Graffiti defaces tattered clay walls and trash piles up in Japan's oldest student dormitory, but Masako Ueda is savouring every last moment in the mice-infested building slated for temporary closure.

The elite Kyoto University's "Yoshida Dorm" is self-governed by students, who treasure it as a bastion of free thinking away from the strict hierarchies that permeate many Japanese institutions.

Originally published on doc.afp.com, part of the BLOX Digital Content Exchange.

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