Before the Independence Wing: A Distant View of Hiyoshi in 2000

2020/01/28

Image: Above the retaining wall along Tsunashima-kaido Road, the red-brick "New-New Research Building" and the white "New Research Building" can be seen. The "Old Research Building" is behind them and not visible.

There used to be faculty research offices along Tsunashima-kaido Road on the Hiyoshi Campus. After getting off at Hiyoshi Station, crossing Tsunashima-kaido Road, entering the small path right next to the guardhouse, climbing the stairs, and walking along, I could reach my room in the shortest possible distance from the station. I spent nearly 30 years there.

The research buildings were named in the order they were built: the "Old Research Building," the "New Research Building," and as the number of faculty increased, a new red-brick building was added in 1981, commonly known as the "New-New Research Building." These long, narrow research wings, shaped like a "bed for an eel," became the home for faculty members teaching liberal arts subjects, primarily foreign language instructors. When I moved from the Old Research Building to the New-New Research Building, although two people shared one room, it was slightly larger, and I felt a bit more affluent. A while after moving, a German professor working at a Catholic university in Tokyo came to visit. When I showed him to the research office, he was surprised and asked if such impoverished research offices still existed these days. When placed in a state of comparison, a person can suddenly fall from a world of contentment into the depths of misery.

To be sure, the research office was cramped for two people to inhabit. The rooms on the west side were hit directly by the afternoon sun, and temperatures reached nearly 40 degrees Celsius in the summer. Windows could not be opened because of the noise along Tsunashima-kaido Road. Air conditioning equipment was pushed back in the priority list due to budget constraints, and the harsh conditions continued. Seeing this, the then-Director of Hiyoshi, unable to stand the sight, found cheap household air conditioners in Akihabara and purchased them in bulk to manage the situation. However, even in such an environment, there was a small garden in front of the research building, and in season, plum and wisteria flowers bloomed beautifully around the pond, refreshing the soul. Upon entering the research building entrance, there was a reception and a lobby, which naturally became a gathering place for faculty. The lady at the reception would skillfully brew "Juku tea," which didn't have much flavor, and I was able to talk closely with professors from different specialties.

In 2002, a massive research building called "Raiosha" was built right in the middle of Hiyoshi Campus. It is an incredibly luxurious building, but once it began operating, faculty members would head straight to their own rooms, resulting in fewer points of contact between colleagues. This remains truly regrettable.