Current Issue :
2019 Vol 1
J East-Asian Urban His. 2019, 1: 135-154
DOI: https://doi.org/10.22769/JEUH.2019.1.1.135
Studies of Building layout and ground use in the early days of Japan Women’s College: Campus design for private colleges in a modernizing Japan
Suzuki, Maho
- Received2019-09-30
- Accepted2019-12-08
- Published Online2019-12-31
Abstract
This paper reveals the influence of urban and social contexts on the early building layout of Japan Women’s College (JWC), one of the first women’s colleges in Japan.According to the unpublished plans, the main building and other major structures, at the first stage, formed a three-sided quadrangle with site-wide organization, which was similar to contemporary National colleges. Thisimpressive design, however, disappeared in the final plan.Although the school is the largest in student number and in campus ground sizecomparedtoother contemporary private colleges at its establishment, thesubdivided land acquired in the private land market forced JWC to give up the organic composition of buildings. Under the framework of donation-based finance, it needed to start construction quicklyfor further support from the public, which prevented the school from acquiring enough time to adjust land ownership. These constitute the major differences with national schools. The founder’s emphasis on the physical exercises, which reflected the public interest in physical strength of mothers in the time of wars, gave preference to securing sufficient open space over the order of buildings.
Key Words: Campus Design, Private College, Female Education, Urban Context, Modern Japan
This paper reveals the influence of urban and social contexts on the early building layout of Japan Women’s College (JWC), one of the first women’s colleges in Japan.According to the unpublished plans, the main building and other major structures, at the first stage, formed a three-sided quadrangle with site-wide organization, which was similar to contemporary National colleges. Thisimpressive design, however, disappeared in the final plan.Although the school is the largest in student number and in campus ground sizecomparedtoother contemporary private colleges at its establishment, thesubdivided land acquired in the private land market forced JWC to give up the organic composition of buildings. Under the framework of donation-based finance, it needed to start construction quicklyfor further support from the public, which prevented the school from acquiring enough time to adjust land ownership. These constitute the major differences with national schools. The founder’s emphasis on the physical exercises, which reflected the public interest in physical strength of mothers in the time of wars, gave preference to securing sufficient open space over the order of buildings.
Key Words: Campus Design, Private College, Female Education, Urban Context, Modern Japan