Hyogo: Classic Decorations to Be Replaced at Kwansei Gakuin; Originals Were Removed for Use as War Materiel

The Yomiuri Shimbun

15:41 JST, August 10, 2024

NISHINOMIYA, Hyogo — A project is underway to restore intricate iron decorations that once adorned the staircase inside Kwansei Gakuin University’s Clock Tower, which were removed during World War II.

The tower, which was designed by U.S. architect William Merrell Vories and completed in 1929, is a symbol of the university in Nishinomiya, Hyogo Prefecture. The metal decorations had been installed at 23 locations on the stair railings inside this tower, but they are thought to have been removed and donated to the war effort.

Based on blueprints and photos from the time, the larger decorations were octagonal and measured about 35 centimeters in width and height. Finished in bronze, the decorations had an elegant design that evoked images of plants. However, the university newspaper reported in 1942 that all iron and steel from the campus, including the library’s iron railings, had been collected. The staircase decorations also seem to have been removed to be used by the military.

The existence of the decorations was largely forgotten over the years. That changed in 2022, when Marie Kurata, the university museum’s curator, launched a project to restore them to their original state. Associate Prof. Masakazu Ishigure at the university’s School of Architecture and some students examined surviving drawings and photos and used them as references to create 13 wooden models of the decorations.

These replicas are scheduled to be attached to the railings and shown to the public during a special exhibition at the university museum that will start on Sept. 28. The project aims to have iron decorations made and installed where the originals once were by 2029, which will mark the 140th anniversary of Kwansei Gakuin’s founding.