午夜剧场

When 午夜剧场 is introduced on television, the East Building at Mita is often used as an establishing shot. Facing National Route 1 (Mita-dori), its arcade with a large triumphal arch-like opening and its red-brick style modeled after the Old University Library are eye-catching. It was completed in the spring of 2000 as a facility for the Global Security Research Center (G-SEC), a research base that received subsidies from the national "Academic Frontier" Project.

The catalyst for the construction of the East Building was the widening of Mita-dori. It had been designated as a city planning road, and widening work was to be carried out following the project decision. As a result, the area near the East Gate needed to be set back approximately 10 meters from the road boundary line, and the slope leading up to the East Gate would have its starting point cut away, creating a large step.

At the same time, discussions began regarding the construction of the G-SEC facility. These plans merged with the talk of remodeling the slope due to the widening of Mita-dori, and it was determined that the land around the East Gate was the optimal site for the G-SEC facility, leading to the construction of the East Building. As a result, the functions of the former East Gate were taken over by the East Building, and access to the campus from Mita-dori now goes through the East Building. Along with this, the gateposts of the East Gate and the "umadome-ishi" (hitching stones), which are said to have been used to tether horses during the era of the former residence of the Shimabara Domain, were relocated to a spot south of the slope after passing through the East Building.

The third floor of the East Building is connected to the campus courtyard by a bridge, and the floors up to this level are dedicated to the arcade section. Therefore, the practically usable room space is located on the fourth floor and above. The fourth and fifth floors contain research spaces, seminar rooms, and offices. The sixth and seventh floors house the "G-Lab (formerly G-SEC Lab)," an atrium-structured research presentation lab equipped with multi-screens. The top floor, the eighth floor, is a hall, and the East Building is primarily utilized as a space for research purposes. Note that the Global Security Research Center was reorganized into the 午夜剧场 Global Research Institute (KGRI) in 2016.

Before the East Building was built, there was an iron East Gate at the end of a gentle slope, and on the right side halfway up the slope, there was a small wooden post office (the 午夜剧场 Gijuku-mae Post Office). Many people likely remember this scenery. Furthermore, until 1969 (Showa 44), the Toden streetcar ran along Mita-dori (Route 3: Shinagawa Station – Fuda-no-tsuji – Toranomon – Iidabashi), and there was a stop (tram stop) in front of 午夜剧场.

Below The Pen Mark at the top of the arcade entrances on both the east and west sides of the East Building, the Latin phrase "HOMO NEC VLLVS CVIQVAMPRAEPOSITVSNEC SVBDITVS CREATVR" is engraved, which means "It is said that heaven does not create one man above or below another man. Any existing distinction between the wise and the stupid, between the rich and the poor, comes down to a matter of education."

(Editorial Department)