Iwate University Faculty of Agriculture (Former Morioka Imperial College of Agriculture and Forestry)

What Is the Iwate University Faculty of Agriculture (Former Morioka Imperial College of Agriculture and Forestry)?

The Iwate University Faculty of Agriculture (Former Morioka Imperial College of Agriculture and Forestry) is a pair of college buildings on the Iwate University campus in Ueda, Morioka City, Iwate Prefecture: a former main building completed in 1912 and a gatehouse from around 1902, designated together as an Important Cultural Property of Japan on July 12, 1994. The former main gate is included in the designation as an appended item. The Japanese name is 岩手大学農学部（旧盛岡高等農林学校）, Iwate Daigaku Nōgakubu (Kyū-Morioka Kōtō Nōrin Gakkō).

The Morioka Imperial College of Agriculture and Forestry opened in 1902 as the first school of its kind in Japan. Its main building, finished in December 1912, is a two-storey wooden building in a European style, built of Aomori hiba cypress, with a building area of 500.82 square meters and a slate roof. The principal's office, administration office and meeting room were on the ground floor; the upper floor was a large assembly hall used for ceremonies and school events.

When Iwate University was formed in 1949, the building became the university headquarters. After the headquarters moved out in 1974, alumni donations paid for a renovation in 1977, and since 1978 it has served as the Historical Museum for Agricultural Education.

The gatehouse is a small wooden structure of 27.27 square meters with a sheet-metal roof. The Agency for Cultural Affairs dates it to about 1902; the university says it was built in 1903 at what was then the main entrance (today a side gate) and moved to its present position when the main building was completed.

Why the Morioka College Buildings Matter

According to Iwate University, the former main building is one of the few surviving central buildings of the national specialist colleges founded in the Meiji era. It had seen little alteration and was in good condition, which led to its designation, and it is regarded as an important document in the history of Japanese school architecture.

The gatehouse and the former main gate, including part of its earthen embankment, were recognized as college facilities of the same period and designated at the same time. That the entrance survives as a set, gate and gatekeeper's lodge together with the main building, is part of what makes the Iwate University Faculty of Agriculture site distinctive.

A major restoration followed the designation and returned the main building almost to its original condition. Seismic strengthening was carried out in 2012, and the museum reopened with refreshed displays the following year.

What to See at the Former Morioka Imperial College of Agriculture and Forestry

A gate built like a castle approach

The former main gate was laid out west of the main building when that building was completed. An access road was cut between an upper and a lower river terrace, an earthen bank was raised on the upper side, and stacked granite gateposts hold it in place; the university likens the arrangement to a castle gate. On top of the posts sit lamps that look like old-fashioned globes, and just inside the gate stands a huge tulip tree planted in 1920 as the first tree of an avenue that no longer exists.

An octagonal gatehouse

The gatehouse is a small eight-sided building with a hipped-style roof, a rare survival of a Meiji-era school porter's lodge. Because it stands beside the old gate, looking at the two together gives a clear sense of how the entrance to the college appeared a century ago.

The museum and Kenji Miyazawa

The former main building now houses the Historical Museum for Agricultural Education, run by the Iwate University Faculty of Agriculture. The poet and author Kenji Miyazawa studied at the college between 1915 and 1920, first as a regular student in the agricultural chemistry course and then as a research student, so he attended classes when this building was still new.

The fourth exhibition room shows the geological survey tools of his student days, rocks he collected and thin sections he prepared for the microscope, his graduation thesis on the value of inorganic components in humus for plants, and the student literary magazine Azalea. The university traces a line from the soil surveys he made with his teacher, Professor Toyotaro Seki, to his later work advising farmers and to his story The Life of Gusuko Budori.

Visiting the Former Morioka Imperial College of Agriculture and Forestry

The Historical Museum for Agricultural Education in the former main building is open 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m., with last entry at 2:30 p.m. Admission is 140 yen for adults, 100 yen for high school and university students and 70 yen for elementary and junior high school students; groups of 20 or more pay reduced rates and must submit an application form in advance.

The museum opens on weekdays all year, and on weekends and holidays between the last Saturday of April and November 3. The 2026 calendar lists closures between August 8 and August 17 and over the New Year period. The building has no heating or air conditioning and closes temporarily on days with a high risk of heatstroke, so in summer check the university website on the day.

The gatehouse and the former main gate are viewed from outside; there is no notice of interior access. We found no published policy on photography, so ask at reception before taking pictures inside the museum.

The Iwate University campus is about 2 kilometers from Morioka Station, roughly a 25-minute walk. By bus, take an Iwate Kenkotsu bus bound for Matsuzono Bus Terminal or Sakuradai Danchi from stop 11 at the station's east exit and get off at Iwate Daigaku-mae, about 10 minutes.