Former Army 44th Infantry Regiment Lecture Hall

A Plain Army Lecture Hall

The Former Army 44th Infantry Regiment Lecture Hall (旧陸軍歩兵第四四連隊講堂) is a lecture hall for training non-commissioned officers of the late Meiji period in Akebonocho, Kochi City, Kochi Prefecture, and was registered as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property (structure) on February 27, 2023 (Agency for Cultural Affairs).

The Agency records a single-storey timber building with a sheet-iron roof and a building area of 248 square metres, altered in the mid-Showa period; registration number 39-0307.

A Plain Hall with King-Post Trusses

The lecture hall stands on the former army site in western Kochi, facing east; it is a single-storey timber building under a hipped roof entered on the long side, clad in white-painted weatherboarding (Agency for Cultural Affairs).

The roof is carried on king-post trusses, the inner walls are of vertical boards with battens, and closely set windows a bay wide let in the light (Agency for Cultural Affairs). First divided into three rooms, it was built for the classroom training of non-commissioned officers, a plain and sturdy piece of army architecture.

Why It Was Registered

The Agency registered it as a model of design.

What to Look For

Look for the white weatherboarding, the closely set windows and the king-post roof trusses (Agency for Cultural Affairs).

Visiting

It is owned by Kochi Prefecture (Agency for Cultural Affairs). According to the conservation and use plan drawn up by the prefecture in March 2026, the magazine and lecture hall were long used as warehouses. The plan is to make the site a place to learn the facts of the war and feel the value of peace: the grounds are to be open for free viewing on opening days, and the interiors of both buildings open to visitors who book in advance. No opening date has been given.