A school that maintains its appearance of closing
This is the second article of a visit to Saku City.
After seeing the Former Nakagomi School, I went to the next destination, the Former Osawa Elementary School.
It is open to the public twice a year during Golden Week (the consecutive holidays in May) and Obon festival.
(Other than that, it seems that if we apply to the Cultural Property Office of Saku City Board of Education Cultural Promotion Division, they will respond.)
There is a school building in the back of the social gymnasium.
I saw an information board in front of the building, so I will post the contents.
(The quotation that was translated)
Saku City Tangible Cultural Property, Former Osawa Elementary School Main Building
Designated date June 6, 1996
Designated site: 789, Osawa, Saku City
The former Osawa Elementary School main building was completed on May 1, 1893. It is one of the few remained school buildings built in the middle of the Meiji era. The building has a central entrance, a central corridor running from east to west, and a central staircase. It has a solid structure with double foundation stones, thick through pillars, double beams, and five-sided bundles, and retains its appearance 100 years ago. The outside is painted and three small drainpipes are attached to the window. There is evidence that some repairs have been made, but it is in good condition.
Valuable records are preserved such as the “School New Construction Specification Form" and “Osawa Elementary School Plan Book". And they tell us the circumstances at the time of construction, and the enthusiasm of the villagers for school construction. Most of the villagers were involved in the construction, and it was a school building with the participation of all the villagers. In addition, most of the building materials are supplied from the common forests of the village or the local forests.
In March 1983, it was integrated with Nozawa Elementary School and closed, and it continues as a local museum.
March 31, 1998 Saku City Board of Education
(End of quotation)
The entrance is in the center of the front.
This is the inside of the entrance. At the top is a glass transom window.
The floor of the entrance is covered with bricks.
There was a receptionist at the entrance and I received A4 materials. The material says “Osawa District Cultural Preservation Society", so it is probably from the local preservation society. He also explained to us in the staff room.
The local government at the construction of the school building was Osawa Village. In the Village, an elementary school named “Bunmei School" was opened in 1873, and with the revision of the school district in 1886, it became Osawa Branch of Usuda Higher Elementary School. (Two years later, it became Osawa Branch of Usuda Elementary School. ) When the town and village system was enforced in 1889, the village became an independent village, and also the school became an independent school as Osawa Elementary School.
In 1891, the village association approved the construction of a new school, purchased land at the current location, and started leveling of ground. (An old burial mound was found during the work, and human bones, earthenware, swords, etc. were excavated.)
In February of the following year, the prefectural governor approved the construction of a new school building and the construction started. The school building was completed on May 1, 1893.
After that, in 1908, the east school building and the gymnasium were newly built. The West School Building was newly built in 1942.
Osawa Village merged in 1954 in a total of 5 towns and villages including Nozawa Town, and became Nozawa Town newly. After that, in 1961, Nozawa Town, Nakagomi Town, Asama Town, and Higashi Village merged to form Saku City.
The school name was changed from Nozawa Municipal to Saku Municipal Osawa Elementary School, but at the end of March 1983, it was integrated with Nozawa Elementary School and closed. The school buildings other than the main building were demolished afterwards.
Inside the school building, they are trying to stop the time as it was when the school was closed. In the staff room, I saw the letters left on the blackboard.
“March 29, 1983, 5:10 p.m.
More than 100 years of education at Osawa Elementary School comes to a close.
Although it’s the trend of the times, but we are a little sad.
But still,
We pray for the children’s great growth and lock the door.
All the staff of Osawa Elementary School in Saku City, Nagano Prefecture
We don’t know how long these letters will remain, but please don’t touch them."
It has been 35 years since the school closed. The letters on the blackboard still remain firmly.
The notice board in the staff room and the staff name tag are also left.
This is a printing machine. We can also see the key hanging next to it. (The red cap is a insecticide, so it’s recent.)
This is a window of the staff room. The explanation board on the table says, “Three drainpipes are attached to the window to improve drainage." The drainpipe is this.
Actually, until recently, aluminum sashes were attached, but since the old wooden frame window was preserved, it was replaced with a wooden frame window and opened to the public.
The other rooms are exhibition rooms for materials, but some rooms are still unorganized.
Going upstairs. The atmosphere of this staircase is nice.
The library was on the right side of the stairs. This time it had a local photo exhibition.
I forgot to check the name of the room, but it is a tatami-matted room (Later I heard that it is a home economics room). The exhibition on the left is a collection of old photographs of elementary schools in the Saku region.
Various materials were also stored on the second floor. In the corridor, there are wall charts such as maps, and school nameplates hanging. There is also a nameplate from the time of national elementary school.
I went out of the school building. This is the back side.
According to the materials, the walls were originally painted white. There were also white paint marks on the window frame that I saw on the front side.
Perhaps the Preservation Society will not want to restore this school building to its original appearance, and I want that they maintain the atmosphere as it is. However, the outer wall will be damaged, so I am worried that it may be necessary to take some measures such as protective paint.
It’s difficult to maintain a building that isn’t normally open to the public, but I think it would be great if we could maintain a good condition.
[Related Articles]
Former Osawa Elementary School (2021.05.07)