Shizutani School History Museum

The Shizutani School History Museum is located in Japan's oldest public school for common people and displays teaching materials, documents, and everyday objects from that era. The collection documents how education became possible for people without high social status.

The school was founded in 1666 by feudal lord Ikeda Mitsumasa, which was a revolutionary idea for that time. The museum has preserved this history since opening and shows how the institution changed the educational landscape.

The museum shows how teaching was organized during the Edo period and what Confucian ideas shaped the school. The displayed objects and documents reveal learning methods that were completely new for that time.

The museum is easy to access and the grounds are straightforward to navigate, with information available in multiple languages for orientation. It makes sense to allow enough time to explore the displayed objects and rooms thoroughly.

The wooden floors of the lecture hall have been polished by student footsteps over three centuries and thus show their own history. These wear patterns are a quiet record of the many generations who studied here.

Location: Bizen

Architects: Egawa Saburohachi

Official opening: 1995

Part of: Shizutani School

Website: http://shizutani.jp/korean/ko-map/ko-map-011

GPS coordinates: 34.79698,134.21821

Latest update: December 9, 2025 20:22