Former Kakuchi School (2)
(cont.)
After the World War II, in 1947, the national schools were renamed elementary schools and junior high schools under new system were established.
But each town and village found it difficult to create an educational environment due to financial difficulties and lack of human resources.
Nanjo Village, Nakanojo Village, and Sakaki Town discussed whether to establish the new junior high schools independently or jointly in each town or village, but the school union of one town and two villages could not come together.
As of 1947, each town and village independently inaugurated a junior high school under new system.
However, due to financial problems, Nakanojo Village decided that it would be best to form a school union with Nanjo Village, and in 1951 the “Nakanojo Village-Nanjo Village School Union” was formed, with junior high school education provided by Nakanojo Junior High School and elementary school education by Nanjo Elementary School.
The school building of the former Kakuchi School became Nakanojo Junior High School at this point.
Shortly before that, around 1950, there were calls for the merger of Sakaki Town, Nanjo Village, and Nakanojo Village. 1953 saw the promulgation of the Law for Promotion of Merger of Towns and Villages, which created the momentum for the merger.
Although there were some difficulties in reaching a consensus on the merger, (new) Sakaki Town was established in April 1955 through the merger of Sakaki Town, Nanjo Village, and Nakanojo Village.
Later, in 1960, Murakami Village (located on the west side of the Chikuma-gawa River) was also merged into Sakaki Town, but the process was quite contentious before the decision was made.
At the time of the merger of one town and two villages in 1955, the following decisions were made regarding the operation of elementary and junior high schools.
“Elementary and junior high school districts: Elementary schools will remain as they are now. The junior high school will remain as it is until the integrated junior high school is built."
“The integrated junior high school will be constructed in the Nakagawara area and will be a one-school in town.”
However, the construction of the integrated junior high school did not proceed until the merger of Murakami Village was finalized.
In 1960, the merger of Murakami Village was decided, so an integrated junior high school construction committee was formed and construction of the school building began. The site was decided to be located in the Nakanojo Miyaue area, which was the center of the school commuting area.
The groundbreaking ceremony was held on October 18 of the same year, and the construction was divided into three phases, with the third phase completed in 1962.
Sakaki Junior High School opened in April 1962. (The inauguration ceremony was held in October 1963.)
Now, back to the former Kakuchi School building (it was Nakanojo Junior High School since 1951).
When Murakami Village merged with Sakaki Town in 1960, the junior high schools were merged on paper.
Nakanojo Junior High School was named “Sakaki Junior High School Nakanojo Division School".
In April 1962, the integrated Sakaki Junior High School was opened, and the Nakanojo Division School was closed.
The school building, which had been built as Kakuchi School in 1878, was no longer in use.
After that, the school building remained abandoned, but around 1965, a preservation movement was apparently started.
In 1971, it was designated as a Tangible Cultural Property by Sakaki Town.
In 1974, after the designation, corrugated iron sheets were put on the exterior walls and a fence was built around the perimeter to preserve the school building.
In 1976, it was designated as a Nagano Prefectural treasure. In the same year, the “Kakuchi School Preservation Society” was established.
Aerial photographs from this period show the gradual disappearance of the school buildings other than the main building.
(Sorry for the rough images some years. The name of the school building was given by me in the previous article, so please read with that in mind.)
As of 1973, the north school building is gone. Two apartment buildings were built on the school grounds.
In 1975, the gymnasium was gone.
In 1978, the south school building seems to have gone as well. The image is too rough to make out, but probably only the main school building and the west school building remained.
In 1978, the school was measured for repair and preservation, and a restoration plan was drawn up.
In 1982, some applications were filed with the national and prefectural governments, and the relocation and restoration work began.
This was taken from the south side street.
This is the back (east) side of the school building.
According to the “Report on the Relocation and Restoration of the Prefectural Treasure, the Former Kakuchi School Building” (1983), the condition of the building before its relocation was terrible.
The foundation and the roots of the pillars were rotten in some areas, and there were also damaged roof tiles and leaks.
The plaster on the exterior walls was badly damaged and corrugated iron plates were used to hold it in place to prevent it from collapsing further.
Two photos are quoted below that show the condition of the building before construction began from the Report.
The first is a photo of the south side.
For comparison, the previously posted photo is re-posted.
The second photo shows the eaves of the first floor.
This is on the verge of collapse. I am amazed that they decided to preserve it. Well, it was three years after the school closed when there were first calls for preservation, so I guess it was better than the condition shown in this photo.
For the foundation, a reinforced concrete foundation was placed behind the masonry, and moisture-proof concrete was poured.
They wanted to use as much of the original materials as possible, but many parts were replaced.
The interior had been altered over the years of use, so as much as possible was restored to its original form at the time of completion.
The restoration work was completed on March 31, 1983.
An explanatory board, as shown in the photo, has been erected on the site.
The explanatory board describes the history and structure of the building, as well as its designation as a prefectural treasure. The cost of the relocation and restoration work was 120.7 million yen.
Incidentally, the building behind is the Sakaki Town Library.
The above is the history of the school up to the time of its relocation.
However, I have not yet seen the inside of the school.
I will end this article here, but I would like to visit the inside of the school someday before continuing.
[Reference]
“Sakaki Town History, Vol. 2 (history 2)" (Sakaki Town History Publication Society/1981)
“Report on the Relocation and Restoration of the Prefectural Treasure, the former Kakuchi School Building" (1983)