The Former Nakagomi School is a historic schoolhouse in Nakagomi, Saku City, Nagano Prefecture. Built in the early years of the Meiji period, it is one of Japan’s notable examples of giyofu architecture, a style that combined traditional Japanese construction techniques with Western architectural ideas.
The building is designated as a National Important Cultural Property and Historic Site. More than simply an old schoolhouse, it tells the story of Japan’s rapid modernization and the determination of local communities to provide their children with a modern education.
The history of the Former Nakagomi School began soon after the Japanese government introduced a nationwide modern education system in 1872. In 1873, the villages of Nakagomi, Imai, and Mikawada joined together to establish a school known as Seichi School.
At first, classes were held in Kobayashi Temple in Shimonakagomi, which served as a temporary schoolhouse. As the community’s commitment to education grew, plans were made to construct a dedicated school building.
Construction began in 1874, and the new schoolhouse was completed in December 1875. In May 1876, it was renamed Nakagomi School as Japan’s new educational system continued to develop.
During the early Meiji period, Nagano became known throughout Japan for its strong emphasis on education. The Former Nakagomi School is an especially vivid example of this local enthusiasm.
The building was designed and constructed by Daijiro Ichikawa, a local carpenter who had traveled to Sacramento in the United States. His experience abroad influenced the school’s unusual Western-inspired appearance.
The original construction contract called for a cost of just 380 yen. In reality, however, the final cost exceeded 6,000 yen, an enormous sum at the time. Local residents helped cover the additional expense through donations and other contributions.
The financial burden eventually affected the village’s finances, but the community nevertheless completed the building because of its strong belief that a better educational environment would create a better future for its children.
The building continued to serve as a school until a new schoolhouse was completed in 1919. After that, the historic building was given new uses as a village office, community center, and other local facilities.
Its historical importance was officially recognized in 1966, when it was designated a Nagano Prefecture Treasure. In 1969, it was designated both a National Important Cultural Property and a Historic Site.
The Former Nakagomi School was constructed at a very early stage of Western-style architectural influence in Japan. Rather than being a direct copy of a Western building, it combines imported design ideas with Japanese craftsmanship, creating a distinctive architectural style known as giyofu, or “pseudo-Western” architecture.
The building is a two-story wooden structure with a floor area of approximately 259.4 square meters. It has a hipped roof covered with traditional Japanese ceramic tiles.
The front entrance features a porch and a two-level veranda, while an unusual octagonal tower rises above the building. The combination of these elements gives the schoolhouse an appearance unlike that of a conventional Japanese school of the period.
The exterior walls are finished with plaster in a traditional Japanese daikabe style, concealing the structural posts from view. Around the windows and building corners, black plaster is shaped into decorative arches and patterns designed to resemble stone construction.
Three sides of the lower exterior walls are covered with wooden weatherboards. These details demonstrate the care taken to create a building that looked modern and Western while still being constructed using locally available materials and techniques.
The interior uses a central corridor layout, with rooms arranged along both sides of the corridor on the first and second floors.
The first floor contained a staff room, caretaker’s room, night-duty room, assembly hall, and classrooms. The second floor included the principal’s office, teachers’ room, and six classrooms.
Near the main entrance were separate wardrobes for boys and girls. This arrangement was reportedly modeled after elementary schools in the United States during the 1870s, reflecting the international influences that shaped the building’s design.
Some of the most fascinating details can be found in the decorative elements. Above the entrance doors is a semicircular stained-glass window, while a circular stained-glass window is located at the end of the second-floor corridor.
Such colorful glass was extremely unusual in Japan at the time. Because the octagonal tower was filled with glass windows, the school was also nicknamed “Giyaman School,” using an old Japanese term for glass.
The octagonal rooftop tower also served a practical purpose. A large drum was hung inside it, giving rise to the alternative name “Drum Tower.”
The ceiling of the tower features a directional diagram showing the capitals and directions of countries around the world. This remarkable decoration symbolizes the school’s role as a gateway to new knowledge at a time when Japan was rapidly opening itself to the wider world.
The proportions and design of the tower were influenced by architectural styles that developed in Britain and were later introduced to the United States. Its distinctive form makes the Former Nakagomi School an especially interesting example of Japan’s early encounter with Western architecture.
The Former Nakagomi School represents a fascinating moment in Japanese history. In the decades following the Meiji Restoration, Japan was transforming its institutions, technologies, education system, and relationship with the outside world.
In Saku, these changes were not simply imposed from above. Local residents invested their own money and labor in creating a school that embodied their hopes for the next generation. The building therefore preserves both the architectural history of the Meiji period and the aspirations of the people who built it.
Today, the Former Nakagomi School offers visitors an opportunity to step into the early years of Japan’s modern education system. Its elegant Western-inspired façade, traditional Japanese construction techniques, colorful glass, octagonal tower, and historic interior reveal how Japanese communities experimented with new ideas while retaining their own architectural traditions.
For travelers interested in architecture, education, or the transformation of Japan during the Meiji era, the Former Nakagomi School is a particularly rewarding destination. A visit provides a glimpse into a time when a new generation was being educated for a rapidly changing world—and when one local community turned that vision of the future into an extraordinary wooden schoolhouse.