A Shinto groundbreaking ceremony, jichinsai, was held for the rebuilding of the Hiyoshi Commemorative Hall at the planned construction site on Wednesday, July 4.
At the ceremony, President Akira Haseyama was joined by both members of the Keio community and local residents. Also in attendance were representatives of Mitsubishi Jisho Sekkei Inc., who are in charge of the overall design and supervision of the project; Kajima Corporation, the designer, supervisor, and contractor; and contractors The Kodensha Co., Ltd., and Saikyu Kogyo Co., Ltd. The solemn rituals of kuwairenogi, which involves striking a pile of soil with a ritual hoe, and tamagushihoten, or the offering of tamagushi, a sprig from the sacred sakaki tree, were performed during the ceremony and these were followed by a naorai post-ceremonial feast at the Event Hall on the second floor of the Kyosei-kan Collaboration Complex.
When completed, the new building will have five floors above ground and one below (the former building had three floors above ground and one below) and will have a greatly increased seating capacity of around 10,000 compared to the 6,500 of the former building. The size of the arena will be enlarged and improvements will be made to expand its use as an indoor sports facility. The exterior will be in harmony with the neighboring First Building and Second Building and is anticipated to add new character to Hiyoshi Campus. The new Hiyoshi Commemorative Hall is expected to be completed in March 2020, in time for the planned use by the British Olympic and Paralympic teams for their preparation camps for Tokyo 2020.