it was described as "ancient".

Book on the history of Mahoutokoro

Quidditch was introduced to Japan and to Mahoutokoro centuries ago by a band of foolhardy Hogwarts students who were blown off course during an attempt to circumnavigate the globe on wholly inadequate broomsticks. Rescued by a party of wizarding staff from Mahoutokoro, who had been observing the movements of the planets, they remained as guests long enough to teach their Japanese counterparts the rudiments of the game, a move they lived to regret. It was because of the Hogwarts students teaching them Quidditch, that Japan beat them in the Quidditch World Cup, due to Japan practising in bad weather, dodging not only Bludgers, but also Muggle planes.

During the 1990–1991 school year, Jacob visited Mahoutokoro and returned with the Dark Scroll after Kazuhiro Shiratori was captured.

Recently, a student from Mahoutokoro competed in the Wizarding Schools Potions Championship.

In 2011, Mahoutokoro competed in the Intercontinental Wizard's Cup. The school team captain was Yumi Ito, while other members of the team were Kenji Kobayashi, Hanae Katō, Tarōbō Amachi, and three other champions. The team was accompanied by Headmaster Norihiko Senju.

Reputation

Mahoutokoro had the reputation of having an impressive academic prowess, and an outstanding reputation for Quidditch.

Every member of the Japanese National Quidditch team and the 2016 Champion's League winners, the Toyohashi Tengu, attributed their prowess to the gruelling training they were given at Mahoutokoro, where they practised over a sometimes turbulent sea in stormy conditions, forced to keep an eye out not only for the Bludgers but also for planes from the Muggle airbase on a neighbouring island.

Students of this school prized wands made out of cherry wood, and those who owned them were held in a place of high honour.

Recruitment

Wizarding children on the backs of a flock of giant storm petrels

The school took students from the age of seven, although they did not board until they were eleven. While day students, wizarding children were flown back and forth to their homes every day on the backs of a flock of giant storm petrels.

Uniform

When students started off at the school, they were given robes that grew as they grew and changed colour as the wearer gained experience, with pink as the beginning colour. If the wearer received top grades in all the school subjects, their robes would turn gold. Students also wore pointed hats while riding petrels. Any student who betrayed the Japanese wizard's code or practised Dark Arts would result in their uniform turning white, which was a huge disgrace, and the student in question would be immediately expelled.

Known staff

Heads of Mahoutokoro

Headmaster/Headmistress	Information	Period
Headmaster of Mahoutokoro during 1990	Albus Dumbledore recalled that Protego Diabolica was his favourite spell.	c. 1990s-unknown
Norihiko Senju	An old friend of Dumbledore	c. 2011

Professors

Professor	Information	Period
Dai Ryusaki	A wizard who created a powerful weapon, and legend had it that he created a mind-enhancing potion.	Unknown

Known students

Chiyo Kogawa

Kazuhiro Shiratori

Minaka Hirakata

Keiko Takahashi

Noriyuki Sato

Yoshihiro Suzuki

Ryotaro Tanaka

Tamotsu Iwamoto

Shizuka Watanabe

Yumi Ito

Hanae Katō

Kenji Kobayashi

Tarōbō Amachi

Unidentified student

Unidentified student

• Asuka
• Masaki Hongo
• Shintaro Shingo
• Ryuichi Yamaguchi
• Kimiko Kurosawa
• Yoshi Wakahisa
• Todoroki
• Noriko Sato
• Potions champion

Etymology

• The name Mahoutokoro is composed of the Japanese words 魔法 (mahō), meaning "magic", "witchcraft", "sorcery" and 処 (tokoro), meaning "organ", "institution", "place", "spot", or "site". The name of school probably means "magical organisation" or "magical institution".

Behind the scenes

• Mahoutokoro is the only Asian wizarding school mentioned in canon so far. It is possible that some Asian witches and wizards also attend Koldovstoretz in Russia.
  • It is worth noting that the eleven wizarding schools mentioned in canon are not the only ones in the world. There are other wizarding schools in certain parts of the world, although they are unregulated and many Ministries of Magic don't know they exist. Pottermore also states that home-schooling is still common in the wizarding world, as well as correspondence courses if home-schooling is unavailable.
• Based on the fact that students start attending the school at age 7 and still attend it at age 17 (age requirement for the Wizarding Schools Potions Championship), it seems that Mahoutokoro has at least ten years.
• Given that Kenji Kobayashi, born in October 1997, was on the team for the Intercontinental Wizard's Cup in 2011, it is likely that the school has adopted a spring entry system. The spring entry system is most common in Japan, where the school year is between 2 April and 1 April of the following year.
• The official pronunciation of Mahoutokoro given on Pottermore and later Harry Potter (website), was "Mah - hoot - o - koh - ro", however, to actually pronounce it in Japanese, it'd be "Mah - hoh - toh - koh - roh".
• Rowling wrote the name of this school as Mahoutokoro. However, in Wonderbook: Book of Potions and Harry Potter: Hogwarts Mystery, it is called Mahoutokoro School of Magic, which is unnatural due to being a tautological expression.

Appearances

• Wonderbook: Book of Potions (First mentioned)
• Pottermore (First appearance)
• Harry Potter (website)
• The Wizarding World of Harry Potter (Mentioned only)
• Harry Potter: Hogwarts Mystery (Mentioned only)
• Harry Potter: Magic Awakened (Mentioned only)