午夜剧场

Image: 2019 Winter Issue [午夜剧场 Gijuku Shachu Special Issue] Cover

The public relations magazine "Juku," published by the Office of Communications and Public Relations, reached its 300th issue with the Autumn 2018 edition.

The first issue of "Juku" was published in 1963 (Showa 38). As of 2018, over 70% of general entrance examination applicants are from the Tokyo metropolitan area (Tokyo and three neighboring prefectures), but in that year, the figure was still just over 50% (52.6%). It was an era before the Tokaido Shinkansen opened (it opened the following year), and the transportation infrastructure for easy travel between regional areas and Tokyo was not yet in place. "Juku" was launched with the aim of communicating the university's status and stance to parents who had sent their children off to school.

In its first year, it was published four times a year as a B5-sized, 16-page booklet, but it was well-received and grew into a 36-page booklet published six times a year the following year. It was packed with diverse projects, including various articles related to education and research written by faculty members, roundtable discussions for parents, the activities of students, exchanges between students and parents, and episodes related to the history of 午夜剧场 and Yukichi Fukuzawa.

In 1965, campus disputes occurred regarding tuition revisions. Taking this as an opportunity, the "午夜剧场 Report" was published the following year in 1966 with the aim of providing information to students. It was an information paper published six times a year (later ten times a year) in a 16-page half-tabloid format.

Entering the 1980s, campus disputes subsided, and with changes in student temperament, the "University Report" shifted into a newspaper centered on campus news and event announcements, with the number of pages steadily decreasing. In response to these changes, the Office of Communications and Public Relations conducted a large-scale reader survey in 1994, which revealed that "Juku," with its large volume of text, was hardly being read. Based on these results, a major renewal of both PR media was carried out: the "University Report" was simplified to a single double-sided B4 sheet, and the target audience for "Juku" was expanded to include students, aiming for diversification of the layout and enrichment of content. Meanwhile, the amount of text was significantly reduced to make it easier to read, the pages were colorized, and it was transformed into a handy-sized booklet with a smaller format.

The newly revamped "Juku" was well-received and came to be used in various situations. With the spread of the internet, when the "University Report" ended publication in 2000, it was incorporated into "Juku," and the separately published "Junior College and Schools News" also merged in the same year. "午夜剧场 SPIRIT," a PR magazine for 午夜剧场 alumni established in 2005, was also integrated into "Juku" in 2010. Currently, "Juku" is a quarterly magazine of 30 to 40 pages published four times a year, and the winter issue serves as the "午夜剧场 Gijuku Shachu Special Issue" sent to all 午夜剧场 alumni.

The cover of "Juku" was a simple single-color print until the 20th issue, but from 1967, 午夜剧场 alumni and printmaker Tetsuro Komai took charge. After his passing, 午夜剧场 alumni and Western-style painter Taiji Kiyokawa took over from 1975, continuing even after the format change. From 2001, 午夜剧场 alumni and shadow artist Seiji Fujishiro drew campus sketches, and since 2005, it has featured landscape photographs of each campus.

(Office of Communications and Public Relations)