Kobe University Humanities and Social Sciences Library

A Library with an Arched Reading Room

The Kobe University Humanities and Social Sciences Library (神戸大学人文社会系図書館) is a library with a great reading room of 1933 in Rokkodaicho, Nada Ward, Kobe City, Hyogo Prefecture, and was registered as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property (structure) on March 18, 2003 (Agency for Cultural Affairs).

The Agency records a five-storey reinforced-concrete building with a building area of 904 square metres; registration number 28-0120.

A Reading Room under Arches

The Kobe University Humanities and Social Sciences Library is a five-storey reinforced-concrete library (Agency for Cultural Affairs). Square tiles face only the lower part of the exterior, and a Lombard band runs below the eaves.

The great reading room on the first floor is a large space spanned by arches, and a stained-glass skylight crowns the main staircase (Agency for Cultural Affairs).

Why It Was Registered

The Agency describes it as a fine example of school architecture with a high-quality design inside and out, and registered it as a model of design.

What to Look For

Look for the arched great reading room and the stained-glass skylight over the main stair (Agency for Cultural Affairs).

Visiting

It is owned by Kobe University (Agency for Cultural Affairs). No official information on campus visits or access to the building was found. The five buildings are covered together on the Kobe University Rokkodai Campus group page.