Anniversary Events at Keio University

2006/01/15

Published in "Juku" No. 249, 2006

In 2008, Keio University will celebrate its 150th anniversary.
As we look forward to the Keio University 150th Anniversary Commemorative Events, which will unfold over the next decade, let us reflect on the sentiments of our predecessors at Keio and their dedication to past anniversary events. This will serve as an opportunity for all members of the Keio Gijuku Shachu to unite in spirit.

On April 21, 1907 (Meiji 40), over 3,000 people associated with Keio gathered at Mita Hilltop Square for a grand ceremony to commemorate the 50th anniversary. In the evening, a Kandelaar March started from the Mita Campus, proceeded through Ginza and Nihonbashi, and dispersed at Hibiya.

Attendees were given copies of "Keio Gijuku Gojunenshi" (A Fifty-Year History of Keio University). As part of the commemorative projects, a library (the current Old University Library on the Mita Campus) was constructed and completed in April 1912 (Meiji 45). This red-brick Gothic-style building, designated as an Important Cultural Property of Japan in 1969 (Showa 44), remains a symbol of Keio to this day.

While Japan was in a transitional period of modernization within the international community, the 50th anniversary marked a significant milestone for Keio as well. From this point onward, the university's systems, facilities, and the research activities of its faculty and students underwent further enhancement.

1906 (Meiji 39): Graduate School established.

1917 (Taisho 6): Department of Medicine established in the college.

1920 (Taisho 9): Became a university under the University Ordinance (a comprehensive university comprising four faculties: Letters, Economics, Law, and Medicine).

A commemorative ceremony was held on May 9, 1932 (Showa 7). Keio students held a Kandelaar March and exhibitions, and in the evening, a grand alumni reunion was held at the Imperial Hotel's banquet hall. At the ceremony, Prime Minister Tsuyoshi Inukai, a Keio University alumnus, delivered a congratulatory address. However, just a few days later, the prime minister was assassinated in the May 15th Incident... Following the Manchurian Incident in September of the previous year and the Shanghai Incident in January of that year, the social climate was extremely tense, and the times were rapidly descending into what is known as the "dark valley."

Meanwhile, with the recovery from the Great Kanto Earthquake largely complete, the challenge facing Keio was to improve its environment by expanding its campus grounds. The Hiyoshi Campus construction project, passed down through two presidents from Kiroku Hayashi to Shinzo Koizumi, saw the successive completion of school buildings and athletic facilities equipped with the latest amenities. In the spring of 1934 (Showa 9), the First School Building and other facilities were completed, and classes for first-year preparatory course students began.

This year also marked the 100th anniversary of Yukichi Fukuzawa's birth, and a grand celebration was held in November to commemorate both occasions.

Keio suffered immense damage during the Pacific War. Then-President Kōji Ushioda planned to use the 90th anniversary as an opportunity to spread Keio's educational spirit both within and outside the university, thereby boosting the momentum for reconstruction. In May 1947 (Showa 22), a grand 90th-anniversary ceremony was held at the Mita Campus. On the Mita Hilltop Square, still scarred by the war, there was no building to hold the ceremony. A tented stage was set up in a burnt-out open area, where Keio received a visit from His Majesty the Emperor—the first such visit to a private university. On that day, Sei'ichiro Takahashi, who had served as Acting President the previous year, delivered a congratulatory address as Minister of Education. His Majesty bestowed words of encouragement, expressing his hope that Keio would strive "for the reconstruction of Japan, with the founding spirit of Yukichi Fukuzawa at its heart." At the commemorative ceremony, President Ushioda called on people both inside and outside Keio to rebuild the university over the next decade into an institution even more vibrant than it was before the war. He tackled numerous difficult projects and succeeded in restoring facilities at the Mita, Hiyoshi, and Yotsuya (now Shinanomachi) campuses to a level nearly comparable to their pre-war state.

With the implementation of the new postwar "6-3-3-4" educational system, Keio launched a new university system in 1949 (Showa 24), consisting of four faculties: Letters, Economics, Law, and Engineering.

In 1958 (Showa 33), Keio University reached the major milestone of its 100th anniversary. The Hiyoshi Commemorative Hall was built to host a grand commemorative ceremony, but since it was impossible to find a venue that could accommodate all Keio University affiliates and all Keio students at once, the celebration was held over three days. First, on November 8, a commemorative ceremony was held with His Majesty the Emperor in attendance, along with over 4,600 related individuals, including representatives from universities in Japan and abroad, foreign ambassadors and ministers to Japan, and the Fukuzawa family. The 70-minute ceremony, which concluded with the "Keio University 100th Anniversary Ceremonial Music" composed for the occasion, was broadcast live on television. The following day, November 9, was designated "Alumni Day," with a celebration hosted by the National Federation of Mita-kai (now the Keio Rengo Mita-Kai). Over 10,000 Keio University alumni participated. Then, on November 12, four days after the main ceremony, was "Keio Students' Day." Addressing approximately 5,000 students from all levels of the university, then-President Fukutarō Okui delivered a speech, stating, "The future of Keio University... rests on all of your shoulders." He emphasized the pride of studying at Keio and urged them to strive even harder.

In addition to the main ceremony, various commemorative events were held throughout the year, including lectures, arts festivals, a Yukichi Fukuzawa exhibition, and theater performances. A monument marking the "Birthplace of Keio University" was also erected, with an unveiling ceremony held on April 23 (Keio Foundation Day). Commemorative construction projects included the aforementioned Hiyoshi Commemorative Hall, as well as the South School Building, West School Building, and Chutobu Junior High School building on the Mita Campus; the Fourth School Building on the Hiyoshi Campus; and the First and Third Basic Medical Science Buildings for the School of Medicine on the Yotsuya (now Shinanomachi) Campus, laying the groundwork for the next 100 years.

Until the 90th anniversary, commemorative ceremonies were held in the "XXth year" of the university's founding. From the 100th anniversary onward, it was decided to celebrate based on the "full age" (i.e., completed years).

A series of commemorative years followed: the 125th anniversary of Keio University's founding in 1983 (Showa 58), the 50th anniversary of the Hiyoshi Campus opening in 1984 (Showa 59), and the 150th anniversary of Yukichi Fukuzawa's birth in 1985 (Showa 60). The 125th-anniversary ceremony was held on May 15 at the Hiyoshi Commemorative Hall, with approximately 5,500 attendees. In his address, then-President Tadao Ishikawa pledged "to redouble our efforts to ensure that Keio continues to meet society's expectations for the future and contribute to the development of our nation through scholarship." The "Keio University Ceremonial Music," an expanded version of the "Keio University 100th Anniversary Ceremonial Music," was performed, making for a simple yet elegant ceremony with a different atmosphere from the 100th anniversary. A celebratory reception was also held under a large tent set up on the athletic field.

Commemorative events included lectures, an international symposium, an exhibition of ukiyo-e masterpieces from the Sei'ichiro Takahashi Collection, and a kabuki performance of "Yukichi Fukuzawa." In addition, several facilities were constructed as commemorative projects, including the new wing of the Keio University Hospital, the new library and administration building on the Hiyoshi Campus, the Senior High School educational building, the Graduate School building on the Mita Campus, and the Athletic Association's Yamanaka Lodge.

The 50th-anniversary ceremony for the opening of the Hiyoshi Campus was held on May 12, 1984 (Showa 59). The 150th birth anniversary ceremony for Yukichi Fukuzawa was held on January 10, 1985 (Showa 60), in Room 518 of the West School Building on the Mita Campus (now the West School Building Hall).

On September 20, 2005 (Heisei 17), the kickoff event for the Keio University 150th Anniversary Commemorative Projects was held at the Imperial Hotel. President Yūichirō Anzai, the Vice-Presidents, and over 200 members of the commemorative project committee attended the event, marking the launch of commemorative projects that will unfold over the next decade. These projects are based on the theme "Leading the Future" and the fundamental concept of "An open-minded and dynamic university fostering the powers of independence and coexistence."

The Keio University 150th Anniversary Commemorative Projects consist of initiatives to create an unprecedented new starting point and to forge a new identity through self-driven structural reforms in education, research, and medical care. It will be a major, decade-long project that will further clarify Keio's role in leading the 21st century.