What Is the Former Kyushu Imperial University Headquarters Office Building?
The Former Kyushu Imperial University Headquarters Office Building (旧九州帝国大学本部事務室棟, Kyū-Kyūshū Teikoku Daigaku Honbu Jimushitsu-tō) is a two-storey brick building completed in 1925 at Kyushu University's Hakozaki Satellite in Higashi-ku, Fukuoka City, and was registered as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property on 27 February 2023.
It covers a building area of 1,276 square meters, with a small tower over the entrance. Kurata Ken, head of the architecture section, designed it and Saeki Komusho (today Saeki Kensetsu) built it between 1924 and March 1925. Its main entrance lines up on a single axis with that of the Faculty of Engineering Main Building opposite, and from 1930 until April 2014 it was the university headquarters, with the president's office and a reception room for distinguished guests. University guides also call it Headquarters Building No. 1.
Built from the Ruins: The Former Kyushu Imperial University Headquarters Office Building
The story of the Former Kyushu Imperial University Headquarters Office Building begins with a fire in December 1923 that destroyed the brick main hall of the engineering college. Staff needed offices, laboratories and research rooms until a new hall was ready. Other stopgap classrooms were makeshift sheds or old hospital wards moved from the medical campus, but this building and the architecture section building beside it were designed from the start as the future headquarters, and so were built in permanent brick.
Two things settled the decision, the university explains. A survey of the ruins showed that the facing bricks and foundation stones of the old hall could be reused, and Furukawa Toranosuke, third head of the Furukawa zaibatsu, whose family had funded the original hall, donated 5,000 barrels of cement and 1,400 kan (5,250 kg) of copper sheet. A bronze plaque honoring the gift hangs at the entrance.
Perhaps because it went up just after the Great Kanto Earthquake of 1923, the walls are brick but the floors and beams are reinforced concrete.
Why the Former Kyushu Imperial University Headquarters Office Building Was Registered
The Former Kyushu Imperial University Headquarters Office Building was registered as a model of architectural design. The Agency for Cultural Affairs says its orderly exterior shows how campus buildings changed over time, a contrast that becomes obvious when you set it beside the 1930 reinforced concrete engineering building across the courtyard.
Kyushu University values it for keeping the formality and ornament of brick construction, and as one of the last brick buildings of its era. Its plan, with wings spreading either side of a central carriage porch, answers the engineering building opposite, so that the pair together form the symbol of the campus.
What to Look For on the Former Kyushu Imperial University Headquarters Office Building
On the front of the Former Kyushu Imperial University Headquarters Office Building, the first thing to notice is that the windows change shape from the ground floor to the upper floor, a simple way to keep a long brick wall from looking flat. The centerpiece is the round arch over the entrance, filled by a semicircular lunette window.
The walls are face brick, with the base and upper band in exposed-aggregate mortar (Araidashi) made to resemble stone. White granite marks the key points: window surrounds, arch keystones, underfloor vents and the plinth stones of the porch.
The brickwork repays a closer look. The front is laid in header bond, but the east side at the back is in English bond, which the university takes as a practical choice for a face few people would see, since it wastes less brick.
Inside, rooms line a central corridor and the main staircase rises through an open well (Fukinuke). Its newel posts carry Secession-style carving, and the upper floor held a reception room for distinguished guests.
Seeing the Former Kyushu Imperial University Headquarters Office Building
No interior openings are announced for the Former Kyushu Imperial University Headquarters Office Building, so it is viewed from the paths in the grounds.
Stand in front of the engineering building's entrance and turn around: the office building's door and tower sit squarely on the axis, the clearest view of the layout Kurata Ken intended. Closer in, check the change of window shape between floors, the lunette over the door and, where the paths allow, the switch in brick bond at the back. Directions to the site and the rules for walking through the grounds are on the Former Kyushu Imperial University page.
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Q&A
- When was the Former Kyushu Imperial University Headquarters Office Building built and registered?
- It was completed in March 1925 and registered as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property on 27 February 2023.
- Is the Former Kyushu Imperial University Headquarters Office Building really built from the burned hall?
- Yes. Kyushu University and Fukuoka City say it reuses bricks and foundation stones from the engineering college hall that burned in 1923, rebuilt to recall its appearance.
- How long did the Former Kyushu Imperial University Headquarters Office Building serve as the headquarters?
- From 1930 until the headquarters moved out in April 2014.
- What is the plaque at the entrance of the Former Kyushu Imperial University Headquarters Office Building?
- It is a bronze plaque honoring Furukawa Toranosuke's gift of cement and copper, which helped make a brick building possible.
- Can visitors go inside the Former Kyushu Imperial University Headquarters Office Building?
- No interior openings are announced. The building is seen from the paths in the grounds.
Basic Information
| Name | Former Kyushu Imperial University Headquarters Office Building |
|---|---|
| Location | 6-10-1 Hakozaki, Higashi-ku, Fukuoka City, Fukuoka Prefecture |
| Designation | Registered Tangible Cultural Property (Building) |
| Year Designated | Registered on 27 February 2023 |
| Quantity | 1 building |
| Dimensions | Building area 1,276 m² |
| Owner | Kyushu University, National University Corporation |
| Public Access | Interior closed; exterior only |
References
- Agency for Cultural Affairs, Database of National Cultural Properties: Former Kyushu Imperial University Headquarters Office Building
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/bsys/maindetails/101/00014544
- Cultural Heritage Online: Former Kyushu Imperial University Headquarters Office Building
- https://online.bunka.go.jp/heritages/detail/548738
- Fukuoka City Cultural Properties: Former Kyushu Imperial University Headquarters Office Building (Japanese)
- https://bunkazai.city.fukuoka.lg.jp/cultural_properties/detail/779
- Kyushu University: Modern Buildings at Hakozaki, Headquarters Building No. 1 (Japanese)
- https://www.kyushu-u.ac.jp/ja/university/campus/hakozaki-campus/hakozaki_buildings/buildings/honbudaiichi/
- Kyushu University: Modern Buildings of the Former Kyushu Imperial University at Hakozaki Satellite (PDF, Japanese)
- https://www.kyushu-u.ac.jp/f/50488/20221116hakozaki.pdf
- Kyushu University: Hakozaki Modern Buildings to Become Registered Tangible Cultural Properties (Japanese)
- https://www.kyushu-u.ac.jp/ja/topics/view/1854/
Last verified: 2026.09.30
