The Waseda University anthem starts with “Northwest of City great and fair, the wood of Waseda” and ends with the cheer “Waseda, Waseda.” Students have likely sung it at least once during entrance ceremonies, graduation ceremonies, or other events. Moreover, “Miyako no Seihoku” is arguably the most famous and most sung university anthem in Japan.
This anthem was established in 1907, commemorating the 25th anniversary of University founding, and was performed for the first time at the anniversary celebration. The key figures in the creation of the anthem were TSUBOUCHI Shoyo and SHIMAMURA Hogetsu, faculty members of the Literature Department. Initially, submissions were solicited from students, but when satisfactory works were not received, they commissioned graduate SOMA Gyofu for the lyrics and gagaku musician TOGI Tetteki for the composition.
Waseda University School Song Re-solicitation Announcement, Waseda Gakuho, No. 146, April 1, 1907.
SOMA later detailed the process of creating the anthem. SOMA and TOGI discussed the project in advance and used university anthems from the UK and the US as references. SOMA recorded that TSUBOUCHI made revisions after completion, praised the phrase “our home for heart” in the third verse, and that the cheer “Waseda, Waseda” was TSUBOUCHI’s idea. According to SUZUKI Katsuomi of the School Song Research Group, TOGI’s composition was influenced by a song called “OLD YALE,” and many similarities with the Waseda University anthem have been noted.
At the 25th anniversary celebration where the anthem was first performed, the unveiling of the first bronze statue of OKUMA Shigenobu also took place. Additionally, during this celebration, OKUMA, who had never participated in an official university event since the founding of Tokyo Senmon Gakko, delivered a speech for the first time and became the university president, solidifying his status as the symbol of Waseda University in both name and reality. After the celebration, students, faculty, and alumni held a lantern procession towards the Imperial Palace, singing the newly established anthem proudly with the band leading the way.
A monument to the anthem was erected in 1997, marking 90 years since the anthem’s creation and 115 years since SOMA’s birth. The monument uses a famous stone from the Himekawa River in Itoigawa City, Niigata Prefecture, SOMA’s birthplace. It still stands today in the shade to the left after entering the main gate of the Waseda campus, with Soma’s handwritten lyrics engraved on it.
Author: HIWA Mizuki, then Assistant Professor, Waseda University Archives
