han school
The ''han'' school was a type of educational institution in the Edo period of Japan. They taught samurai etiquette, the classical Confucian books, calligraphy, rhetoric, fighting with swords and other weapons; some also added subjects such as m ...
located in the
Chōshū Domain
The , also known as the , was a domain (''han'') of the Tokugawa Shogunate of Japan during the Edo period from 1600 to 1871.Deal, William E. (2005) ''Handbook to Life in Medieval and Early Modern Japan,'' p. 81
The Chōshū Domain was based ...
of
Japan
Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...
. 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
270px, Ikeda Akimasa
270px, Auditorium of the Shizutani School
270px, Kōraku-en
was a feudal domain under the Tokugawa shogunate of Edo period Japan, in what is now eastern Okayama Prefecture on the island of Honshu. It controlled all of B ...
.
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 era, Meiji period in the middle 19th century, ruled most of Japan from their vast hereditary land holdings. They were subordinate to the shogun and no ...
Mōri Yoshimoto, located in the ''sannomaru'' (outer third bailey) of
Hagi Castle
is a Japanese castle located in the city of Hagi, Yamaguchi, Hagi, Yamaguchi Prefecture, in the San'yō region of Japan. Built in 1604 at the beginning of the Edo period as the main castle of the Mōri clan, it served as the seat of the Chōshū ...
, and covered an area of 940 ''
tsubo
A ''pyeong'' (abbreviationpy) is a Korean unit of area (mathematics), area and floorspace, equal to a square ''kan (unit), kan'' or 36square Korean feet. The ''ping'' and ''tsubo'' are its equivalent Taiwanese units, Taiwanese and Japanese units ...
'' (approx 3,102 square meters). It was later moved to the lower Hagi Castle area (part of current
Hagi, Yamaguchi
file:Hagicity aerialshot.jpg, 270px, Aerial view of central Hagi
is a Cities of Japan, city located in Yamaguchi Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 43,233 in 22,803 households and a population density of 62 persons per k ...
) 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 dur ...
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 Imperial House of Japan, imperial rule to Japan in 1868 under Emperor Meiji. Althoug ...
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 lif ...
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 Ha ...
were both students at the Meirinkan. Other distinguished graduates include
Japanese Imperial Army
The Imperial Japanese Army (IJA; , ''Dai-Nippon Teikoku Rikugun'', "Army of the Greater Japanese Empire") was the principal ground force of the Empire of Japan from 1871 to 1945. It played a central role in Japan’s rapid modernization during th ...
officer
Miura Gorō
Viscount was a lieutenant general in the early Imperial Japanese Army; he is notable for orchestrating the murder of Queen Min of Korea in 1895.
Biography
Miura was born in Hagi in Chōshū Domain (modern Yamaguchi Prefecture), to a ''s ...
, diplomat
Aoki Shūzō
Viscount was a Japanese politician and diplomat who served as foreign minister during the Meiji era.
Early life
Aoki was born to a samurai family as the son of the domain physician of Chōshū, in what is now part of San'yō-Onoda in Yamaguc ...
and
Kido Takayoshi
, formerly known as , was a Japanese statesman, samurai and ''Shishi (Japan), shishi'' who is considered one of the Three Great Nobles of the Restoration, three great nobles who led the Meiji Restoration.
Early life
Born Wada Kogorō on Augu ...
, 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 re ...
by the Japanese government on December 7, 1919. Manga artist
Yū Koyama
is a Japanese manga artist. After graduating from Shizuoka Prefectural Shimada Commercial High School 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 ...
'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
A moat is a deep, broad ditch dug around a castle, fortification, building, or town, historically to provide it with a preliminary line of defence. Moats can be dry or filled with water. In some places, moats evolved into more extensive water d ...
, 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 Japanese national university, national university in Yamaguchi Prefecture, Japan. It has campuses at the cities of Yamaguchi, Yamaguchi, Yamaguchi and Ube, Yamaguchi, Ube.
History
The root of the university was , a private school founde ...
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
(May 30, 1824 – December 7, 1869) 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 da ...
served as an instructor for the Yamaguchi Meirinkan before the Chōshū civil wars.