Preservation and utilization of the former Shiga Elementary School
I will write about the former Shiga Elementary School in Saku City, again.
I had visited there in May of this year, but did not write about it because I did not get any new information.
The south side of the school site is used as a construction office for road construction or something, and heavy machinery and materials are placed there. It is not a construction project to demolish the school building.
I decided to write this blog because I saw an article in the Shinano Mainichi Newspaper on September 18, 2024.
The article in the newspaper was about a visit to Saku City Hall by Mr. Jou, the director of the movie “Haoto” scheduled to be released next year, to promote the movie.
It was said that the former Shiga Elementary School and Osawa Elementary School were used as filming locations for the movie. The filming took place in 2023, and in July of the same year, a local association for preservation and utilization was formed.
The name of the group is “Association of Volunteers for the Preservation and Utilization of the Former Shiga Elementary School,” and it seems that 17 local residents became members.
Although nothing concrete is known yet, a school tour for local residents is planned for the fall.
The association’s website does not seem to be prepared, so I cannot contact them, but I would like to participate in the tour if possible.
However, I would not be aware of it if the announcement was made only through circulars and other local communications.
The “Saku Life" (Saku City News) is available on the Internet, so I hope they will post it there.
At this point I know no more than this, so the rest of the article will include photos taken in May.
The grass is growing, but it seems to be taken care of every year, so it should be fine.
This is the north school building, built in 1924.
This photo was taken of the east wall of the north school building. It appears to be damaged.
The entrance of the south school building, built in 1901.
The north side of the south school building.
This is the north side of the north school building.
This is a shot of the north school building from the road on the north side.
I look forward to the future activities of the association of volunteers for the preservation and utilization of the school.
[Postscript] (2024-11-07)
On November 4, there was an event to experience a school building tour and cleaning. (Shinano Mainichi Shimbun November 5 article, written in Japanese)
This is the second event since last October, so I hope it will continue to be held in the future.
[Related article]
“Former Shiga Elementary School with Cherry Blossoms" (2023-04-14)