Former Miyoshi County Public Hall
This is a pop-up card that I recently made and posted on the main website.
It was modeled on a building the former Miyoshi County Public Hall.
When I am looking at municipal histories in the National Diet Library Digital Collections, I sometimes record buildings that no longer exist when I find them.
This building was also one that I found while browsing the digital collection earlier.
There is a book 'Municipal Management Photo Album’ published by Tokushima Prefecture in 1914. It is a collection of photographs of municipal facilities and projects in Tokushima Prefecture.
The Miyoshi County Public Hall is included in the book.
On the right-hand side of the photo, the following is written.
The existing public hall was too small and inconvenient, so it was decided to rebuild it. Construction began in July 1912 at a cost of 10,839 yen and was completed in June 1913. The public hall was 317 square meter and annexed rooms 129 square meter. It is equipped with hydrants, fire hydrants and electric lighting both upstairs and downstairs, and has a magnificent view as it was built on a hill.
This photo is an enlargement of the exterior part of the building from the photo above. However, this does not show the details of the building well.
I searched for other photos and found one in the 'Ikeda Town History’ (Ikeda Town/1962). This page is actually a reproduced section of the 1926 'Ikeda Town History (vol.1)’. The caption on the photo reads 'Miyoshi County Public Hall’, but on the gatepost hangs the tag 'Ikeda Town Public Hall’.
According to the Ikeda Town History, the following was written. (brief description)
The county office site was small and the building was old, so there was a wish to rebuild it, but because of the cost problem, it was decided to build a public hall first. Construction began in October 1912 and was completed in June 1913, with an inauguration ceremony held on 19 November. The building cost 2,055 yen.
After the abolition of the county system in 1923, the building became the property of the town of Ikeda and is now (as of 1926) known as the Ikeda Town Public Hall.
Some aspects differ from the description in the 'Municipal Management Photo Album’. (1) Which was there an earlier public hall or a county office? (2) The date of the start of construction is off. (3) How much did the construction cost?
I am inclined to believe the documents produced by the town rather than those produced by the prefecture, but in fact, the explanatory text in the Ikeda Town History seems to have been copied from the 'Miyoshi County History’, which was published in 1924, so I will not make a judgement. (The Miyoshi County History does not mention that the name was changed to Ikeda Town Public Hall).
Anyway, there is a photograph of the building with the sign “Ikeda Town Public Hall" hanging from it, and the text also says so, so there must be no doubt that the name has been changed.
My interest in buildings is not so much their architectural value as their history.
If a building does not exist, I want to know not only the year it was built but also the year it disappeared, and how it was used during that time. However, municipal histories and other sources report on the completion of the building, but not so much on its demolition.
The history of the building is summarized as follows, based on a review of the Ikeda Town History and other sources.
1905: Town organization was enacted and the town of Ikeda was established.
1913: Construction of the Miyoshi County Public Hall was completed; an inauguration ceremony was held on 19 November.
In 1923, the county system was abolished and the building became the property of Ikeda Town, and was renamed Ikeda Town Public Hall.
In April 1945, the Ikeda Girls’ Industrial Youth School was opened in the public hall. (for one year only).
1947: The building was used as temporary offices for the Ikeda District Public Prosecutor’s Office and Ikeda Summary Court.
In April 1948, the building was used as the Ikeda Junior High School (new system) building. The former public hall was used as the main building and the former arsenal building was moved and used.
The following is taken from the history of the junior high school, as it was used as a junior high school from then on.
1949: New sports field built.
1951: New east school building built.
1957: Completion of the library commemorating the 10th anniversary of the school’s foundation.
1962: Third extension of sports grounds
1963: Construction of a new science laboratory and technical room
1966: Construction of a new three-story reinforced concrete school building completed (construction started in 1965).
I was unable to confirm this, but assumed that the building would have been demolished before the construction of the new school building in 1966, so I assume that the demolition would have taken place in the early 1960s.
The aerial photographs from the 1960s were of low resolution and did not show the shape of the building, so I have included photographs from 1947 and 1975 for reference.
I think the building indicated by the arrow in the 1947 photo is the public hall.
I think the building indicated by the arrow in the 1947 photo is former the public hall.
[Reference] (all written in Japanese)
“Municipal Management Photo Album" (Tokushima Pref. / 1914)
“Miyoshi County History" (Miyoshi County, Tokushima Pref. / 1924)
“Ikeda Town History " (Ikeda Town / 1962) * including 1926 version
“History of Education in Miyoshi County" (Miyoshi County Education Association/1968)
“Ikeda Town History vol.2" (Ikeda Town / 1983)