Mita Media Center (Keio University Library) Exhibition Room

Upon entering the entrance of the Mita Media Center (Keio University Library), located in the center of the Mita Hilltop Square, you are welcomed by a mural by Keiji Usami on your right and a small exhibition room directly in front of you.

In the first-floor lobby of the Keio University Library (New Building), designed by Fumihiko Maki, catalog card boxes had been placed since its opening in 1982. Later, the space was transformed into a computer area, and in the fall of 2011, after the PCs were removed, the exhibition room was born. In this room of approximately 50 square meters, lined with exhibition cases of various shapes and sizes, seasonal exhibitions featuring rare books and other materials from the library's collection are held throughout the year, enjoyed by faculty, staff, Keio students, Keio University alumni, and the general public.

The history of library exhibitions at the Juku is long, with its origins dating back to the Meiji era. Records show that in 1912, as one of the events for the opening ceremony of the current Old University Library, an exhibition was held featuring the personal effects of Yukichi Fukuzawa, ancient documents, and rare Western books. Since then, while undergoing changes in exhibition locations and the scale of display cases, the number of exhibitions has reached 369 this year.

Exhibitions are primarily planned by the Mita Media Center Exhibition Committee. Themes vary widely, including current events, anniversaries, university events such as open campuses and summer schooling, introductions to special collections such as rare books, and original manuscripts and personal effects of literary figures from Mita Bungaku.

Looking at the materials exhibited this year, the collection includes diverse items across different forms, eras, and regions: from ancient artifacts dating back to before the Common Era, such as bones engraved with oracle bone script, to three-dimensional Torah manuscripts, woodblocks and movable type for Chinese classics shining with black ink, Western medieval manuscripts written on parchment, Japanese Hyakumanto Darani and picture scrolls, ukiyo-e prints, a 1928 general election poster, and Franz Liszt's original musical scores.

In addition, the center actively collaborates with faculty and students on campus as well as other departments, hosting projects brought in by faculty, exhibitions related to academic conferences, and in the past, exhibitions organized by students in Faculty of Letters classes. For faculty-sponsored exhibitions, "Gallery Talks" where faculty members explain the materials are also organized and have been well-received every time. Furthermore, for materials with digital images available, QR codes leading to the public image sites are provided in the descriptions and on panels, allowing visitors to enjoy high-definition images on the spot.

It has been a long time since anyone could easily enjoy digital images of e-books and classical books, yet the power of the "original" remains immeasurable. From manuscripts of an era before movable type, one can feel the desire of our predecessors to pass on human wisdom to future generations; from the characters written in the personal letters of figures who colored history, one can sense the author's personality and even their breath. We hope you will enjoy these treasures of knowledge, protected by people across time and space and accumulated throughout the long history of the Juku, in our exhibition room.