Yoshida Dormitory

In my post on the history of Kyoto University, I mentioned a hotbed of student radicalism known as Yoshida Dormitory. In May I got the chance to go on a personal tour of Yoshida Dormitory from an Estonian philosophy PhD student that I know named Miikael. He had lived in Yoshida for several years when he first came to Japan because he did not have much money and it was by far the cheapest option. As such, he was one of very few non-Japanese students living there.

(Note:  I was not comfortable taking photos during my tour of Yoshida Dormitory. The photos below were taken by a someone named Chea Phal who visited in December 2015 and who posted his/her photos on the publically accessible website Flickr.)

Front entrance of Yoshida Dormitory:

Corridor and shared living space.

Yoshida has been organized and run by students since its founding in the early 20th Century, and over the years has become extremely dilipidated. In many ways it feels like a 1960's hippie commune, something that stands out as especially unusual amid the order and conformity that is characteristic of most of Japan. The shared areas are filled with old electronics equipment, video games, and the like.

Interior courtyard.

The whole complex has been condemned by the Kyoto University authorities as structurally unsound and a safety hazard. However, students occupying the dormitory have been unwilling to let officials into the building to do assessments or repairs. According to my guide, Miikael, until about a year ago there was a pet emu living in this courtyard!

Old fliers and phone.

Yoshida Dormitory has been in the national news in Japan in recent months because Kyoto University is trying to have all the students temporarily relocated (citing the safety concerns mentioned above). The student residents believe -- probably with good reason -- that this is just pretext for permanently closing the Dormitory and demolishing the building. About half the students have now left voluntarily, but a core are remaining in place and refusing to budge, despite threatened legal action by the University.

Interior corridor.