Fujimura Memorial Hall

An old school building dating back to 1875

Cathy Cawood Aug 29, 2014 - 1 min read

<p>The building is set in a spacious paved area</p>

<p>The second floor features a colonial style balcony</p>

<p>Small-paned windows with dark gray shutters</p>

<p>Even on a gray, rainy day it was impressive</p>

<p>A model of the wooden framework of the building stands below an impressionist painting  </p>

<p>A scroll showing Takeda Shingen and his men</p>

<p>A hanko stamp pad (stamps are used instead of signatures in Japan)</p>

<p>Dragon motif on the cover of a small metal container</p>

<p>This bowl of old-fashioned roses was sitting on the porch</p>

<p>I thought these differently sized chairs were cute</p>

Near Kofu Station in Yamanashi stands a striking building with graceful lines and dark gray window shutters. It looks sort of colonial, and was in fact one of the earliest Western Style buildings to be built in Yamanashi. It is named for Shiro Fujimura, the second governor of Yamanashi, who encouraged Yamanashi people to imitate Western styles of architecture - a trend starting in the early Meiji Era. The building served as a school until 1957, then after a few years as a community center, it was moved to the present site near Kofu station to be preserved as a national cultural asset of importance. Admission is free, and there are some interesting objects on display.

Cathy Cawood @cathy.cawood

I came to Japan in 2003 to teach English. I lived in Shiga prefecture for 1 year, and it still holds a special place in my heart. I lived in Kyoto for 9 years, then moved to Machida, Tokyo in 2014 after meeting my Japanese partner. I love to take photos, and my Japan in Pictures Facebook page ha...