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The was a
of Okayama. This was 21 years earlier than the famous Yushima Seidō academy which was opened in Edo by the Tokugawa shogunate. However, even prior to 1669, domain had created a han school called the Hanabatakekai (also known as the "Hanabatake Kojo") in 1641. The main purpose was to educate the children of his feudal retainers, but was also open to the children of wealthy commoners who were willing to a raised to lower
Okayama City official home page
Okayama Prefecture home page
{in lang, ja Bizen Province Okayama Education in Okayama Prefecture Historic Sites of Japan 1669 establishments in Japan
The was a 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 Banzan neighborhood of Kita-ku, in Okayama
is the prefectural capital, capital Cities of Japan, city of Okayama Prefecture in the Chūgoku region of Japan. The Okayama metropolitan area, centered around the city, has the largest urban employment zone in the Chugoku region of western J ...
, Okayama Prefecture
is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located in the Chūgoku region of Honshu. Okayama Prefecture has a population of 1,826,059 (1 February 2025) and has a geographic area of 7,114 Square kilometre, km2 (2,746 sq mi). Okayama Prefecture ...
. One of the oldest han schools to have been established, it was designated a National Historic Site in 1922.
History
In 1669,Ikeda Mitsumasa
was a Japanese ''daimyō'' of the early Edo period. Papinot, Jacques Edmond Joseph. (1906). ''Dictionnaire d’histoire et de géographie du Japon''; Papinot, (2003)">DF 18 of 80">"Ikeda" at ''Nobiliare du Japon'', p. 14 DF 18 of 80/nowiki> r ...
, the '', the ''daimyō'' of Okayama Domain, opened a domain academy in the jōkamachi">castle town
A castle town is a settlement built adjacent to or surrounding a castle. Castle towns were common in Medieval Europe. Some examples include small towns like Alnwick and Arundel, which are still dominated by their castles. In Western Europe, ...samurai
The samurai () were members of the warrior class in Japan. They were originally provincial warriors who came from wealthy landowning families who could afford to train their men to be mounted archers. In the 8th century AD, the imperial court d ...
status. The precincts were initially the converted residence of Matsudaira Masatane within Okayama Castle
is a Japanese castle in the city of Okayama in Okayama Prefecture in Japan. The main tower was completed in 1597, destroyed in 1945 and replicated in concrete in 1966. Two of the watch towers survived the bombing of 1945 and are now listed by ...
, but later as the number of students increased, the school relocated its present site, which was originally the abandoned temple of Enjō-ji, and the site of a nearby samurai residence were used. Although Mitsumasa himself was an adherent of Yangmingism
The School of Mind, or the School of Heart (), or Yangmingism (; ), is one of the major philosophical schools of Neo-Confucianism, based on the ideas of the idealist Neo-Confucian philosopher Wang Shouren (whose pseudonym was Yangming Zi and thus ...
, the school mainly taught Edo neo-Confucianism
Edo Neo-Confucianism, known in Japanese as , refers to the schools of Neo-Confucian philosophy that developed in Japan during the Edo period. Neo-Confucianism reached Japan during the Kamakura period. The philosophy can be characterized as humani ...
of the Cheng–Zhu school
The School of Principle ( zh, p=Lǐxué, t=理學, s=理学), or the Cheng–Zhu School ( zh, p=Chéng Zhū lǐxué, t=程朱理學), is one of the major philosophical schools of Neo-Confucianism, based on the ideas of the Neo-Confucian philosoph ...
, which was the orthodoxy promoted by the Tokugawa shogunate. The curriculum was primarily reading and reciting the Four Books and Five Classics
The Four Books and Five Classics are authoritative and important books associated with Confucianism, written before 300 BC. They are traditionally believed to have been either written, edited or commented by Confucius or one of his disciples. S ...
, with martial arts
Martial arts are codified systems and traditions of combat practiced for a number of reasons such as self-defence; military and law enforcement applications; combat sport, competition; physical, mental, and spiritual development; entertainment; ...
training in between.
The school covered an area of 202 meters north-to-south by 111 meters east-to-west. Based on Confucian thought, the school buildings were arranged in an orderly and symmetrical manner. Buildings for literary studies were on the east side, and buildings for martial arts training on the west side. Around these school buildings, were a school magistrate's mansion, lecturer's dormitory, student dormitory and a 181.8-meter-long riding ground outside the west outer moat. The school initially had a capacity of 161 student and 67 attendants; however, the number fluctuated in accordance with Okayama Domain's finances over time. The quota was lowered to 63 students in 1683, but reached 242 students at its peak in then late Edo Period (1815-1842) .
The school closed in 1871, and was later succeeded by the Okayama Prefectural Normal School and the Okayama Prefectural Women's Normal School. At the time of its designation as a National Historic Site in 1922, the south gate, main gate, and auditorium remained, but in 1945, these structures were destroyed in during an air raid. After the war, most of the site was reclaimed by urban encroachment, with a portion now occurred by the current Okayama Municipal Okayama Chuo Junior High School. Today, only the pond and the stone bridge that spans it remain.
The site is a three-minute walk from the Okayama Electric Tramway Higashiyama Main Line "Yanagawa" stop.
See also
*List of Historic Sites of Japan (Okayama)
This list is of the Monuments of Japan, Historic Sites of Japan located within the Prefectures of Japan, Prefecture of Okayama Prefecture, Okayama.
National Historic Sites
As of 6 August 2019, forty-seven Sites have been Cultural Properties of J ...
* History of education in Japan
The history of education in Japan dates back at least to the sixth century, when Chinese learning was introduced at the Yamato court. Foreign civilizations have often provided new ideas for the development of Japan's own culture.
6th to 15th c ...
References
External links
Okayama City official home page
Okayama Prefecture home page
{in lang, ja Bizen Province Okayama Education in Okayama Prefecture Historic Sites of Japan 1669 establishments in Japan