Kobe University Martial Arts Hall (former Kobe University of Commerce Dojo)

A Formal Dojo of 1935

The Kobe University Martial Arts Hall (former Kobe University of Commerce Dojo) (神戸大学武道場（旧神戸商業大学道場）) is a formal timber martial arts hall of 1935 in Rokkodaicho, Nada Ward, Kobe City, Hyogo Prefecture, and was registered as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property (structure) on August 13, 2012 (Agency for Cultural Affairs).

The Agency records a single-storey timber building with a tiled roof and a building area of 362 square metres; registration number 28-0552.

A Hip-and-Gable Dojo

The Kobe University Martial Arts Hall (former Kobe University of Commerce Dojo) faces south at the north-west corner of the Rokkodai campus, a building 27.3 by 12.7 metres under a pantiled hip-and-gable roof, with a carriage porch at the centre of the front (Agency for Cultural Affairs).

Inside, the practice floor is in the centre with side rooms to east and west, and a household shrine sits at the centre of the north wall. Its coffered ceiling and finned gable pendants give it a formal character (Agency for Cultural Affairs).

Why It Was Registered

The Agency notes that its formal construction, with a coffered ceiling and finned gable pendants, conveys the history of the university, and registered it for its contribution to the historic landscape.

What to Look For

Look for the carriage porch at the centre of the front, the coffered ceiling and the finned gable pendants (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.