The Nagoya Medical College Library was the first proper library the college possessed, based on the concept of "Tenseki Juransho" (a place for inspecting books) proposed by GOTO Shinpei half a century before. The library, a three-story building decorated in yellow ochre tile and covering 1,355 square meters, opened on March 1, Showa year 7 (1932). The day before, TAMURA Harukichi had assumed the post of president by getting Minister of Education Hatoyama to informally consent to government contribution to the college, even taking into account the "no funds to be provided by the government for 10 years" condition of the college's transition to government control. In fact, government subsidies jumped from 70,000 yen in Showa year 7 (1932) to 150,000 yen in Showa year 8 (1933).
As subsidies from the government and the prefecture were ensured at 200,000 yen, and management of the affiliated hospital got on track thanks to the ability of Director KATSUNUMA, the college came to have excess reserves with which to purchase facilities and equipment. President TAMURA did not divide the limited budget equally among the departments, but kept it all together as a central fund for purchasing facilities and equipment systematically every year. Some years later, various imported equipment, including X-ray imaging apparatus, was installed, to the degree that the college became known as the "Roentgen College."
As the disorder at the time of foundation calmed down and the college's financial base stabilized, from around Showa year 10 (1935) the campaign for promotion to comprehensive university status was revived; however, it was the worst time to do so. Japan was becoming globally isolated and was plunging into the Sino-Japanese War. Obviously, the government had no surplus funds with which to establish another Imperial University under wartime finances, and the full support of the local area and the concept of a science and technology university which could cooperate directly with the local defense industries were necessarily demanded.
As an alternative to greetings when he met local political and business executives, President TAMURA had taken to advocating a plan for a Nagoya Imperial University consisting of three departments, Medicine, Sciences, and Engineering. In Showa year 13 (1938), Aichi Governor TANAKA switched plans for construction of a museum to plans for an Imperial University, and requested support from the Ministry of Education for its establishment. A detailed plan was then drafted in trilateral discussion among the college, Aichi Prefecture and the Ministry of Education, with negotiations continuing with the Ministries of Education and Finance.
On March 13, Showa year 14 (1939), a "Special Account for the Establishment of Nagoya Imperial University…" and other related bills were approved at a plenary meeting of the House of Peers. It was decided that the college would become the seventh (and final) Imperial University to be built on the Japanese mainland.
However, the details of the transition were rather severe: Aichi Prefecture was to contribute the total expenses of 9 million yen and the land necessary for the establishment of Nagoya Imperial University to the government (as well as the donation of a library and auditorium), and the faculties were to be restricted to two: Medicine, and Science and Engineering (though this took into account the separation of the faculty of science in the near future). The transition into World War II that followed, with its war damage and defeat, meant that the move from college to comprehensive university had to be postponed until the postwar period.
Although it was planned that the medicine faculty would move into the donated Higashiyama district in the future, for the time being it remained in the Tsurumai district. Under the leadership of President SHIBUSAWA, the Nagoya Imperial University School of Medicine was established with TAMURA appointed as dean and KATSUNUMA as director of the School-affiliated Hospital, with the following 24 departments: anatomy (3), physiology (2), biochemistry, pathology (2), bacteriology, hygiene, forensic medicine, internal medicine (3), surgery (2), orthopedics, obstetrics and gynecology, ophthalmology, psychiatry, pediatrics, dermatology and urology, and otolaryngology. |
