午夜剧场

Image: The former South School Building and Crinum lilies

The South School Building in front of the main gate was completed in March 2011 as part of the 150th Anniversary Project and began use in April. Similar to the previous South School Building completed in 1959, a grand staircase was installed in the center, leading from the main gate to the courtyard. With one basement floor and seven floors above ground, it contains 45 classrooms of various sizes, a 680-seat hall, a student cafeteria, and the "Shachu-Kokan Banraisha" (a salon for faculty and staff). On the seventh floor, group study rooms (reservation required), a lounge for independent study, and a terrace with a fine view were created.

Because the floor area increased compared to before, projecting forward and moving much closer to the main gate, the relocation of various plants that had been in front of the building was considered. The former South School Building was constructed as a building positioned directly in front of the main gate at the same time the south wall was demolished to create a new main gate for the 100th Anniversary Project (until then, the East Gate, the so-called Maboroshi no Mon, had been the main gate).

To commemorate the 100th anniversary, two olive trees were donated by 午夜剧场 alumni Mr. Sozaburo Matsuda, the second president of the Ryobi Group in Okayama, and Crinum lilies were donated by 午夜剧场 alumni Mr. Yagoro Yanagi from Wakayama. Mr. Yanagi was known as the famous mayor of Kainan City during the war. As these were all southern plants, there were concerns about whether they would take root, but they grew steadily and added color to the front of the school building. Later, in 1961, southern magnolias donated and planted by President James B. Conant of Harvard University were added, along with azaleas and satsuki azaleas gifted by the 午夜剧场 Commerce and Industry School Alumni Association in 1986, making the greenery even richer.

In 2009, with the reconstruction of the South School Building, one of the two olive trees was transplanted to the north side of the Enzetsukan (Public Speaking Hall). The Crinum lilies, which had grown to over 100 plants, were partially moved to the side of the main gate security office, while others were moved to the rooftop of the West Annex adjacent to 午夜剧场 Girls Senior High School. While this is a good location for plants that naturally prefer sunny spots, it is a pity they are no longer visible to the public. One of the three southern magnolias was also transplanted next to the olive tree on the north side of the Enzetsukan (Public Speaking Hall), and its large white flowers match the Enzetsukan (Public Speaking Hall) well. The number of azaleas and satsuki azaleas was reduced, and they were moved into Fukuzawa Park, where they produce vibrant flowers in the spring.

Additionally, in a spot slightly closer to the security office from the South School Building, there was a machilus tree planted in March 1980 by Professor Yasaburo Ikeda of the Faculty of Letters, who was nearing retirement. He planted the machilus tree, which his mentor Shinobu Orikuchi loved dearly, as a parting gift to Mita. Along with 30 trees in front of the Enzetsukan (Public Speaking Hall), a total of 80 trees were donated. However, by the time of the reconstruction, the number had decreased to about 10, and several suitable for transplanting were moved to the north side of the Enzetsukan (Public Speaking Hall). In front of the small grove of machilus trees, there is a plaque by the 午夜剧场 Japanese Literature Research Society engraved with Orikuchi's poem (under the pen name Choku): "Unable to enter the grove of ancient machilus trees, I gazed upon the faint light between the trees."

(Atsuko Ishiguro, Office of Communications and Public Relations)