Hiyoshi Commemorative Hall in the 1960s

2020/03/13

Image: Professor Yoshito Chigusa of the Faculty of Economics holding a camera behind President Takamura (1964 Graduation Ceremony)

In the autumn of Showa 33 (1958), Hiyoshi Commemorative Hall was completed to commemorate the centennial of the founding of Keio University. It had an area of 6,000 square meters and a capacity of approximately 6,500 people. The first graduation ceremony in the hall was held in March of the following year, 1959, and the entrance ceremony was held in April of the same year.

I attended this entrance ceremony as a new student. I felt the essence of the university in the tall, lean, and dignified figure of former President Fukutarō Okui. As the solemn melody of the Juku-ka echoed through the Commemorative Hall and reached the lyrics "Let us live, on this hill, let us live high and anew," my emotions reached their peak, and I resolved to live my days at Keio University with great care.

Showa 35 (1960) could be called a turning point for post-war Japan. The movement against the revision of the Japan-U.S. Security Treaty, which unfolded out of concern for war and the defense of democracy, subsided rapidly after the new treaty came into effect in June and Prime Minister Kishi announced his intention to resign. With the establishment of the Ikeda Cabinet in July and the official decision on the "Income Doubling Plan" in December, the nation moved forward together toward high economic growth. In preparation for the coming industrial society, Keio University had already established the Faculty of Business and Commerce and welcomed its first class of students in April 1957.

At the graduation ceremony in March 1963, amidst an overwhelming majority of students in school uniforms, a single female student from the Faculty of Business and Commerce, selected as an award recipient, drew attention in her long-sleeved furisode kimono. At a time when the rate of women advancing to faculties other than the Faculty of Letters was extremely low, this achievement foreshadowed the diversification of university-educated women's entry into society. Thirty years later, looking out over the ceremony hall as one of the people on the platform, the attire had become a mix of suits, school uniforms, and hakama for both men and women.

In addition to ceremonies, Hiyoshi Commemorative Hall has been used for physical education classes, external matches and practices, the Mita Festival Eve, the Rengo Mita-kai, and alumni invitation parties, becoming a place of memories for all members of the Keio Gijuku Shachu, young and old.

This March, the new Hiyoshi Commemorative Hall will be completed. The total floor area is approximately twice that of the old building. Taking the powerful congratulatory address of President Akira Haseyama at the first graduation ceremony in the new hall to heart, the graduates will begin their journeys on their respective paths.

"Let us go, on this path, let us go far and wide" ── I pray for the fulfilling lives of the graduates and for the eternal prosperity of Keio University.