Zenjiro Yasuda (a founder of the Yasuda zaibatsu) was concerned that the University did not have a binden (temporary resting quarters for the Emperor). Thus, Yasuda made donations to the University to construct such a place, and Yasuda Auditorium was completed in 1925. Although architect Yoshikazu Uchida appeared to have received inspiration for his design from the gate tower on Cambridge University’s campus, the dynamic design of the Auditorium is quite unique. Yasuda Auditorium became a befitting new symbol of the University of Tokyo, as the University was at that time striving to transform into a modern research university. Structures on campus tiled in reddish brown-colored bricks, such as this building, the Faculty of Science Building 1 and the South Clinical Research Building, can be said to strongly represent structures existing during the Taisho period around the time of the Great Kanto Earthquake (1923). The Auditorium’s renovation, completed after the 1968 University of Tokyo Protests (Todai funsō), was also funded by the Yasuda zaibatsu.
