About the Shimamura Megumi Nursery School Main Building
United Church of Christ in Japan Shimamura Church Shimamura Megumi Nursery School Main Building (日本基督教団島村教会島村めぐみ保育園本館) is a single-storey timber nursery school on the grounds of Shimamura Church in Sakaijimamura, Isesaki City, Gunma Prefecture, built in 1950 and registered as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property in 2008. It was registered on the same day as the church chapel.
The Agency for Cultural Affairs records it as timber, single-storey, roofed in tile and sheet iron, with a building area of 163 square meters. It was renovated in 1953 and extended in 1954.
The nursery describes itself as a new outreach of a church that had grown up with the village. It gives its founding year as 1950, which matches the date of the main building.
Why the Nursery Building Matters
Shimamura Megumi Nursery School Main Building was registered on April 18, 2008, as number 10-0258.
Isesaki City sees the chapel and nursery buildings together as a symbol of the local historic landscape. Beside a Meiji chapel stands a timber school from just after the war, evidence that this rural congregation took on the care of children as well as worship.
In the national database, the page for the main building carries the same description as the page for the annex. That text calls the annex a design modeled on the main building and mentions its clapboard walls and plastered upper gables, which suggests the main building shared the same vocabulary.
What to Look For
Look at the roof, where tile and sheet iron are combined. The mix probably reflects the renovation of 1953 and the extension of 1954, with different sections covered at different times.
See it alongside the chapel next door. Half a century separates the Meiji chapel and the Shōwa school, but the 2 low timber buildings sit together on one lot and read as a single cluster in the fields.
Diagonally across the intersection is the annex, built in 1953 after the model of this building. It stands across the prefectural line in Saitama.
Visiting the Nursery Building
The main building is a working nursery and its interior is not open to visitors. Keep to viewing the exterior from the road and take particular care at drop-off and pick-up times.
Photograph from the road as well, and avoid including children. Directions are on the group page for United Church of Christ in Japan Shimamura Church.
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Q&A
- When was Shimamura Megumi Nursery School Main Building built?
- It was built in 1950, renovated in 1953 and extended in 1954.
- How is Shimamura Megumi Nursery School Main Building constructed?
- It is a single-storey timber building roofed in tile and sheet iron, with a building area of 163 square meters.
- When was the Shimamura Megumi Nursery School Main Building registered?
- On April 18, 2008, together with the church chapel and the nursery annex.
- Can I go inside the nursery main building at Shimamura Church?
- No. It is a working nursery, so please view the exterior from the road.
- How is the main building related to the annex of Shimamura Megumi Nursery School?
- The annex was built in 1953 on the model of the main building. It stands diagonally across the intersection, on the Saitama side of the border.
Basic Information
| Name | United Church of Christ in Japan Shimamura Church Shimamura Megumi Nursery School Main Building (日本基督教団島村教会島村めぐみ保育園本館) |
|---|---|
| Location | 2509-2 Sakaijimamura, Isesaki City, Gunma Prefecture |
| Designation | Registered Tangible Cultural Property (Structure) |
| Year Designated | Registered 2008/4/18 (Heisei 20) |
| Quantity | 1 building |
| Dimensions | Building area 163㎡ (timber, single storey, tile and sheet-iron roof) |
| Owner | Shimamura Church, United Church of Christ in Japan (religious corporation) |
| Public Access | Exterior visible from the road; interior closed (nursery in use) |
References
- Database of National Cultural Properties (Agency for Cultural Affairs): Shimamura Megumi Nursery School Main Building
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/bsys/maindetails/101/00007003
- Shimamura Church Chapel and Nursery School Main Building, Isesaki City
- https://www.city.isesaki.lg.jp/soshiki/kyoikubu/hogo/bunkazaihogo/shitei/toroku/2793.html
- Shimamura Megumi Nursery School
- https://simamura-megumi.com/
Last verified: 2026.09.24
