Tokyo University of Mercantile Marine Building 2: The Fisheries Institute That Came to Stay
Building 2 carries a name that hides its origins. It stands on the Etchujima campus, long the home of the mercantile marine school, but it was not built for that school at all. Completed in 1933 (Showa 8), it went up as the main building of the Fisheries Training Institute (Suisan Koshujo), the lineage that would later become Tokyo University of Fisheries. The two maritime institutions, one for navigation and one for the harvest of the sea, both had a foothold here, and when they merged in 2003 to form Tokyo University of Marine Science and Technology, the histories layered on this single ground became part of one campus.
The building is of reinforced concrete, two stories, with a floor area of about 2,269 square metres, considerably larger than the former library nearby. Its exterior is symmetrical and plainly composed. The face is finished in the scratch tile that was in fashion when it rose, and at the centre of the front four pilasters, shallow columnar forms set against the wall, stand up in a row to stress the vertical. That upright accent gives an otherwise sober building its dignity.
Why It Is Protected
Building 2 is a Registered Tangible Cultural Property, listed on 12 December 1997 and announced on 8 January 1998 under registration number 13-0004. It was registered as a model of design, the same criterion given to Building 1 and the former library. Registration is the lighter of Japan's two heritage frameworks and fits a structure that a working university continues to use.
The listing recognises a restrained, balanced design in which a single strong idea, the row of four pilasters, carries the front. What makes the building rewarding beyond its own merits is what it represents: a piece of the Fisheries Institute standing on the mercantile marine campus, a physical trace of the second maritime school whose story eventually joined the first. Reading it that way turns a plain facade into a marker of how two separate institutions came to share one place.
Seeing It Today
Come to the front and let the four pilasters do their work. Against the level bands of tile they pull the eye upward, a quiet piece of design that keeps a large building from feeling heavy. The structure has been renovated in recent years to improve its performance for continued use, so it remains a living part of the campus rather than a preserved shell, and today it is known as the Etchujima Kaikan.
The building sits within the open grounds of the Etchujima campus, which belongs to Tokyo University of Marine Science and Technology and can be entered on foot when the gate is up; the interior is not on the visitor route. Seeing Building 2 alongside Building 1 and the former library completes the picture of the campus, three tile-clad buildings from the same decade, each with a different job and a different story, and the Meiji Maru waits a short walk away for anyone who wants to end on the water.
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Q&A
- Was Building 2 really part of a fisheries school?
- Yes. It was built in 1933 as the main building of the Fisheries Training Institute, the lineage that became Tokyo University of Fisheries. That school merged with the mercantile marine university in 2003.
- What are the four columns on the front?
- They are pilasters, shallow columnar forms set against the wall. Placed at the centre in a row, they emphasise the vertical and give the symmetrical facade its main accent.
- Why are there two maritime universities in its history?
- One trained navigators for merchant ships, the other trained specialists in fisheries. Both had roots on the Etchujima ground, and in 2003 they combined into Tokyo University of Marine Science and Technology.
- Has it been altered?
- It has been renovated in recent years to improve its performance so it can stay in use. It remains a working building on the campus, now known as the Etchujima Kaikan.
- Can I go inside?
- No. The interior is not part of the visitor route. You can view the exterior, including the row of pilasters, from the campus grounds when the gate is open.
Basic Information
| Name | Tokyo University of Mercantile Marine Building 2 (originally the Fisheries Training Institute main building) |
|---|---|
| Location | 2-1-6 Etchujima, Koto-ku, Tokyo (Etchujima campus, Tokyo University of Marine Science and Technology) |
| Designation | Registered Tangible Cultural Property (registration no. 13-0004) |
| Registered | 12 December 1997 (announced 8 January 1998) |
| Built | 1933 (Showa 8) |
| Structure | Reinforced concrete, two stories; floor area approx. 2,269 square metres; symmetrical front with four pilasters |
| Count | 1 building |
| Owner | National University Corporation Tokyo University of Marine Science and Technology |
| Access | Outdoor viewing when the gate is open; no interior tour |
References
- National Database of Cultural Properties (Agency for Cultural Affairs) — Tokyo University of Mercantile Marine Building 2
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/heritage/detail/101/00000389
- Tokyo University of Marine Science and Technology — Meiji Maru Maritime Museum
- https://www.kaiyodai.ac.jp/overview/facility/meijimaru/
- Tokyo University of Marine Science and Technology — Etchujima campus map
- https://www.kaiyodai.ac.jp/admission-cms/sp/mt/map/ettyuujima.html
Last verified: 2026.07.10