⛩️ Shoka Sonjuku (Shōin Shrine)

The Shoka Sonjuku, founded by Yoshida Shoin, who was born and raised in Hagi City, is a private school that influenced the movements of the late Edo period. The school was named "Shoka Sonjuku" because the area was then known as "Matsumoto Village." Yoshida Shoin accepted students regardless of their status or class. Although the teaching period lasted only a little over a year, he nurtured many talents who became active during the Meiji Restoration and in the new Meiji government, including Kusaka Genzui, Takasugi Shinsaku, Ito Hirobumi, Yamagata Aritomo, Yamada Akiyoshi, and Shinagawa Yajiro. This building has been preserved to this day in its original form from the late Edo period, making it a structure of historical significance. It is a wooden, single-story building with a tiled roof, featuring a central eight-tatami mat room that has been expanded to include a four-and-a-half-tatami room, two three-tatami rooms, a dirt floor space, and a second-floor loft. The eight-tatami room used as a classroom is adorned with a statue of Shoin and his portrait. Although Yoshida Shoin was executed by the Edo shogunate for proposing a new form of government, his disciples, who inherited his will, built the "Shoin Shrine" to worship him. Starting from the "Matsumon Shrine," which enshrines 53 of Yoshida Shoin's students, the area also includes the birthplace of Shoin, the "Shiseikan" treasure hall displaying letters and books related to Shoin, and the "Yoshida Shoin Historical Museum." In July 2015, Shoka Sonjuku, along with Hagi Castle Town and three other assets, was registered as a World Heritage Site under the designation of "Meiji Japan's Industrial Revolution Heritage."

There are many historical sites related to Yoshida Shōin, who holds an important position in the history of the late Edo period. Photos of the late Edo period patriots that appear in history textbooks are displayed. You can also visit the "Shōin Shrine," which is revered as a place dedicated to the god of learning.