A Postwar Dressmaking School
The Former Nakamura Dressmaking School (旧中村洋裁学院) is a timber school building of 1950 in Fukuroi, Fukuroi City, Shizuoka Prefecture, and was registered as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property (structure) on May 2, 2017 (Agency for Cultural Affairs).
The Agency records a two-storey timber building of 191 square metres with a tiled roof, extended in 1953 and renovated in 2012; registration number 22-0234.
A Dressmaking School of the Postwar Years
According to Fukuroi City, the school was opened in 1950 by the dressmaking teacher Nakamura Yuki (1909 to 2010), and many young women trained here at rows of sewing machines. The building later housed a koto class and an architect's office and is now used for community activities.
It stands north to south beside the Haranoya River (Agency for Cultural Affairs). The city notes that it faces the old Tokaido highway and was the first building named a Fukuroi City landscape building.
Why It Was Registered
The Agency notes that it shows the features of a vocational school building of the postwar recovery period. Fukuroi City describes it as a building that conveys the spirit of that recovery.
What to Look For
A finial bearing the school badge crowns the end of the tiled gable roof (Agency for Cultural Affairs). The walls are clapboarded, with louvres in the gables and a boarded soffit under the eaves.
On both floors the southern half is a single large classroom, with Japanese- and Western-style rooms to the north (Agency for Cultural Affairs). Note the size of the rooms where the sewing machines once stood.
Visiting
According to Fukuroi City, the building is now used for community activities. No official information on regular public opening was found. It faces the old Tokaido road, and the exterior can be seen from the street.
Q&A
- When was the Former Nakamura Dressmaking School built?
- In 1950, with an extension in 1953 (Agency for Cultural Affairs).
- Where is the Former Nakamura Dressmaking School?
- In Fukuroi City, on the old Tokaido road.
- What should I look for?
- The school-badge finial and the large classrooms on both floors.
- Can I visit the Former Nakamura Dressmaking School?
- It is used for community activities; no regular opening was found.
- When was the Former Nakamura Dressmaking School registered?
- On May 2, 2017 (Agency for Cultural Affairs).
Basic Information
| Name | Former Nakamura Dressmaking School (旧中村洋裁学院) |
|---|---|
| Location | 260-1 Fukuroi, Fukuroi City, Shizuoka Prefecture |
| Designation | Registered Tangible Cultural Property (Structure) |
| Year Designated | Registered 2017/05/02 (Heisei 29) |
| Quantity | 1 building |
| Dimensions | Two-storey timber, tiled roof, 191 m² |
| Owner | Not listed in the Agency database |
| Public Access | Used for community activities (no regular opening) |
References
- Former Nakamura Dressmaking School (Database of National Cultural Properties, Agency for Cultural Affairs)
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/heritage/detail/101/00011507
- Former Nakamura Dressmaking School (Fukuroi City, Japanese)
- https://www.city.fukuroi.shizuoka.jp/material/files/group/16/16966244.pdf
- Koho Fukuroi, January 2018 (Fukuroi City, Japanese)
- https://www.city.fukuroi.shizuoka.jp/material/files/group/15/20180101_26-27.pdf
Last verified: 2026.10.14