Former administration building of Aida Junior High School (2)
I learned from a newspaper article that the former Aida Junior High School building in Matsumoto City will be demolished within this fiscal year. A farewell viewing event was held on October 18th, but I only found out about it after the event had ended, so I couldn’t attend.
It was disappointing to miss the viewing, but I still wanted to see the building one last time before demolition, so I visited again. My last visit was at the end of February, so it had been eight months.
I tried to take a photo in front of the entrance and immediately noticed. Something that should have been there before was gone.
The last time I visited, stone monuments stood in front of the entrance.
The light gray monument on the left, erected in 2006 to commemorate the school’s 50th anniversary, reads “Site of Shiga Village Aida Junior High School.” It bears the word “Site” because it was erected after the school moved to its new building.
The small black monument on the right marked the school’s elevation and latitude/longitude.
These monuments were gone.
Furthermore, many of the trees that had stood south of the school building had been cut down.
In February, the school building wasn’t clearly visible from the parking lot, but this time it was much easier to see.
Walking through the parking lot, I saw two stone monuments at the far end.
I suspect they plan to erect this monument again after demolishing the school building and clearing the land. That’s probably why it’s temporarily left here.
The removal of the monuments and the cutting down of trees seems to suggest that demolition work has already begun.
The entire school building is visible from the parking lot.
When the school was in use, the fourth building (constructed in 1956) stood where this parking lot is now, connected by a covered walkway to the third building (built in 1953), which remains today. The stairs visible in the center mark where the covered walkway once stood.
Since the walls of the fourth building were plastered, I imagine that when the connecting corridor was built, part of the third building’s walls were also plastered. However, it might have been during the 1976 renovation when the windows were replaced with sash windows. (Not yet investigated)
Walking around the school building. This is the northeast corner.
Part of the roof has collapsed.
I tried photographing the interior through the window glass.
This was also shot through the glass. The back of the photo is the south side, where the connecting corridor to the 4th building used to be.
An external staircase is installed on the north side. The wall is now crumbling, and the window frame is tilted at an angle. It doesn’t appear the frame itself came loose; rather, the wall beneath it seems to have rotted and caved inward.
This is the wall beside the entrance. Where this window frame is, there used to be a connecting corridor leading to the second building.
The entrance area. This sight will soon disappear.
I photographed the interior through the glass at the entrance.
The “Keep out” tape is likely there to avoid the collapsed wall during the open house. The wall below of the slanted window frame on the left clearly shows leaning inward.
I learned about the demolition from a Citizen Times article, which also listed the years each building was torn down.
Apparently, the 2nd building and the 4th Building were demolished in 2000, and the 1st building in 2016.
Demolition of Building 3 is scheduled to start in November or December, with the site cleared by the end of the fiscal year (March 2026).
I couldn’t go inside, but I was glad I could see its last figure of the building.
However, something else made a impression than the building itself this time.
While taking photos, I spoke with a local resident. When I said, “I heard it was being demolished, so I came to take pictures,” she replied, “Thank you for coming.”
Hearing this, I felt how much the school buildings were loved.
[Reference]
"Shiga District’s former Aida Junior High School Wooden Building to Be Demolished Due to Deterioration; Farewell Tour Planned for the 18th October“ (Shimin Times, October 3, 2025)
[Relational article]
"Former administration building of Aida Junior High School“ (2025-02-25)