The Mita Floral Clock and the Hiyoshi Fountain

2019/04/11

Image: The area around the fountain crowded during orientation. In the background is the former Student Union Building (1984).

The campus environment has improved significantly compared to nearly half a century ago when I was a student. While the development of facilities such as school buildings is a major factor, graduation gifts donated by the graduating classes each year have also played a role in improving the campus environment. Graduation gifts were planned and implemented by the Graduation Preparation Committee, who brainstormed ideas for their juniors while also preparing for the Garden Party. Various graduation gifts have been left behind, such as campus maps, message boards, signs at facility entrances, the marble benches in front of Mita Building 1, the "Signal to the Stars" sculpture at Mita, the mural at the Hiyoshi Student Union Building, the wisteria trellis at the Shonan Fujisawa Campus (SFC), and the double-sided pole-mounted solar clock at the Yagami Campus (FY2007). However, since FY2008, when the preparation committees were no longer established, graduation gifts have ceased to be implemented.

It is unclear exactly when these graduation gifts began, but there is a record from as far back as FY1963 of a floral clock being gifted to the flower bed that still remains at the top of the South Building stairs in the Mita courtyard. In the following year, FY1964, the fountain in front of Hiyoshi Building 4 was donated. The floral clock, three meters in diameter, had colorful flowers planted on its face and was clearly visible from the top of the South Building as the only outdoor clock in Mita at the time. However, it disappeared at some point, and now shrubs grow in its place. Only the signpost remained until very recently.

On the other hand, the Hiyoshi fountain, which had its completion ceremony on September 5, 1965, existed for over 40 years until it was removed in September 2007 due to the Hiyoshi Campus renovation for the 150th Anniversary Project. Many people likely remember it as a symbol of the Hiyoshi courtyard. Initially, there was a pedestal in the center, but it was later removed. I seem to recall times when the water stopped running. Furthermore, my memory is a bit hazy, but I believe the fountain was eventually removed, leaving only the pond at the very end. When it was first completed, benches were provided around it, making it a place for students to relax. Just as Keio students in recent years use "Yukichi" (the Bronze Statue of Yukichi Fukuzawa in front of the library) as a meeting spot, I have heard that in the 1980s, "at the fountain" was the standard. Looking at the fountain during orientation in April 1984, hedges had been created around it and there were no benches. Over those 40 years, the fountain showed a different face in each era, and the image of it may differ depending on the years one attended the school.