Inasa Hall (former Shimane Prefectural Third Junior High

Inasa Kaikan (Former Shimane Prefectural Third Middle School Auditorium): A Meiji Treasure Near Izumo Taisha

Just a short drive from the spiritual heartland of Izumo Taisha Grand Shrine, a quiet wooden building waits on the campus of Shimane Prefectural Taisha High School. Painted in soft white clapboard and crowned with a Japanese tile roof, Inasa Kaikan—formerly the auditorium of Shimane Prefectural Third Middle School—has stood since 1902. It is a rare and beautifully preserved example of gi-yōfū (pseudo-Western) school architecture from the Meiji period, when Japan was eagerly adopting Western forms while keeping its own craftsmanship traditions alive.

For travelers exploring Izumo, the building offers a quieter and more intimate glimpse into early modern Japan than the great shrines and stations of the area, yet sits in close walking distance to many of them. It is a place where local memory is preserved as architecture—an alumni hall still cared for by graduates of the school whose history it embodies.

Historical Background

The story of Inasa Kaikan begins in 1898 (Meiji 31), when Shimane Prefectural Hikawa Ordinary Middle School was founded in nearby Imaichi. Two years later, in 1900, the Middle School Act was revised and the school was renamed Shimane Prefectural Third Middle School. In 1902 it was relocated to Kashiroka hill in Kizuki-cho—today’s Taisha-cho—near the great shrine of Izumo. The auditorium that survives today was built that same year as part of the new campus.

Over the following decades the school was renamed several times: Shimane Prefectural Kizuki Middle School (1907), Shimane Prefectural Taisha Middle School (1926), and after the postwar education reforms it merged with the former girls’ high school in 1949 to become the present-day Shimane Prefectural Taisha High School.

In 1980 (Showa 55), the high school moved to a newly built campus in Hamayama. The old wooden school buildings were dismantled, but the alumni association—known as the Inasa-kai—campaigned to save the auditorium. The structure was carefully taken apart and rebuilt at the new campus. At the same time, the octagonal entrance porch from the demolished main building was attached to the auditorium, allowing the two beloved elements of the old school to live on together. The building was renamed Inasa Kaikan and continues to be used and maintained by graduates as a hall of memories.

Why It Was Designated a Cultural Property

Inasa Kaikan was registered as a National Registered Tangible Cultural Property (Building) on December 20, 1996. This designation, established in 1996, is given to historically valuable structures from the modern era that deserve protection and continued use rather than strict preservation.

The auditorium’s significance lies in three areas. First, it is one of the few surviving Meiji-period middle school auditoriums in the San’in region. Second, it captures the pseudo-Western style typical of late nineteenth-century Japanese school buildings, in which Japanese carpenters interpreted Western forms—clapboard siding, sash windows, and gabled porches—using domestic timber and traditional joinery. Third, it preserves not only the original auditorium but also the entrance porch of the school’s demolished main hall, giving visitors a doubly layered look into Meiji school life from a single structure.

Architectural Highlights

The building is a single-story wooden structure measuring approximately 324 square meters, finished externally in horizontal clapboard with white-painted walls. The roof is a hip-and-gable form (irimoya-yane) covered with traditional Japanese tiles, an interesting fusion: Western-influenced massing crowned by an unmistakably Japanese roof.

The most photogenic element is the projecting octagonal entrance porch at the front. Originally part of the demolished main building, it was reattached to the auditorium during the 1980 relocation. Its broad protruding eaves shelter visitors below decorative gable boards, ornamental column capitals, and finely worked eave brackets. A traditional lantern still hangs from the center of the porch ceiling, a small touch that ties the structure to its long ceremonial role as the school’s formal entrance.

Along the sides, neat rows of double-hung sash windows bring abundant light into the hall, a clear borrowing from Western design. Two buttresses brace the long walls, reinforcing the structure for the wide column-free interior that an assembly hall requires. The careful balance between Western detail and Japanese carpentry makes the building a textbook example of Meiji gi-yōfū architecture.

Visiting Inasa Kaikan

Inasa Kaikan stands within the grounds of Shimane Prefectural Taisha High School in Kita-Araki, Taisha-cho. Because it is on an active school campus and managed by the alumni association, the interior is generally not open to casual visitors, but the exterior can be admired freely from the school perimeter and is best appreciated from the front, where the octagonal porch faces outward.

The most popular way to reach Taisha-cho is via the Ichibata Electric Railway. From JR Izumo-shi Station, take a bus or transfer to Ichibata Dentetsu and ride to Izumo-Taisha-mae Station, then continue by local bus or taxi to the high school area. By car, the school is about ten to fifteen minutes from Izumo Taisha Grand Shrine itself.

The surrounding district is one of the richest in Shimane for fans of historic architecture, so Inasa Kaikan pairs naturally with several other sites in a single afternoon.

Nearby Attractions

Izumo Taisha Grand Shrine — One of Japan’s oldest and most important Shinto shrines, dedicated to Okuninushi-no-Okami, the deity of enmusubi (matchmaking and good relationships). The shrine’s enormous shimenawa rope and majestic main hall are iconic images of Shimane. Inasa Kaikan lies only a short distance from the shrine grounds.

Former Taisha Station (Kyū Taisha-eki) — A nationally designated Important Cultural Property, this 1924 wooden station building once welcomed pilgrims arriving from Tokyo, Osaka, and Nagoya. Its monumental Japanese-style architecture, with hip-and-gable roof and ornamental ridge tiles, makes a fascinating contrast to the Western-leaning style of Inasa Kaikan. A long preservation project was completed in 2025, and the building reopened to the public in April 2026.

Ichibata Electric Railway Izumo-Taisha-mae Station — Also a Registered Tangible Cultural Property, this small but charming Western-style station from 1930 stands at the entrance to the Shinmon-dori approach. Together with Inasa Kaikan and former Taisha Station, it forms a trio of cultural treasures from early modern Japan.

Inasa-no-Hama Beach — A sacred shore where, according to legend, gods from across Japan are welcomed each year during the lunar tenth month. The beach gives its name to the Inasa-kai alumni association that cares for the building.

Shinmon-dori — The historic approach to Izumo Taisha, lined with traditional shops selling Izumo soba noodles, sweets, and crafts. It is the perfect place for a leisurely lunch between cultural sites.