Former Nagano Prefectural Office Book Depository
The former Nagano Prefectural Office Book Depository is located on the grounds of the Faculty of Education at Shinshu University in Nagano City.
I was able to visit there in October because there was an exhibition held there.
However, since it was an exhibition, I did not take any pictures of the inside. Only photos of the outside are shown here.
The building seen from the public road on the north side. It is a brick stacks.
Entering the university grounds, the building is seen from the south. The stacks are built on a foundation of stone walls.
Behind me, where I am taking this picture, is the university building.
Next to the building, there is a plaque of the registered tangible cultural property and an explanatory board.
Next to the plaque is a poster for the “Kyoko Yanagisawa Kirie Exhibition," which was being held that day.
The building was registered as a tangible cultural property in July 2008.
The registered name is “Shinshu University School of Education Book Depository (former Nagano Prefectural Office Book Depository)".
The following is a transcription of the first part of the plaque’s description.
“This building was constructed in 1895 as the book depository for the Nagano Prefectural Office. In May 1908, the prefectural office building was destroyed by fire, and it was relocated to its current location in Minami-Nagano, and a new building was constructed. The book depository had survived the fire, and in 1911 Nagano Normal School (now the Faculty of Education of Shinshu University) took it over and stored about 18,000 books in it.
The building was designated as a registered tangible cultural property (contributing to the national historic landscape) on July 23, 2008, because both the structure and design remain as they were when the building was built, except for the missing eaves above the entrance."
I tried to find a photo of the prefectural government building before it burned down, but there seem to be few that clearly show the building.
I found a photo in the “Guide to Zenkoji Temple" published in 1900, so I have included it here. (Source: Shinshu Digital Commons)
It is a two-story brick building with a tiled roof.
In the center of the building, there is a band made of bricks of different colors. These bricks are said to be called “over-baked bricks.
The structure is a Western-style wooden frame made of pine wood.
One of the windows on the north side.
The east side also has a stone wall, so I looked up and took this photo.
There are no windows on the east and west sides.
This is a window on the second floor on the south side.
View of the entrance.
Due to the 2014 earthquake on the Kamishiro fault, the bookcases and walls inside collapsed, making it unable to function as a book depository. However, the building itself is robust and was not severely damaged.
The Shinshu University Alumni Association of the Faculty of Education decided to maintain this building to preserve it for future generations and also to use it as an alumni hall.
Maintenance work was conducted from March to August 2017, and the building was named “Shinshu University Alumni Association of the Faculty of Education, Red Brick Hall". (in Japanese “Aka-renga-kan")
A completion ceremony was held on 11 August, and on the same day, a progress report on the development of the 'Red Brick Hall’ was presented at the 30th anniversary ceremony of the Alumni Association, and the building was donated to the Faculty.