San Mateo Nippon Gakuyen is a Japanese language school founded in 1919 by first generation Japanese immigrants. In a period when Japanese education in the region was still developing, San Mateo Nippon Gakuyen made great contributions to the language education of second generation Japanese descendants. Currently, the school teaches Japanese language and culture to its students who range from kindergarten to high school, and come from households of both Japanese and non-Japanese descent. The school also holds Japanese cultural events throughout the year, promoting understanding of Japan and Japanese language to the next generation of learners.