Did you know that Okayama prefecture has the oldest free-public school in Japan?
Still in very good condition (probably due to continual renovating), Shizutani Gakkou (Shizutani School) is the oldest free-public school – perhaps in the world! Starting in the 17th century, students came to learn Confuciusm: studying Chinese characters (kanji) and the Confucius beliefs.
Shizutani School is located in the city of Wake, which is about 30 minutes by train from central Okayama city. However, Shizutani School is not easily accessible by train or other public transport – which is perhaps one reason why foreign people rarely visit this historical treasure.
Nevertheless, it is a very beautiful and traditional place. The main lecture hall is completely made of wood, with the sun shining a reflection on it’s polished floors. The rock wall, encircling the school grounds, took over 100 years to build. No glue-like materials were used to hold it together and no gaps can be visibly seen. Each rock was shaped or picked to fit perfectly within each other.
The roof tiles used for the buildings are made from Bizen pottery – a local clay pottery style, which is often stained with a reddish hue.
Next to the school grounds are a valley of Camilla trees. While rather spooky in winter covered in moss with no leaves – I can imagine they look beautiful when in full bloom. Its here you can find a hiding monkey in the trees – of course it isn’t real, but is still pretty cool!
The school grounds also have two Chinese Pistachio trees. They were rbought as seeds from China, and are said to represent the ‘Tress of Academic’, as per Confucius. In Autumn, one tree produces orange-red leaves, while the other produces yellow. Many high school students will collect the fallen nuts of this tree as a lucky token – especially for exams.
There is a museum here, but, with all the information written in Japanese, it can be a bit of a deterrent for foreigners. I hope that the city counsel can organize for some English to be included within the site, to make Shizutani more appealing to foreign visitors. It truly is a magical and forgotten part of Japanese history.
