Former Toyosato Elementary School

The "Finest Elementary School in the East", Designed by Vories

The Former Toyosato Elementary School (旧豊郷小学校, Kyu Toyosato Shogakko) is an elementary school of 1937 facing the old Nakasendo at Ishihata, Toyosato Town, Inukami District, Shiga Prefecture, whose main building, auditorium and Shutoku Memorial Library were registered in 2013 as three Registered Tangible Cultural Properties.

The Agency for Cultural Affairs records all three as reinforced concrete, renovated in 2009 and owned by Toyosato Town.

The Toyosato tourism association explains that the school was donated by Furukawa Tetsujiro, an Omi merchant and managing director of the Marubeni trading company, and designed by the architect William Merrell Vories. At the time it was called a white palace of education and the finest elementary school in the East.

Layout of the Three Buildings

According to the Agency, the main building faces west at the centre of the site on the old Nakasendo, with a three-storey tower at its centre and a porch at the front. Its imposing, symmetrical modernist exterior is a well-loved local landmark.

The auditorium stands in front of the main building to the south, facing north and joined by a covered corridor. It has one storey with a partial upper floor and a boiler room in the basement at its south end, in the same orderly modernist style.

The Shutoku Memorial Library stands in front to the north, facing south and joined by a corridor. The centre of its north side is a book stack with three-tier iron shelving built in. Its exterior matches the main building, with more decorative capitals and handrail fittings.

The Grandeur of 1937

The Agency notes that the auditorium, with the main building and library, conveys the grandeur of the school as built.

The symmetrical plan, with the auditorium to the south and the library to the north linked to the central tower by corridors, preserves the donor's vision and Vories's school design.

Visiting the Former Toyosato Elementary School

The tourism association says the buildings now house the town library, a childcare support centre and other facilities, and visitors may look round freely. They are open 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., closed on Mondays (the next day after a holiday) and over the New Year.

It is 10 minutes on foot from Ohmi Railway Toyosato Station, with parking for about 80 cars. Enquiries: Toyosato Town tourism association, 0749-35-3737.