[Yamagata City, Yamagata Prefecture] After the Meiji Restoration, the landscape of Yamagata City completely changed due to Michitsune Mishima.

Yamagata City was developed as a castle town for the Yamagata clan was a commercial city that developed through the trade of safflower, a specialty product Yamagata Castle, located at the center of the castle, is extremely spacious, and Sannomaru, the outermost part of the castle, is approximately 235 hectares, and is the size of 50 Tokyo Domes. The merchant town was built on the outside of the Sannomaru, but because the main enclosure in the center of Yamagata Castle cannot be seen in the haze, it is called ``Kajo'' or ``Kasumigajo.'' It was.

After the Meiji Restoration, the feudal domain was dissolved in July 1871 (Meiji 4), and the current Yamagata prefecture area includes Yamagata prefecture, Yonezawa prefecture, Kaminoyama prefecture, Tendo prefecture, Shinjo prefecture, Oizumi prefecture ( Seven prefectures were established: Tsuruoka City), Matsumine (Sakata City) Prefecture. There were many twists and turns after that, but in 1876 (Meiji 9), the current Yamagata Prefecture was born.

Michitsune Mishima, the first prefectural governor of Yamagata Prefecture, developed an urban area suitable for the prefectural capital.

Michitsune Mishima as the first prefectural governor of Yamagata Prefecture , and the prefectural office was located in present-day Yamagata City. It is said that Yamagata City was judged to be suitable as a distribution base because the Ushu Kaido Road, the main artery of the Tohoku region, ran through it, and the Mogami River was popular for boat transport. Other domains in Yamagata Prefecture, such as the Shonai domain and the Yonezawa domain, were considered candidates, but during the Boshin War (1869), these domains were on the anti-government side. For this reason, it could not become the prefectural capital.

Michitsune Mishima was recognized by the Minister of Home Affairs, Toshimichi Okubo, and served as Tokyo Prefectural Counselor in charge of urban remodeling projects, such as the construction of the brick town of Ginza, before becoming the first Mayor of Yamagata Prefecture in 1876 (Meiji 9). Ta. Michitsune Mishima spent seven years in Yamagata from 1876, during which time he promoted urban development projects in Yamagata Prefecture, building the Yamagata Prefectural Office and local county offices, digging new roads, and building stone bridges. We have many achievements including road maintenance projects.

After leaving Yamagata, Mishima held various positions including Fukushima prefectural governor and Tochigi prefectural governor, and in 1885 (Meiji 18), he was appointed superintendent of police. He died in 1888 (Meiji 21). His direct descendants include former Prime Minister Taro Aso, and his relatives include Yukio Mishima.

A former castle town that was transformed from wooden buildings to large stone buildings.

Mishima will leave Yamagata Castle's main keep and Ninomaru ruins as they are, and proceed with an urban development plan in Sannomaru. In 1877 (Meiji 10), a Western-style prefectural government building was built in Nanokamachi, a shopping street that had existed since the Edo period, and the prefectural assembly building was built next to it.

A wide road stretches straight south from the Yamagata Prefectural Office, with the police station, normal school, and Minamiyama School on the east side, the police headquarters, Minamimurayama District Office, industrial museum, and silk mill on the west side, and Saiseikan a little further away. The prefecture's major government offices and facilities were built here.

All of the wooden shopping streets that had existed since the Edo period were transformed into Western-style buildings that citizens had never seen before, and the townscape underwent a sudden transformation. The citizens were surprised and their expectations for the new era grew.

The great fire that struck Yamagata during the Meiji era reduced the city to ashes after the Meiji Restoration.

Yamagata City suffered two major fires during the Meiji period. The first big fire city in May 1894, called the City South Fire.

The ``City South Fire'' started in the former Rozokumachi (currently Tokamachi 2-chome) located in the southern part of the shopping district, and the fire spread in all directions due to strong winds, killing more than 1,600 houses, mainly in present-day Tokamachi. It was burnt down. In this fire, most of the old houses and merchant houses that had been in existence since the Edo period were destroyed, but the houses that were built in the Kura-zukuri style were spared, and it is said that the number of Kura-zukuri in Yamagata City has increased since then.

In May 1911 (Meiji 44), a large fire broke out in the northern part of the city . A fire that started at a soba shop in what is now Nanakamachi, located on the north side of Tokamachi where the Great Fire in the south of the city occurred, was carried by strong winds and burned down the Nanakamachi shopping district. The fire then spread to the government district where the prefectural office was located, burning down everything including the prefectural office, police station, courthouse, schools, and banks.

These two great fires reduced to ashes a total of 3,000 houses, shrines and temples, and above all, the new townscape created by Michitsune Mishima. However, fortunately, the ``Former Yamagata Normal School Main Building'' (Yamagata Prefectural Museum Educational Museum) and ``Former Saiseikan Main Building'' (Yamagata City Folk Museum) escaped destruction because they were located a little far from the source of the fire. It is a valuable building that retains its original appearance.

The rebuilt prefectural office and National Diet Building were relocated to Bunshokan.

Unfortunately, the prefectural office and prefectural assembly building built by Michitsune Mishima do not remain. The current former prefectural office and prefectural assembly building were rebuilt in 1916 (Taisho 5), and the Yamagata prefectural office and It was used as the parliament building. After completing its role as the prefectural office and assembly hall, it underwent extensive restoration work and the Yamagata Prefectural Folk Museum (Bunshokan) , preserving its original appearance. Bunshokan is a nationally designated important cultural property as the ``Yamagata Prefectural Former Prefectural Office and Prefectural Assembly Building (Yamagata Prefectural Folk Museum)'' .

The former prefectural government building is a three-story brick building with a stone exterior wall, giving it a dignified appearance.The clock tower is the second oldest in Japan after the Sapporo Clock Tower, and still keeps time. . The former prefectural assembly building is a two-story brick structure that is still used for various events such as concerts.

Bunshokan＜Information＞

• Facility name: Yamagata Prefectural Folk Museum (Bunshokan)
• Location: 3-4-51 Hatagocho, Yamagata City, Yamagata Prefecture
• Phone number: 023-635-5500
• Opening hours: 9:00-16:30
• Admission fee: Free
• Closed: 1st and 3rd Monday (the following day if it is a public holiday), December 29th to January 3rd
• URL: Yamagata Prefectural Folk Museum (Bunshokan)
• access:
  • Railway/Approximately 10 minutes by bus from Yamagata Shinkansen/JR Ou Main Line Yamagata Station
  • Car: About 10 minutes from Yamagata Expressway Yamagata Zao IC

Google Map

The Old Saiseikan Main Building was relocated and restored after overcoming the crisis of demolition.

The former Saiseikan main building was established as a prefectural hospital in 1878 (Meiji 11) and was temporarily privatized, but from 1904 (Meiji 37) it was used as the main building of the city hospital Saiseikan. I did. However, in 1960, it was decided that the hospital would be renovated and the old main building would be demolished. However, as a result of a citizen's group that was reluctant to lose this valuable building from the early Meiji period and carried out a preservation campaign, the national government recognized its importance, and in 1966 it was designated as a national important cultural property I did. Since the hospital site was small, it was decided to move to the current Kajo Park (Yamagata Castle ruins) and restore it.

Since 1971, the Yamagata City Local Museum , displaying materials on Chinese medicine and Western medicine, as well as historical materials on Yamagata Castle and the local area.

Former Saiseikan main building <Information>

• Facility name: Former Saiseikan Main Building (Yamagata City Local Museum)
• Location: 1-1 Kajo-cho, Yamagata City, Yamagata Prefecture (inside Kajo Park)
• Phone number: 023-644-0253
• Opening hours: 9:00-16:30
• Admission fee: Free
• Closed: December 29th to January 3rd
• URL: Former Saiseikan Main Building (Yamagata City Local Museum)
• access:
  • Railway/Yamagata Shinkansen/JR Ou Main Line From Yamagata Station, take a route bus and get off at Kajo Park South Gate bus stop, then walk about 15 minutes
  • Car: Approximately 15 minutes from Yamagata Expressway Yamagata Zao IC

Google Map

"Former Yamagata Normal School Main Building" where the tower house from the time of construction remains

The former Yamagata Normal School Main Building is a prefectural normal school that opened in 1878 (Meiji 11), and was newly built in 1901 (Meiji 34) when it moved to its current location (Midori-cho, Yamagata City). After World War II, the normal school was closed and in 1963 (Showa 38) it was used as Yamagata Prefectural Yamagata Kita High School, but in 1971 (Showa 46) Yamagata Kita High School was renovated. Our mission as a school has ended.

When Yamagata Kita High School was renovated, the classrooms and other parts were demolished, leaving the main building and some facilities that remain today, but the remaining parts were repaired and restored and have been designated as National Important Cultural Properties . It was designated as the Yamagata Prefectural Museum Educational Archives The tower house in the center of the building is the remains of the old school clock tower built in 1896.

Former Yamagata Normal School Main Building＜Information＞

• Facility name: Former Yamagata Normal School Main Building (Yamagata Prefectural Museum Educational Archives)
• Location: 2-2-8 Midoricho, Yamagata City, Yamagata Prefecture
• Phone number: 023-642-4397
• Opening hours: 9:00-16:30 (admission until 16:00)
• Admission fee: 150 yen for adults, 70 yen for students, free for elementary school, junior high, and high school students (Yamagata Prefectural Museum admission fee is separate)
• Closed: Mondays (the next day if Monday is a public holiday), December 28th to January 4th
• URL: Former Yamagata Normal School Main Building (Yamagata Prefectural Museum Educational Archives)
• access:
  • Railway/Yamagata Shinkansen/JR Ou Main Line Yamagata Station: Approximately 15 minutes' walk from the east exit via Kajo Park Higashi Otemon Gate, approximately 10 minutes' walk from the west exit via Kajo Park South Gate
  • Car: Approximately 20 minutes from Yamagata Expressway Yamagata Zao IC

Google Map

Michiyoshi Mishima, who has been in the post for 7 years, is involved in about half of Yamagata Prefecture's modern industrial heritage sites.

Unfortunately, the only buildings related to Michitsune Mishima in Yamagata City are the former Yamagata Normal School main building and the former Saiseikan main building (partially), but if you look around Yamagata Prefecture as a whole, you can see the former Nishitagawa District Office ( Tsuruoka City/Nationally Designated Important Cultural Property), Former Tsuruoka Police Station Building (Tsuruoka City/Yamagata Prefecture Designated Tangible Cultural Property), Former Nishimurayama District Office/Capitol Building (Sagae City/Yamagata Prefecture Designated Tangible Cultural Property), Former Higashimurayama District The government office (Tendo City/Yamagata Prefecture designated tangible cultural property) remains. All of these are wonderful buildings that have been designated as cultural properties.

It's not just the buildings. We are also focusing on improving transportation infrastructure. Including the construction of new roads between cities, there are 23 roads and 65 bridges. Some of the bridges were built at the request of the local community, and the financial burden was basically borne by the local community, with the aim of modernizing the bridge while reducing the prefecture's financial burden by providing assistance where needed.

In 2008 (Heisei 20), the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry certified it as a modern industrial heritage site, and of the 26 industrial heritage sites in Yamagata Prefecture, approximately half of the projects conducted by Michitsune Mishima account for it. His tenure was seven years, and we can see how great Michitsune Mishima was in accomplishing so much work in such a short period of time.