A Surviving Wing With a New Purpose
The office building of the Hokkaido University Botanic Garden began life elsewhere. It is the east wing of the zoology and botany hall that once stood on the old Sapporo Agricultural College campus, an I-shaped building completed in 1901 (Meiji 34). When the hall was taken down, this wing was moved into the botanic garden in 1942 (Showa 17) and given a second role as the garden office.
What remains is a two-story timber structure finished in plastered ōkabe walls, the same technique that gives several of the college buildings their solid, masonry-like surface. The entrance is the feature to watch: it is framed by pilasters and crowned by a triangular pediment carried on small brackets, or modillions, so a modest doorway is treated with real architectural dignity.
Why It Was Registered
The wing was designed by Chujo Seiichiro, who at the time headed the Sapporo branch office of the Ministry of Education's building section, and who is linked to a number of the surviving Sapporo Agricultural College buildings. The office was registered as a Tangible Cultural Property on 28 April 2000, with the gazette notice on 17 May, under the criterion recognizing it as a model of its type.
Its value is partly that of a fragment. When the original zoology-botany hall was lost, this wing carried forward a piece of an important Meiji campus building, and its move into the garden preserved both the architecture and the memory of the larger structure it once belonged to.
What to Look For
Go straight to the entrance and read it as a small classical composition. The pilasters rise on either side, the pediment sits above, and the row of modillions under the pediment shows that the designer wanted the doorway to be more than a hole in a wall. Then step back and take in the plastered walls, smooth and continuous, that tie this wing to its sister buildings across the university.
The office stands inside the Hokkaido University Botanic Garden, a ticketed public facility open seasonally, which makes it one of the more accessible buildings in this group. A single garden visit lets you see it alongside Batchelor Memorial Hall and the garden's other preserved structures, and to picture the vanished I-shaped hall from which this piece survives.
- 📍 Plan Your Visit to Hokkaido
- Find tours, activities & transport passes near Hokkaido University Botanical Gardens Building (former
- [ Explore Sapporo Snow Festivals & Lavender Fields ]
Q&A
- Was this always the garden office?
- No. It is the east wing of the old zoology-botany hall, built in 1901 and moved into the botanic garden in 1942 to serve as the office.
- Who designed it?
- Chujo Seiichiro, then head of the Sapporo branch of the Ministry of Education's building section, linked to several college buildings.
- What are the modillions at the entrance?
- They are small brackets set in a row beneath the triangular pediment, supporting and enriching the entrance above the pilasters.
- Can I visit it?
- Yes. It stands inside the Hokkaido University Botanic Garden, a ticketed public facility open seasonally.
Basic Information
| Name | Botanic Garden Office, Hokkaido University (former Sapporo Agricultural College Zoology-Botany Classroom) |
|---|---|
| Location | Kita 3, Nishi 8, Chuo-ku, Sapporo, Hokkaido (Hokkaido University Botanic Garden) |
| Designation | Registered Tangible Cultural Property (registered 28 April 2000; gazette notice 17 May 2000) |
| Built | 1901 (Meiji 34); moved 1942 (Showa 17) |
| Structure | Timber, two stories, sheet-metal roof; building area 132 m²; 1 building |
| Designer | Chujo Seiichiro |
| Owner | Hokkaido University (National University Corporation) |
| Access | Within the Hokkaido University Botanic Garden (ticketed, seasonal opening); exterior viewable |
References
- National Database of Designated Cultural Properties (Agency for Cultural Affairs) — Botanic Garden Office, Hokkaido University
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/bsys/maindetails/101/00001540
- Hokkaido University — official site
- https://www.hokudai.ac.jp/
Last verified: 2026.07.02