Venue: Okuma Auditorium
Address: 東京都新宿区戸塚町1-104
Town: Totsuka, JP

The Ōkuma Auditorium (大隈講堂, Ōkuma kōdō), officially the Waseda University Ōkuma Memorial Hall (早稲田大学大隈記念講堂, Waseda daigaku Ōkuma kinen kōdō), is a Tudor Gothic auditorium of Waseda University in Totsuka, Shinjuku, Tokyo. Designed primarily by Kōichi Satō, construction of the auditorium was planned to begin in 1923 following the death of Waseda founder Ōkuma Shigenobu. Its construction was halted by the 1923 Great Kantō earthquake but eventually began in 1926. It opened in 1927, commemorating the 45th anniversary of the founding of Waseda University. The auditorium includes a large hall with a capacity of over 1,100 seats and a basement hall of about 300 seats. The university's activities, lectures and concerts are held in the auditorium. The clock tower chimes six times a day. It was classified as a historic building by the Tokyo Metropolitan Government in 1999 and officially designated as an Important Cultural Property in 2007. On January 10, 1922, Ōkuma Shigenobu, former Prime Minister of Japan and founder of Waseda University, died. That same year, the university decided to construct memorials in honor of him on their campus. The first decision was to build a large auditorium. Prior to the auditorium's construction, university ceremonies were held in tents in Waseda's courtyard. In April 1923, the University invited design proposals from the public and began raising money, aiming for ¥2,000,000. Despite a design proposal having been chosen, the project was soon halted on the heels of the Great Kantō earthquake. The costs incurred from the earthquake and the costs of construction of the Waseda University Library resulted in a lack of predicted funds. The project was suspended until 1925, when Waseda began planning again. Kōichi Satō, Takeo Satō, and Tachū Naitō of Waseda's Department of Architecture were requested by the President of Waseda University, Sanae Takada, to create a Gothic architecture design for the auditorium. Construction started on February 11, 192