Kyoto University Sonjodo Hall

A Brick Hall for the Heroes of the Restoration

The Kyoto University Sonjodo Hall (京都大学尊攘堂) is a brick memorial hall of 1903 in Yoshida Honmachi, Sakyo Ward, Kyoto City, Kyoto Prefecture, and was registered as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property (structure) on September 2, 1998 (Agency for Cultural Affairs).

The Agency records a single-storey brick building with a tiled roof and a building area of 172 square metres; registration number 26-0021.

A Hall Founded by Shinagawa Yajiro

The Kyoto University Sonjodo Hall traces its origins to a memorial hall founded by Shinagawa Yajiro (Agency for Cultural Affairs). According to the university, Shinagawa, a pupil of Yoshida Shoin, founded the first Sonjodo at Takakura-dori and Nishikikoji in 1887 to honour the men who had served the cause of the Meiji Restoration, as his teacher had wished.

After Shinagawa's death, his collection and funds for a building were given to Kyoto Imperial University, and the present hall was built on the campus in 1903 to house Yoshida Shoin's writings and other materials (Agency for Cultural Affairs; Kyoto University).

Why It Was Registered

The Agency notes the stuccoed brick walls, the iron entrance porch and the plain design of the openings, and calls this small hall an unusual building on the campus; it was registered as a model of design.

What to Look For

Look for the stuccoed brick walls and the iron entrance porch (Agency for Cultural Affairs).

Visiting

It stands on the main campus of Kyoto University. The university opened it to the public during its Homecoming Day in 2023; no official information on regular opening was found.