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Avenue of Ginkgo Trees

The avenue lined with ginkgo trees, considered a symbol of the University, was created in 1906 with ginkgo trees transplanted from Koishikawa Botanical Garden. The University’s then-President Arata Hamao, who passionately promoted the beautification of the campus’ environment, consulted with Professor Seiroku Honda of the Imperial University’s College of Agriculture to plan out the avenue’s design. Professor Honda is known as the designer of Hibiya Park, Japan’s first modern, full-scale urban park. After the first phase of the avenue was completed, additional ginkgo trees were added as the avenue was lengthened. With the completion of Yasuda Auditorium at the end of the avenue in 1925, the purpose for the avenue’s construction was finally fulfilled. At the time the avenue was designed, ginkgo trees were not typical trees used for street landscaping. Thus, this avenue can be considered the prototype of neatly-arranged street designs that utilize rows of ginkgo trees.

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