The Grand Clock of the Library

2024/09/26

The grand clock, located on the upper part of the front facade of the Old University Library, has retained its appearance since its completion in 1912.

This clock was created by Kazumasa Numata, a professor at the Tokyo School of Fine Arts (now Tokyo University of the Arts), who studied ceramics in Sèvres, France, and established the new field of ceramic sculpture within modern Japanese pottery. White, indigo, and brown faience (glazed earthenware tiles) are set within a seven-shaku (approx. 2.1 meters) granite outer ring. On the clock face, instead of numerals, the Latin phrase TEMPUS FUGIT (literally "time flies") is inscribed, with an hourglass positioned at the 12 o'clock mark. It seems this phrase was commonly used for inscriptions on clocks and tombs at the time. The hands are shaped like golden ornamental swords. The internal mechanism was imported from the UK and donated by Kingoro Ezawa II (a Keio University alumni) of Tenshodo. Incidentally, applying color to the exterior of a building was considered very bold at the time, and the use of indigo and brown (though the first library director, Kazusada Tanaka, described it as yellow) was a pioneering and successful attempt in Japan.

The construction of the library involved collaboration with many artists, not just Numata. The characters for "Keio University Library Fiftieth Anniversary Commemoration" above the entrance, which were the final work of seal engraver Haiseki Yamamoto, were cast by Tenshodo under the direction of Toru Iwamura. The stained glass, painted by Eisaku Wada and installed by Sanchi Ogawa, which was planned from the design stage and completed in 1915, is another example. Director Tanaka, who supervised the construction, cited aesthetic beauty as one of the key priorities. It is said that his association with many artists during his studies in Paris led to these collaborations, but it is also important to remember the deep involvement of Toru Iwamura in the library's design. Iwamura was an art critic who graduated from the Yochisha Elementary School, taught Japan's first systematic course on Western art history at the Tokyo School of Fine Arts and other institutions, and used his own funds to launch the magazine "Bijutsu Shuho" (Art Weekly). From 1910, he served as a lecturer in the Faculty of Letters at the Juku on the recommendation of Ogai Mori. He also had a relationship with Tanaka and essentially acted as the supervisor for the library's design. Shokichi Hata, who created the pure silver medal commemorating the library's opening, was also introduced by him. Iwamura unfortunately passed away in 1917 at the age of 47.

During the Great Tokyo Air Raid of May 1945, the library was damaged and the clock's mechanism was destroyed by fire, but the clock face remained intact. It was restored in February 1953 with the installation of an electric clock from Yukosha. In 1958, the Hattori Watch Store relocated the library's master clock function, which had been in the attic, to the first-floor office. Later, in 1982, the New University Library was completed, and most of the library's functions were moved. Consequently, the Old University Library was renovated, and a new ceiling was installed, obscuring the back of the clock, which had previously been visible by going up into the attic.

In the Old Grand Reading Room (now the Keio History Museum), there is a clock modeled after the grand clock. Until the 1960s, a circulation desk was located beneath it.

(Atsuko Ishiguro, Former Head of the Office of Communications and Public Relations)

*Affiliations, titles, etc., are as of the time of this publication's original issue.