Aizu MuseumWaseda University

Director Keiko SAKAGAMI
Professor, Faculty of Letters, Arts and Sciences

Standing with the Okuma Auditorium behind you and facing the campus, you will see our building to your left. It was built in 1925, designed by Kenji Imai. The elegant building, along with the Okuma Auditorium completed in 1927, has become a symbol of Waseda University.

Since it was used as a library from the time of its construction until 1991, many alumni likely have fond memories of it.

Opened in 1998 as Aizu Museum, it was renovated in 2019, becoming a museum with four galleries. The three galleries on the first floor feature distinctive exhibitions centered on the museum’s collection, while the Grand Gallery on the second floor hosts special themed exhibitions. Visitors can enjoy a unique viewing experience in a historically rich and dignified space.

Although the purpose of the building has changed from a library to a museum, it remains a center of knowledge that fulfills the two functions of the university’s mission: “education” and “research.”

Light and Dark (a joint work by Taikan Yokoyama and Kanzan Shimomura in 1927), installed on the grand staircase leading from the first-floor hall to the second floor, is a work that perfectly exemplifies its role. This monumental painting, created by two masters of Japanese painting, symbolically depicts the importance of learning through the shining sun rising from behind dark clouds. The “Dark” represents the world of darkness before knowledge is acquired, while the “Light” represents the world illuminated by sunlight that becomes visible after knowledge is gained.

Envoy to Rome (by Seison Maeda in 1927), located in the Grand Gallery, is another example of a work suitable for a university museum. This work depicts the Tensho Youth Mission to Europe, a group of young men sent from Japan to Rome in 1582 (the 10th year of the Tensho era). The spirited figure of a young boy setting off for Europe on an important mission is sure to resonate with young people today as they embark on their own journeys from university into the wider world.

The collection primarily consists of works originally amassed by Yaichi Aizu, a scholar of East Asian art who was also active as a poet and calligrapher, for the educational and research purposes of his students. Today, in addition to these, our collection includes some 55,000 diverse works ranging from archaeological and folklore materials to Japanese and Asian art, as well as modern and contemporary art.

As such, our museum is one of the university’s research centers for preserving, investigating, and studying numerous valuable works of art. At the same time, it is open not only to our students and alumni, but also to the general public. In recent years, with the globalization of universities and the increase in foreign visitors to Japan, the number of visitors from overseas has also increased significantly, and the museum has become known as “Aizu Museum.”

Some of you may find this imposing building intimidating, but I sincerely hope you will take the opportunity to open the doors to this treasure trove, step inside, and explore. I hope that as many people as possible will encounter these wonderful works of art, allowing them to escape the hustle and bustle of everyday life and enjoy a moment of peace and tranquility.