Takayama-sha, Agricultural school in Fujioka, Japan.
Takayama-sha is a historic agricultural school in Fujioka, Japan, housed in a two-story wooden building with raised roof sections and wide windows along the upper floor. The structure was built so that air and light move through the interior in a controlled way, making it possible to raise silkworms across the different seasons.
The school was founded in 1884 by Takayama Chōgorō, who opened it on his own family estate to teach local farmers new methods of raising silkworms. It later became part of a UNESCO World Heritage Site, recognized for its role in the development of silk production in Japan.
The name of the site comes from its founder, Takayama Chōgorō, whose family turned their own home into a working school for local farmers. Visitors today can walk through the original wooden rooms where students once learned to raise silkworms alongside their teachers.
The site is in Fujioka and open to visitors, who can walk inside the building and get close to the wooden structure and the roof details. Going in the morning gives the best light through the wide windows, which makes it easier to see how the building was put together.
The building has three raised roof sections arranged to regulate the temperature inside through natural airflow alone, without any machinery. This approach proved so effective that it was later used as a model for other silk farming buildings across Japan.
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