Kyoto University Rakuyukaikan

A Spanish Mission Hall for Kyoto University

The Kyoto University Rakuyukaikan (京都大学楽友会館) is a university alumni hall of 1925 in Yoshida Konoecho, Sakyo Ward, Kyoto City, Kyoto Prefecture, and was registered as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property (structure) on July 23, 1998 (Agency for Cultural Affairs).

The Agency records a two-storey reinforced concrete building with a tiled roof and a building area of 715 square metres; registration number 26-0016.

An Alumni Hall for the 25th Anniversary

The Kyoto University Rakuyukaikan is an alumni hall built to mark the 25th anniversary of the university (Agency for Cultural Affairs). According to the university, it was completed in 1925 to designs by a young lecturer in its own architecture department.

The Agency notes that the architect belonged to the Secessionist Architecture Group, and the exterior is in a Spanish Mission style.

Why It Was Registered

The Agency notes that the rounded porch roof on Y-shaped columns breaks the Spanish Mission theme, and that the interior, with its furniture by a noted designer of the day, captures the character of Taisho architecture; it was registered as a model of design.

What to Look For

Look for the rounded porch roof on its Y-shaped columns (Agency for Cultural Affairs). The university notes that a renovation completed in 2010 restored it as a hall with meeting rooms, keeping its original character.

Visiting

According to Kyoto University, the hall is used by its staff for academic exchange and is open from Tuesday to Saturday, 9:00 to 17:30. No official information on visits by the general public was found.