Asahi Elementary School Circular Building: A Round School of 1962
The Asahi Elementary School Circular Building (朝日小学校円形校舎) is a four-storey reinforced concrete circular school building built in 1962 in Kaki, Asahi Town, Mie District, Mie Prefecture, and was entered on the national register as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property in 2013.
It belongs to the elementary school near the centre of the town. The Agency for Cultural Affairs lists a four-storey reinforced concrete building with a metal roof and a building area of 573 square metres, renovated in 2003. It was registered on 24 December 2013 and is owned by Asahi Town.
Why It Was Registered
The agency calls the Asahi Elementary School Circular Building a work from the peak of the series of circular school buildings designed by the architect Sakamoto Kanao, who built many round schools across Japan, mainly in the late 1950s and 1960s.
A circular plan frees the centre from columns and lets rooms be arranged radially around it. Here the idea is realised in a four-storey block of special classrooms.
What to Look For
On the first three floors a column-free circular hall sits at the centre, ringed by special classrooms, with balconies around the outside. The fourth floor is an auditorium, a single large space.
From outside, the balconies on each floor wrap the cylinder in horizontal bands, giving the building its distinctive round silhouette.
Viewing the Building
The Asahi Elementary School Circular Building is in daily use as a school, and no official information on public viewing could be found. The school grounds cannot be entered without permission.
If you hope to see it, ask Asahi Town whether any public openings are planned.
Q&A
- When was the Asahi Elementary School Circular Building built?
- In 1962; it was renovated in 2003.
- Who designed the Asahi Elementary School Circular Building?
- Sakamoto Kanao; the agency calls it a work from the peak of his circular schools.
- What is inside the Asahi Elementary School Circular Building?
- A column-free circular hall with special classrooms around it on floors 1 to 3, and a single-room auditorium on the fourth floor.
- When was the building registered?
- On 24 December 2013.
- Can I visit the Asahi Elementary School Circular Building?
- It is a working school; no public viewing information was found. Ask Asahi Town.
Basic Information
| Name | Asahi Elementary School Circular Building |
|---|---|
| Location | 750 Kaki, Asahi Town, Mie District, Mie Prefecture |
| Designation | Registered Tangible Cultural Property (Building) |
| Year Designated | Registered 2013/12/24 (Heisei 25) |
| Quantity | 1 building |
| Dimensions | Four-storey reinforced concrete, metal roof, building area 573 m² |
| Owner | Asahi Town |
| Public Access | Working school. No official public viewing information |
References
- Agency for Cultural Affairs Database: Asahi Elementary School Circular Building
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/bsys/maindetails/101/00009780
- Cultural Heritage Online: Asahi Elementary School Circular Building
- https://online.bunka.go.jp/heritages/detail/285619
Last verified: 2026.09.27