Kyoto: New Arts Campus Brings Vitality to Station Area
13:19 JST, October 14, 2023
KYOTO — Kyoto City University of Arts was relocated to the northeastern side of JR Kyoto Station from an outlying area of Kyoto on Oct. 1. While the station is a gateway to the old capital, shops around the station are shuttering and the population there is aging. The Kyoto municipal government expects the new campus will help revitalize the area.
Founded in 1880 as the Kyoto Prefectural School of Painting, KCUA is the country’s oldest university of arts. It has two undergraduate departments — the Faculty of Fine Art and the Faculty of Music — as well as graduate schools, and about 1,000 students study at the university. Due to the aging facilities on the university’s Kutsukake campus in Nishikyo Ward, Kyoto, construction of a new campus was started in Shimogyo Ward in 2021.
The municipal government is positioning the relocated university as a new landmark to make Kyoto more attractive as a city of art and culture. The relocation has already prompted other developments around the station. For example, it was decided that a cooking school would open near the station, and global artist group TeamLab now plans to open a museum on the station’s southeastern side.
The new roughly 3.5-hectare campus has 10 buildings, including an auditorium that can hold 800 people, a gallery for cutting-edge art and a library. There is also a public square where students and locals can interact and a street open to all, aimed at making the university an ideal spot for people to connect.
"Features" POPULAR ARTICLE
-
Tokyo Meiji-era Station Bustles with Life Once More; Former Station Remodeled into Commercial Facility, Observation Deck to Watch Passing Trains Up Close
-
Colorful Summer Has Arrived; More than 1 Mil. Visitors Expected to Visit Shonan Hiratsuka Tanabata Festival
-
Wonder of Freezing Foods; Serving Sweets, Snacks Frozen Gain Popularity in Japan
-
I Feel Resentment Toward My son’s Wife for Going Abroad on a Working Holiday
-
My Co-Worker with a Child is Often Absent, Leaves Early
JN ACCESS RANKING
- Prices of over 10,000 Food and Beverage Items to Rise This Year; Figure is down from over 30,000 Last Year
- Sony Group to End Production of Blu-ray Discs; Market Has Shrunk Due To Growth Of Hard Disk Drives, Streaming
- Japan Ministry Concerned Over Same-Sex Couple Receiving City-Issued Resident Certificates Referring to ‘Common-Law Husband’
- Japan Court OKs Sex Change without Surgery
- Pacific Islands Leaders Not Totally in Tune on China Approach as Meeting Ends in Tokyo; Positions Differ on Treated Water, Joint Drills