Landmark & Tower · Waseda
Waseda University Okuma Auditorium 早稲田大学 大隈記念講堂
Waseda's 1927 Gothic-Romanesque auditorium with an asymmetric clock tower 125 shaku tall, a nod to founder Okuma Shigenobu's belief that people could live to 125.
About
Completed in 1927 to commemorate Okuma Shigenobu, former prime minister and founder of Waseda University, Okuma Auditorium is the symbol of the campus and an Important Cultural Property since 2007. Designed by Sato Koichi and Sato Takeo, it mixes Gothic and Romanesque elements in warm brown brick, with an off-centre clock tower whose height, 125 shaku (about 38 m), refers to Okuma's theory that humans could live to 125 if they looked after themselves. The large hall, with its oval ceiling painted to suggest the sky, hosts lectures, concerts and graduations. In front of it stand the statue of Okuma and the lively Okuma garden. The surrounding Waseda district has a classic student-town atmosphere, with cheap eateries and secondhand bookshops, and the Toden Arakawa Line tram terminal is a short walk away.
Highlights
- Asymmetric clock tower 125 shaku tall, honouring Okuma's '125 years' theory
- Brown brick Gothic-Romanesque facade from 1927
- Bronze statue of Okuma Shigenobu nearby on campus
- Okuma Garden, a former daimyo garden next door
- Lively student-town streets around it
Tips
- The exterior and surrounding grounds are open to the public; the hall is only open for events.
- Visit the Tsubouchi Memorial Theatre Museum on the same campus, styled after an Elizabethan theatre.
- Ride the Toden Arakawa tram from Waseda terminus for a slow retro journey across north Tokyo.
Open in Google Maps · Info checked 2026-10-09
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