Former Toyosato Elementary School (3)
Next, I head to the former Shutoku Memorial Library. To enter here, we must first exit the main building and enter through the front entrance. It is currently used as a tourist information center and has a shop inside.
As mentioned in the previous article, although this library is located on the school grounds, it was not donated to Toyosato Village. Instead, it was donated to the Toyosato Saibikai Foundation by the Shutoku Association, a group established to honor the virtues of the first Ito Chubei. The Toyosato Saibikai Foundation was a foundation established in 1918 by the second-generation Ito Chubei.
Therefore, formally, it was a private library. Visitors came not only from the village but also from other municipalities like Hikone City.
It’s unclear how the transition was handled, but it seems to have later changed into a school library. Initially, the chairman of the Saibi Association served as the director of the library, but later, the principal of Toyosato Elementary School took on the role concurrently.
This building was also registered as a Tangible Cultural Property in 2013.
I assumed photography wouldn’t be allowed inside since there’s a shop, but upon asking, it turns out photos are permitted, so I’ll post a few.
Entering the entrance, we see columns lining the center of the room. It feels a bit oppressive.
There’s a wooden counter at the back, and beyond that, it seems there used to be a book storage area.
Tourist information pamphlets are displayed near the front.
The counter at the back. This is probably where lending services were conducted.
The reading room looks like this.
The second floor displayed materials, but was the second floor also originally a reading room?
Looking up from the first floor to the second floor section.
The building’s exterior.
The “Toyosato Village History” was published in 1963, and its editorial office was located in one of the rooms of this library.
The following photograph shows the bronze statue of the school’s benefactor, Furukawa Tetsujiro. It is placed in front of the main building, not the library. It was erected in 1957.
Originally, in 1937, during the construction of the school building, a proposal was made to create a bust of Furukawa. Donations were collected from within the village to fund the bronze statue. It was unveiled at the new school building’s completion ceremony (May 30, 1937) as a gift from all the villagers.
In 1940, Furukawa Tetsujiro passed away. The village later held a memorial service for him.
However, the bronze statue itself was lost three years later. During wartime metal collection efforts, the statue was removed.
In 1957, marking the 20th anniversary of the new building of the elementary school, calls arose to rebuild the statue. Donations were collected within the village, and a bronze statue identical to the original was recast. This is that statue.
Furthermore, prior to that, in 1941-42, school fixtures were also requisitioned for metal twice. Heating equipment, gates, iron railings, and other items were reportedly removed.
The walls of the main school building’s corridors bear such indentations. Bolts that once held something in place and sections of piping remain.
Heating equipment was likely located here.
The boiler unit itself remains underground and was designated as a Construction Equipment Technology Heritage site in fiscal year 2019.
[Reference] (written in Japanese)
“Toyosato Village history” (by Fujikawa Sukezo / Toyosato Village History Editorial Committee, Inukami County, Shiga Prefecture / 1963)
“Shiga Prefecture Municipalities Historical Development Vol. 3” (Shiga Prefecture Municipalities Historical Development Editorial Committee, ed. / Shiga Prefecture / 1967)
“Libraries of Shiga: History and Current Status” (by Hirata Morie / Hirata Morie / July 1980)
“Construction Equipment Heritage News Release (pdf)” (Showa Tekko Co., Ltd. / 2019-06-03)