The Evolution of the Interior and Organization of the Jukukan-kyoku (Keio Corporate Administration)

August 31, 2023

The Jukukan-kyoku (Keio Corporate Administration) on the Mita Campus was completed in September 1926 (Taisho 15), about 100 years ago. This was during the tenure of President Kiroku Hayashi. Among the extant buildings at Keio University, it is the third oldest, following the Enzetsukan (Public Speaking Hall) and the Old University Library. Designed by the Sone Chujo Architectural Office, the building has one basement level and three stories above ground. It is a steel-framed reinforced concrete structure covering 2,445 m² and features an elegant appearance with a flat roof and an exterior of light brown scratch tiles.

Originally, the old Jukukan-kyoku building stood on this site. Built in 1887 (Meiji 20), it was a two-story brick structure of approximately 900 m² with a hipped tile roof and was the first brick building at Keio. However, it was rebuilt after being partially destroyed in the Great Kanto Earthquake of 1923. The replacement became a building from the era when the use of steel-framed reinforced concrete—a stronger, more earthquake-resistant, and still uncommon construction method—was just beginning.

The initial internal layout of the Jukukan-kyoku (Keio Corporate Administration) featured administrative departments (General Affairs Office and Academic Affairs Office) on the first floor. The second floor housed the Office of the President, two executive director rooms, and three large faculty offices (research rooms). The third floor consisted of classrooms (four classrooms and one large lecture hall), with the large lecture hall also used for meetings of the Board of Councillors. The basement contained a break room, a printing office, a boiler room, and a night-duty room, among other facilities. In its early days, the Jukukan-kyoku was a building that consolidated both administrative and educational functions.

No other building has undergone as many internal renovations as the Jukukan-kyoku (Keio Corporate Administration). A major renovation was carried out in 1937, just ten years after its completion. This was a period of expanding educational functions, with the Hiyoshi Campus opening in 1934 and the Mita First School Building completed in 1937. In 1939, a reform was implemented, reorganizing the previous three sections of "General Affairs, Academic Affairs, and Accounting" into six divisions: "General Affairs, Academic Affairs, Accounting, Keio University alumni, Supplies, and Career Services." In 1943, the Research Division and a new General Affairs Division were established. Further significant internal changes were made in 1951. This was during the post-war reconstruction period, and as research rooms and classrooms were successively built on the Mita Campus, the building's research and educational functions were relocated. Concurrently, starting in 1950, a reform of the Jukukan-kyoku's organizational structure was implemented, establishing the position of Secretary General and a six-department system comprising "Documents, Personnel, Finance, Administration, Academic Affairs, and External Affairs." This transformed the Jukukan-kyoku into a building centered on administrative and academic departments and the executive body. Although wartime air raids caused extensive damage to the Mita Campus, leaving only five buildings standing, the Jukukan-kyoku managed to escape the devastation. With the construction of the South School Building in 1958 as part of the university's 100th anniversary project, the academic affairs department relocated there. An elevator was installed in 1986, around which time a major exterior renovation was conducted and the windows were replaced. Following the construction of the North Building in 1994, the printing office and some administrative functions were moved.

The Jukukan-kyoku (Keio Corporate Administration) has a history of undergoing internal renovations with each campus reconstruction and organizational restructuring. For the 100 years since its completion, successive executive bodies have used it as a policy-making hub. As Keio University has grown, organizational reforms have been implemented, and the building has consistently served as the university's nerve center, from which crucial decisions are made.

(Hiroshi Watanabe, Office of Facilities and Property Management)