[Aizuwakamatsu, Fukushima Prefecture] “Nissinkan”, where Byakkotai studied, is one of the leading clan schools in Japan! Anything that doesn't happen is something that doesn't happen

Aizu clan school "Nissinkan" was opened in 1803. It is built next to Aizuwakamatsu Castle.

The Nisshinkan is the largest of the clan schools. He taught guidelines for human resource development in Aizu, such as ``What goes wrong must go wrong.''

It disappeared during the Boshin War. However, in 1987 it was restored in Kawato-cho, on the outskirts of Aizuwakamatsu City. Even today, the large school and the children studying there are faithfully recreated and you can tour them.

It is characterized by having been completely restored, including the pool. You can get a feel for what the education of samurai was like.

The success of the Aizu clan is due to the Nisshinkan.

Although he was a retainer of the Aizu clan and a defeated army, he made many achievements, especially in the field of education. Yae, Aizu, which is famous for the TV drama ``Yae no Sakura,'' has also achieved results, including opening the current Doshisha Women's University.

It is believed that Aizu's high-quality education has been able to produce many of these results that remain in the world today.

During the Edo period, each domain had a domain school. That in Aizu is Nisshinkan. Education to become a fine samurai was provided. However, the door was open not only to samurai, but also to farmers and children of merchant families. It was the rule that children of clans were admitted to Nisshinkan when they turned 10 years old.

Place where the later Byakkotai learned

He boasted top-class skills even in Japan.
The Byakkotai also learned here. Confucianism and martial arts such as archery, swords, spears, and horses were established as compulsory subjects. There were also elective subjects, which I chose depending on my father's job.

In particular, if he achieved excellent results in reading Confucianism, he would eventually be able to travel to Edo to study.

Restored Nisshinkan

As you enter the south gate of the Nisshinkan, you will immediately see the projection room. If you watch the video here, you can immediately get an idea of ​​what kind of place Nisshinkan is.

An audio guide that can be listened to on your smartphone or tablet is also available.

Further inside, there is a large gate. In the old days, a drum was placed in the left chamber of the gate, and it seems that it was used instead of what we would call a chime today.

Taisei-den, a university, and a resource room are lined up on a site half the size of Tokyo Dome.

Once you pass through the gate, you can see the entire Nisshinkan building. The building in front is Taiseiden. The university is on the right, and the museum is on the left. If you follow the route, you will enter the reading room where the children were studying.

There are dolls of the Byakkotai, and they are recreated as they arm-wrestle while studying or taking a break. You can tour the university, Taiseiden Hall, and the museum. A person in charge will come and explain. So you can enjoy it without any prior knowledge.

Daiseiden is a building with a Chinese-like atmosphere, and there are materials on Confucianism inside. The museum has a life-size panel of the famous Yae Niijima.

There is an experience corner such as painting.

As time passes by inside, you will feel like you have traveled back in time to the Edo period. In such a mood, you can experience archery (300 yen per session, 5 arrows), painting experience (Akabeko: 870 yen, Osari Koboshi: 730 yen), tea ceremony experience (540 yen), zazen experience (500 yen), etc. Is possible.

Videos of each experience are available on the Nisshinkan website.

Nisshinkan: http://www.nisshinkan.jp/experiencing#zazen

A painting contest is being held. If you receive an award, your photo will be published on Nisshinkan's official website and in the sponsored Fukushima Minyu Shimbun newspaper. The grand prizes of the contest held during Golden Week 2018 have been uploaded to the website.

Nisshinkan: http://www.nisshinkan.jp/news/10025.html

Japan's first pool

Mizunari Mizuma Pond (now known as the school pool, 153m in circumference) is also one of the highlights. This is known as the first swimming pool in Japan.

Although it is a water drill, it is not as easy as playing pool in today's school PE classes. At that time, it seems that people practiced swimming while wearing armor. Swimming while wearing clothes is quite difficult, but swimming while wearing armor must have been unimaginably difficult.

He apparently learned a unique swimming style called the Mukai style. Sometimes they would travel across the pond on horseback. What's more, you can even cross the river while eating. Apparently, he sometimes went swimming while doing calligraphy.

The music video for Nogizaka46's "Negegemizu" is set at Nisshinkan. I recommend it because you can get a good idea of ​​the atmosphere and what’s inside ↓

There are also plenty of other attractions such as an astronomical observatory and an archery range.

Nisshinkan is a merit-based school

Promotion was based on merit. Family status and age didn't matter. Since he valued both literary and martial arts, people who excelled in both studies and martial arts and worked hard every day rose to the top.

It was a merit-based school, so it was common for younger brothers to overtake their older brothers. Children from prestigious families were given particular importance to their grades at Nisshinkan, and if they were unable to graduate, they would not be allowed to inherit the family.

It is said that a person who won first place at Sodokusho at the age of 15 had the academic ability to graduate from what is now known as a national university. This first prize was the minimum requirement for the eldest son of a family with over 500 koku to win.

Nissinkan had such a strict system, and at the time, it had an outstanding reputation among the 250 clan schools nationwide. It is said that he had the highest admission rate to the University of Tokyo.

What is life at Nisshinkan?

What was the life like for the children of feudal samurai who actually attended Nisshinkan? In the morning, we go to school in groups. It's like the current school squad.

Class hours are not based on a timetable, but from the time the sun rises until it sets. Class hours are longer in the summer and shorter in the winter. The total number of students was about 1000.

After studying Confucianism, I first entered a reading room. There are grades in the reading room, ranging from 4th grade to 1st grade.

The grade that had to be caught differed depending on the family.

As I mentioned earlier, it was a merit-based school, so age didn't matter to get a grade. It feels like completing the first grade at the age of 18 is neither good nor bad.

There are some students who pass Grade 1 at the age of 14, which is an extremely excellent category. Great figures of the Meiji era, such as Hideo Takamine and Tsunori Minami, were so highly regarded at this reading center that they were called ``children of God.''

There were different grades that had to be completed depending on the family. The eldest son of a family with less than 500 koku was required to be in the second class, and those over 500 koku were required to be in the first class.

If I couldn't complete the required grades, I had to keep studying. They were allowed to study until the age of 35.

It's great to fight even in class! I can't afford to lose

It seems that the class was very noisy. When you see school scenes of feudal samurai in TV dramas, you get the impression that they are all quietly studying.

However, in reality, this was not the case, and large fights sometimes broke out during class. Nowadays, teachers and people around you stop you, but it is still the world of samurai. They were good at fighting, and both their parents and teachers had the attitude that they could do whatever they wanted.

If you lose the fight and try to go home, your parents will get angry at you. That's why the fight was so serious.

Summary about Nisshinkan

Nisshinkan is a domain school where all the great people from Aizu attended. Speaking of Aizu's celebrities, Yae is still famous, as he is often featured in TV dramas.

Yae's older brother Kakuma and her first husband Naonosuke Kawasaki were professors at Nisshinkan. Teijiro Ito, who lived next door to Yae and would later join the Byakkotai, was studying at Nisshinkan. It is said that Yae loved Teijiro like he was her younger brother.

Yae once said, ``Teijiro always closes his eyes when he fires a gun.That's why I scolded him for being a coward.''

At the Nisshinkan, you can vividly feel the Byakkotai's energetic days at school. Little did they know that they would later commit mass suicide on Mt. Iimori.

As you walk around the Nisshinkan, imagining the lively faces of children of yesteryear, various emotions such as melancholy and sadness come and go, and you are transported by the solemn waves of time.

INFORMATION

• Name: Nisshinkan
• Address: 10 Takatsukayama, Minamikoya, Kawato-cho, Aizuwakamatsu City, Fukushima Prefecture
• Phone number: 0242-75-2525
• Official URL: http://www.nisshinkan.jp/

GOOGLE MAP