The Juku-ka and College Songs

1998/11/01

Published in "Juku" No. 215, 1998

Along with the various experiences of campus life, it is perhaps the songs known as school songs and college songs that remain in our hearts for a long time as memories of our student days.
These songs assert the university's personality and character to the outside world, and internally, they become a strong unifying force.
At Keio University, too, the school song called the Juku-ka and several college songs have been passed down and sung.
This time, we would like to focus on these "songs" and trace their historical development.

The current Juku-ka, with lyrics by Masafumi Tomita and music by Kiyoshi Nobutoki, was completed in early November 1940. It was formally adopted by the Juku-ka Committee and unveiled on the evening of the Yukichi Fukuzawa Birthday Commemoration on January 10 of the following year, 1941, at the Mita Public Hall.

This is not to say that there was no Juku-ka before this. The first Juku-ka was created in March 1904, as Keio was approaching its 50th anniversary. The old Juku-ka, "Ten ni afururu bunmei no," with lyrics by Kin'ichiro Tsunoda and music by Kanosuke Kisu, was completed and announced on the 5th of that month. This was an era when school songs were not yet commonly sung, and it can be said that Keio was a pioneer in this regard.

The demand for the establishment of a Juku-ka had already arisen several years prior. At a large social gathering of the University Club, held at Sanryokutei in Shiba Park on graduation day, March 3, 1900, which also served as a farewell party for the graduates, lecturer Masayoshi Takagi argued, "If we wish for Keio University to prosper further, there is nothing better than to create a Juku-ka with the power to greatly inspire the hearts of the people, which can be sung in chorus at this type of gathering." Furthermore, in the 33rd issue of the "Keio Gijuku Gakuho" published in November of the same year, Kanjyu Kiga, who would later become the Dean of the Faculty of Economics, contributed a song under the pseudonym "Yoyo" that was intended to be a Juku-ka.

Thus, in 1903, the Keio authorities decided to solicit a Juku-ka that would express the school's character, calling widely upon Keio University alumni and Keio students. At the same time, the Mita Konwakai, an organization formed by volunteer Keio students, also resolved to solicit a Juku-ka as one of its projects. It is also reported that a Juku-ka was sung at the Dormitory Commemoration on October 3 of the same year. Titled "Keio Gijuku no Uta" (The Song of Keio University), it is said to have been written by Professor Emeritus Sei'ichiro Takahashi during his time as a student.

Later, in 1926, a proposal to establish a new Juku-ka was made again, and a prize was offered to Keio students for lyrics, but a decision was not easily reached. On May 20, 1936, Masafumi Tomita, then a lecturer at the university's Faculty of Letters, was commissioned to write the lyrics. Tomita meticulously refined the lyrics, and Kiyoshi Nobutoki, a professor at the Tokyo Music School, set them to music, giving birth to the current Juku-ka.

Every university has its own unique college songs. Unlike a school song, it is an essential condition for college songs to be beloved and sung by the students. At Keio University, too, many songs have been born and have since faded away, but among them, the main songs that are still sung today are "Wakaki-chi" and "Oka no Ue."

"Wakaki-chi" was born in 1927. Students of the Preparatory Course Committee at the time proposed it on their own initiative, and after consulting with music critic Koichi Nomura, a Keio alumnus, Keizo Horiuchi was commissioned to write the lyrics and music on Nomura's recommendation. At that time, Horiuchi was the head of Western music at the Tokyo Central Broadcasting Station (now NHK) and an up-and-coming musician who had just returned from the United States. According to Horiuchi, he wanted to make the opening line energetic and ultimately chose "Wakaki-chi ni moyuru mono" (Those who burn with young blood). The unconventional 5-5-6-3 syllable structure, which ignored the traditional 7-5 and 5-7 patterns, was due to compositional needs, but it seems to have struck Keio students as remarkably fresh. Also, Ichiro Fujiyama (real name Takeo Masunaga) was a student at the Keio Futsubu School at the time, and Horiuchi himself said that Fujiyama's vocal coaching made this new cheering song "more beautiful than it actually was." Furthermore, the fact that the Waseda-Keio rivalry games were broadcast live on the radio for the first time during the season this song was born, and that the baseball team won consecutive games against Waseda at Jingu Stadium for the first time since its revival, became major reasons for its popularity.

Encouraged by this success, the Preparatory Course Committee created "Oka no Ue" the following year, in 1928. Born from the famous duo of lyricist Mizuho Aoyagi and composer Meiro Sugawara, the song's melody and slow tempo were perfect for savoring the sweet taste of victory with arms around each other's shoulders. After the team recorded a perfect 10-0 record in the Tokyo Big6 Baseball League that autumn, it became firmly established as a beloved song of Keio students, sung only when they won the Waseda-Keio rivalry games. Although more than 70 years have passed since these two songs were created, they are still widely sung not only by Keio students but also by Keio University alumni.

There are many college songs at Keio, but there is one song that is sung without even being conscious of it as a college song. That is "Dash Keio" (created in 1966).

They must be chanting

"Beat Waseda, beat Waseda"

and shouting

"We'll win, we'll win, Keio"

at every Waseda-Keio rivalry game.

What the Yochisha Elementary School students sing at the Yukichi Fukuzawa Birthday Commemoration on January 10 is "Yukichi Fukuzawa Koko ni Ari" (Yukichi Fukuzawa is Here), with lyrics by Haruo Sato and music by Kiyoshi Nobutoki. It was created in 1964 to commemorate the 90th anniversary of the Yochisha's founding, under the strong direction of then-trustee Yasaburo Ikeda. Also, "Nihon no Hokori" (The Pride of Japan), sung by the Wagner Society Male Choir at the same commemoration, was created as a commemorative song for the centennial of Yukichi Fukuzawa's birth in 1934, with lyrics by Masafumi Tomita and music by Kiyoshi Nobutoki, just like the Juku-ka.

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Juku-ka and College Songs

You can listen to performances of the Juku-ka and college songs here.