University of Tokyo: Nov. 13, 2010

University of Tokyo is the most famous and the highest ranked university in Japan. Its Hongo campus is about 2 kilometers north from the Imperial Palace.
It has many historical spots.

The place was originally a private house of the ruler of Kaga Han (now Ishikawa Prefecture) in the Edo era. Akamon or “Red Gate” was the main gate of the house and now a symbol of the university.
Sanshiro Pond is in the center of the university and is surrounded by deep woods. It was described in a famous novel titled “Sanshiro” written by Natsume Soseki, a great novelist in the Meiji period. The leaves were changing their colors.

Yasuda Kodo (Yasuda Hall) is a hall with more than 1000 seats. It was built in 1925. It is also a symbol of the student revolution movement in the 1960s.
The students occupied the hall as the center of the movement and the police force expelled them in 1968. The “battle” was televised. The hall was not used for around 20 years after the incident.