South Building and Landscaping

2016/01/01

Image: Former South Building and Crinum Lilies

The South Building in front of the Main Gate was completed in March 2011 as part of the 150th Anniversary Project and began use in April. Like the previous South Building completed in 1959, a grand staircase leading from the Main Gate to the courtyard is located in the center. With one basement floor and seven floors above ground, it features 45 classrooms of various sizes, a 680-seat hall, a student cafeteria, and the "Keio Gijuku Shachu Kokan Banraisha" faculty salon. The seventh floor includes reservation-based group study rooms, a lounge for independent study, and a terrace with a scenic view.

Because the floor area increased and the building extended forward, bringing it much closer to the Main Gate, the relocation of various plants in front of the building was considered. The former South Building was constructed as a building facing the front at the same time the south wall was demolished to create a new Main Gate for the 100th Anniversary Project (until then, the East Gate, known as the Maboroshi no Mon, had been the main gate).

To commemorate the 100th anniversary, two olive trees were donated by Keio University alumni Mr. Sozaburo Matsuda, the second president of the Ryobi Group in Okayama, and crinum lilies were donated by Keio University alumni Mr. Yagoro Yanagi from Wakayama. Mr. Yanagi was known as a prominent mayor of Kainan City during the war. Since both were southern plants, there were concerns about whether they would take root, but they grew well and added color to the front of the building. Later, in 1961, southern magnolias donated and planted by President James B. Conant of Harvard University were added, along with azaleas and satsuki azaleas gifted by the Keio University Commerce and Industry School Alumni Association in 1986, further enriching the greenery.

In 2009, with the reconstruction of the South Building, one of the two olive trees was moved to the north side of the Enzetsukan (Public Speaking Hall). A small portion of the crinum lilies, which had grown to over 100 plants, was moved next to the Main Gate security office, while the rest were moved to the rooftop of the West Annex adjacent to Keio Girls Senior High School. While it is a good location for plants that prefer sunny spots, it is a pity they are no longer in public view. One of the three southern magnolias was also moved next to the olive tree on the north side of the Enzetsukan (Public Speaking Hall), and its large white flowers complement the hall beautifully. The number of azaleas and satsuki azaleas was reduced, and they were moved to Fukuzawa Park, where they bloom with vibrant flowers in the spring.

Additionally, near the security office by the South Building, there was a Machilus thunbergii tree planted in March 1980 by Professor Yasaburo Ikeda of the Faculty of Letters, who was nearing retirement. He planted the Machilus thunbergii tree, which his mentor Shinobu Orikuchi dearly loved, as a parting gift to Mita. A total of 80 trees were donated, including 30 in front of the Enzetsukan (Public Speaking Hall), but by the time of the reconstruction, the number had dwindled to about 10. A few suitable for relocation were moved to the north side of the Enzetsukan (Public Speaking Hall). In front of the small grove of Machilus thunbergii, there is a plaque by the Keio University Japanese Literature Research Society inscribed with a poem by Orikuchi (under his pen name Choku): "Unable to enter the ancient grove of Machilus trees, I saw the faintness of the light between the trees. — Choku"

(Atsuko Ishiguro, Office of Communications and Public Relations)