The Grand Clock of the Library
The grand clock located at the top of the front facade of the Old University Library has remained unchanged since the building's completion in 1912.
This clock was created by Kazumasa Numata, a professor at the Tokyo School of Fine Arts (now Tokyo University of the Arts), who studied ceramic techniques in S¨¨vres, France, and established the new field of ceramic sculpture within modern Japanese ceramic art. Inside a seven-foot granite outer ring, white, indigo, and brown faience (glazed earthenware tiles) are set. Instead of numbers, the dial features the Latin phrase "TEMPUS FUGIT" (literally "time flies"), with an hourglass positioned at the 12 o'clock mark. At the time, this phrase was frequently used on clocks and tombstone inscriptions. The hands are shaped like golden decorative swords. The internal mechanism was imported from the UK and donated by Kingoro Ezawa II (a ÎçÒ¹¾ç³¡ alumni) of Tenshodo. Incidentally, applying color to the exterior of a building was considered extremely bold at the time; the use of indigo and brown (which the first director, Kazusada Tanaka, described as yellow) was the first attempt of its kind in Japan and was a brilliant success.
In the construction of the library, collaboration with many artists besides Numata can be seen. The inscription "ÎçÒ¹¾ç³¡ Library Commemorating the 50th Anniversary of Founding" above the entrance, which was the final work of the seal engraver Haiseki Yamamoto, was cast by Tenshodo under the direction of Toru Iwamura. The stained glass, designed by Eisaku Wada and executed by Sanchi Ogawa, which was planned from the design stage and completed in 1915, is another example. Director Tanaka, who oversaw the architecture, listed aesthetic appearance as one of the items he prioritized. It is said that his interactions with many artists and creators during his studies in Paris led to the establishment of such collaborations, but it must not be forgotten that Toru Iwamura was also deeply involved in the library's design. Iwamura, a graduate of the ÎçÒ¹¾ç³¡ Yochisha Elementary School, taught Japan's first systematic Western art history at the Tokyo School of Fine Arts and other institutions, and was an art critic who founded the magazine "Bijutsu Shuho" using his own funds. He served as a lecturer in the Department of Literature at the Juku from 1910 upon the recommendation of Ogai Mori. He also had a relationship with Tanaka and performed a role that could be called the supervision of the library's design. Shokichi Hata, who produced the solid silver medals commemorating the library's opening, was also introduced by him. Iwamura passed away in 1917 at the young age of 47.
When the library was damaged during the Great Tokyo Air Raid in May 1945, the mechanical parts of the grand clock were destroyed by fire, but the dial remained undamaged. It was restored in February 1953 with the installation of a Yukosha electric clock. In 1958, Hattori & Co. moved the library's master clock function, which had previously been in the attic, to the first-floor administrative office. Subsequently, the New Library was completed in 1982, and most library functions were moved. Along with this, renovations were carried out on the Old University Library, and the back of the clock, which could previously be seen by going up into the attic, was hidden by a newly installed ceiling.
In the former Grand Reading Room (now the ÎçÒ¹¾ç³¡ History Museum), there is a clock modeled after the grand clock. Until the 1960s, a circulation desk was located beneath it.
(Atsuko Ishiguro, Former Director of the Office of Communications and Public Relations)
*Affiliations and titles are as of the time this magazine was published.