han school
The was an educational institution in the Edo period of Japan, originally established to educate children of '' daimyō'' (feudal lords) and their retainers in the domains outside of the capital. These institutions were also known as ''hanga ...
located in the Chōshū Domain of Japan. The school was one of the three major educational institutions in Japan, along with the Kōdōkan in
Mito Domain
was a Japanese domain of the Edo period. It was associated with Hitachi Province in modern-day Ibaraki Prefecture.Shizutani School in Okayama Domain.
History
The school was established in 1718 by the 6th Chōshū Domain
daimyō
were powerful Japanese magnates, feudal lords who, from the 10th century to the early Meiji period in the middle 19th century, ruled most of Japan from their vast, hereditary land holdings. They were subordinate to the shogun and nominal ...
Mōri Yoshimoto, located in the ''sannomaru'' (third bailey) of Hagi Castle, and covered an area of 940 ''
tsubo
A ''pyeong'' (abbreviationpy) is a Korean unit of area and floorspace, equal to a square '' kan'' or 36square Korean feet. The ''ping'' and ''tsubo'' are its equivalent Taiwanese and Japanese units, similarly based on a square '' bu'' ( ja:步) ...
'' (approx 3,102 square meters). It was later moved to the lower Hagi Castle area (part of current
Hagi, Yamaguchi
is a city located in Yamaguchi Prefecture, Japan, which was incorporated on July 1, 1932. As of May 31, 2016, the city has an estimated population of 50,179 and a population density of 71.80 of persons per km². The total area is 698.86 km² ...
) by the 14th daimyō
Mōri Takachika
was the 13th daimyo of Chōshū Domain. His domain was a traditional enemy of the Tokugawa shogunate, and he became a key player in its downfall during the Bakumatsu period. He was also the first daimyo to return his lands to the Emperor during ...
in accordance with han reforms, where it covered a total area of 15,184 ''tsubo'' (50,107 m²). 3,020 ''tsubo'' (9,966 m²) of the area were used as military training grounds. The han office was moved to Yamaguchi in 1863, and renamed Yamaguchi Kōdo, a school founded there by Hōyō Ueda, as Yamaguchi Meirinkan, creating two Meirikan schools located in Yamaguchi and Hagi.
Meiji Restoration
The , referred to at the time as the , and also known as the Meiji Renovation, Revolution, Regeneration, Reform, or Renewal, was a political event that restored practical imperial rule to Japan in 1868 under Emperor Meiji. Although there were ...
intellects
Yoshida Shōin
, commonly named , was one of Japan's most distinguished intellectuals in the late years of the Tokugawa shogunate. He devoted himself to nurturing many ''ishin shishi'' who in turn made major contributions to the Meiji Restoration.
Early life ...
and
Takasugi Shinsaku
was a samurai from the Chōshū Domain of Japan who contributed significantly to the Meiji Restoration. He used several aliases to hide his activities from the Tokugawa shogunate.
Early life
Takasugi Shinsaku was born in the castle town Hag ...
were both students at the Meirinkan. Other distinguished graduates include
Japanese Imperial Army
The was the official ground-based armed force of the Empire of Japan from 1868 to 1945. It was controlled by the Imperial Japanese Army General Staff Office and the Ministry of the Army, both of which were nominally subordinate to the Emperor ...
officer
Miura Gorō
Viscount was a lieutenant general in the early Imperial Japanese Army.
Biography
Miura was born in Hagi in Chōshū Domain (modern Yamaguchi Prefecture), to a ''samurai'' family with the name of Andō, but was adopted by the Miura that was ...
, diplomat
Aoki Shūzō
Viscount was a diplomat and Foreign Minister in Meiji period Japan.
Biography
Viscount Aoki was born to a '' samurai'' family as son of the Chōshū domain's physician in what is now part of Sanyō Onoda in Yamaguchi Prefecture). He studi ...
and Kido Takayoshi, Meiji Restoration hero and Meiji statesman.
Hagi Meirinkan
is currently part of Hagi City Meirin Elementary School, and its ruins were decreed a
historic site
A historic site or heritage site is an official location where pieces of political, military, cultural, or social history have been preserved due to their cultural heritage value. Historic sites are usually protected by law, and many have been rec ...
by the Japanese government on December 7, 1919. Manga artist
Yū Koyama
is a Japanese manga artist. After graduating from the University of Shizuoka he moved to Tokyo and in 1968 took a job with Saito Productions, the company run by Takao Saitō. In 1971 he worked with Kazuo Koike at Studio Ship.
Koyama debuted in ...
's debut title, is set in Hagi Meirinkan.
Yamaguchi Meirinkan
was moved to a large site called in 1861, when the school was called Yamaguchi Kōshūdō. It was surrounded by a moat, located in central Yamaguchi City. The Kameyama Campus continued to serve as an educational facility for over 110 years as the current
Yamaguchi University
is a national university in Yamaguchi Prefecture, Japan. It has campuses at the cities of Yamaguchi and Ube.
History
The root of the university was , a private school founded by Ueda Hōyō (, 1769–1853) in 1815. In 1863 the school became a ...
School of Business. The moat was filled in order to build a
prefectural road
in Japan are roads usually planned, numbered and maintained by the government of the respective prefecture (-to, -dō, -fu or -ken), independent of other prefectures – as opposed to national roads (kokudō), which in legal terms include ...
after the school was merged into the Yoshida (Hirakawa) campus in 1973, but parts of the moat were later restored. The
Yamaguchi Prefectural Museum of Art
, in Yamaguchi City is the main art gallery of Yamaguchi Prefecture, Japan.
Opened in 1979, the gallery has a permanent collection, part of which is exhibited at any one time, and also hosts special exhibitions.
The gallery's photographic collec ...
is located within the former campus grounds.
Ōmura Masujirō
was a Japanese military leader and theorist in Bakumatsu period Japan. He was the "Father" of the Imperial Japanese Army, launching a modern military force closely patterned after the French system of the day.
Early life and education
Ōmura ...
served as an instructor for the Yamaguchi Meirinkan before the Chōshū civil wars.