Shizutani School

Shizutani School is the world’s oldest existing public school for the common people, founded in 1670 by Mitsumasa Ikeda, the lord of the Okayama domain. Mitsumasa Ikeda, who visited Shizutani for the first time, praised it, saying, “Seika Yamamizu, this is a place where you should take readings and lectures,” and decided to establish a school to train local leaders. Nagatada Tsuda, a vassal of the feudal lord who wished for the permanence of this school, spent about 30 years to complete a solid and magnificent school with an appearance almost similar to the present one in 1701.

In April 2015, it was designated as the first Japanese heritage site as part of the “Educational Heritage Group of Early Modern Japan” along with the special historical site Kyu Kodokan, the historic site Ashikaga School site, and the historic site Kangien site. It was recognized that early-modern education, which emphasized the spirit of learning and propriety, became the driving force behind modernization and has been passed down to the present day. Since the opening of the school, it has been a tradition of the former Shizutani School to learn the Analects while sitting on the floor of the auditorium. Even today, the voices of the trainees who are studying here reciting the Analects of Confucius are echoing in this valley.