Former Kaichi School
Pseudo-Western architecture that is neither Japanese nor Western, symbolizing the period of the modernization of Japan
This building has a Western texture and serene Japanese charm. You’ll find yourself taken back in time to the Meiji period (1868–1912) the moment you encounter its unusual beauty.
The former Kaichi School, a designated National Treasure, was designed by a local master carpenter in 1876, and is a masterpiece of pseudo-Western architecture (giyofu). When you look at the front entranceway, your gaze is drawn to the octagonal tower. Seiryu, the Azure Dragon, and floating clouds are depicted above the Western-style arched window, and above these are angels holding up a banner. Each of these decorative elements expresses the spirit of the period of bunmei kaika, the modernization of Japan, when Western and Eastern cultures intersected. When you walk into the building, you are greeted by the scent of aged timber, and you can feel the spirit of this building of learning as it once was through this architectural style steeped in history.
This is a unique architectural space that symbolizes the period of bunmei kaika. If you’re visiting Matsumoto, make sure you experience the spirit of the Meiji period that lies in this National Treasure building.
Information
- Address
- Kaichi 2-chome 4-12 Matsumoto City
- Phone
- 0263-32-5725
- Opening Hours
- 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM (Last admission at 4:30 PM)
- Closed
- The third Tuesday of each month from March to November (the following day if it falls on a holiday) Tuesdays from December to February (the following day if it falls on a holiday) December 29 to January 3
- Prices
- General (Digital) ¥600 General (Print) ¥700 Elementary/Middle School Students ¥300
- Access (Car)
- Approximately 15 minutes from Matsumoto IC
- Access (Public Transportation)
- From Matsumoto Station's Castle Exit, take the Town Sneaker North Course and get off at "Former Kaichi School." Ride time: approx. 13 minutes. 1-minute walk after getting off. Approx. 25-minute walk from Matsumoto Station.
- Parking for Large Buses
- 3 units
- Parking for Regular Vehicles
- 20s
- Notes
The former Kaichi School can hold a group of up to 100 people at a time. If there are any more people than this, we ask that you enter in multiple groups. Restricted entry may apply in certain circumstances.
You can tour the first and second floors of the school building, but you can only do so using the stairs so as to preserve the original form of this building from 1876.
Smoking is prohibited throughout the premises and in the area around the nearby Shisaikan (the former Catholic Church Priest House), a Nagano Prefectural treasure in Matsumoto City.
Eating and drinking is prohibited inside the school building. (There are vending machines in the garden.)
You will need to take off your shoes and put on slippers to tour the school building. (There are shoe boxes and plastic bags for your outdoor shoes available in the entrance hall.)
Please refrain from flash photography and taking pictures of the materials in display cases inside the building. Small unmanned aircraft (drones) can cause damage to cultural property and injury to people if they fall, so flying them in the air above the former Kaichi School is, in principle, prohibited.
*Note: Business hours and closures are subject to change.
