Matsushiro Samurai School / 松代藩文武学校（長野県）

Matsushiro Samurai School / 松代藩文武学校

The Matsushiro Samurai School, Bunbu Gakko, was the domain school for the sons of the Sanada
clan and its vassals. It is the only former school for the children of samurai with all study halls
and training facilities remaining in original condition.

Located in Matsushiro, central Nagano Prefecture, a school was established in the early 1600’s
by the famed warrior Sanada Yukimura’s elder brother, Sanada Nobuyuki, when he was installed
as the region’s feudal lord in 1622. Nobuyuki encouraged the literary studies and martial education
of his samurai, and the school flourished. In 1855, towards the end of the Edo period, the current
surviving campus was constructed by Lord Sanada Yukinori.

The samurai were required to study various literary as well military arts, and the Matsushiro Samurai
School and others like it in every domain across the nation catered to their needs. They studied
various kenjutsu sword disciplines, archery, spear and Jujutsu wrestling techniques. They practiced
reading and writing using Chinese classics such as the Art of War, and Confucian ethics. Medicines of the
East and West were taught at the school, and later, Western sciences, artillery and even tactics were
also added to the curriculum.

長野県長野市松代にある、松代藩文武学校。ここは松代藩八代藩主・真田幸貫が計画し、九代藩主
幸教の時代に完成し開講した（1855年）学校で、松代藩士や藩士の子供たちが学問と武術を学ぶために
造られました。東洋医学、西洋医学、礼法、西洋の軍学をはじめとした学問のほか、剣術、柔術、弓術、
槍術などを学ぶことのできた松代藩文武学校は現在も、その姿を昔のままに残しており、今も武道の
稽古や大会などでも使われています。

The simple, tatami matted study rooms take the visitor back to the Edo period, and you can imagine
the students sitting on the floors in rows pouring over their books on low tables. Likewise, the martial
art dojo training halls are stunning. Around the wood floored training areas are sections with tatami
mats for the instructors to observe their students, while above them, sturdy timber support beams
criss-cross the ceiling. Interestingly, these antique dojo are still in use today.

畳敷きの部屋に、低い長机。この光景をだけでも、江戸時代、松代藩士や藩士の子供たちが勉強していた姿を
容易に想像することができます。各武術の道場の梁（はり）や床…歴史を感じますね。

Many of the nation’s Bunbu Gakko samurai schools were closed or destroyed at the end of Japan’s feudal period. Many others were rebuilt as modern schools open to the common folk as well. As such, the numbers of such traditional samurai schools disappeared. The Matsushiro Samurai School is one of the last remaining, and the best preserved. In 1953, the buildings were designated National Important Tangible Assets.

Because of it’s authentic atmosphere, with its wonderfully preserved traditional architecture featuring rich dark timbers and old styled mud walls, the school is often used for location scenes in samurai genre movies and period dramas. Tourists too are drawn to the simple, yet elegant structures for a taste of old Japan.

こうした文武学校は、日本全国にありましたが、明治時代には、ほとんどが取り壊されてしまいました。
江戸時代の面影をそのままに残す松代藩文武学校は、映画や時代劇の撮影にも利用され、1953年には、
国の史跡にも指定されています。日本からの観光客のみならず、「日本の歴史」に興味を持つ外国人
観光客も多く訪れます。これからも、大切に守っていきたい場所の一つです。

※ Due to reconstruction efforts, parts of the facility may be closed from July 2013.
　 2013年7月より、建物の保存修理を実施。工事期間中、見学・使用できない箇所もあります