Kōdōkan

photo by Miyuki Meinaka · CC BY-SA 4.0

photo by Miyuki Meinaka · CC BY-SA 4.0

The largest domain school in Japan (1841): today 800 plum trees of 60 varieties.

Founded in 1841 by Tokugawa Nariaki, ninth lord of the Mito domain, it was the largest domain school of Edo-period Japan. Examinations and ceremonies were held in the main hall; the last shogun, Tokugawa Yoshinobu, withdrew to the Shizendō after the surrender of Edo in 1868. Eight hundred plum trees of sixty varieties bloom on the same days as those of Kairakuen, during the Mito no Ume Matsuri.

School of the Mito domain, established in 1841 by Tokugawa Nariaki, where Confucian studies and martial arts were taught together. The site is a national Special Historic Site, and the main hall, the Shizendō and the gate are Important Cultural Properties; since 2015 the whole complex has been part of a Japan Heritage (日本遺産) designation.

ℹ️ Open 9:00–17:00 from February to September, 9:00–16:30 from October to January; closed 29–31 December. Admission 420 yen adults, 210 yen students/over-70s (320/160/210 yen for groups). Eight minutes’ walk from the north exit of Mito Station.

🚉 Mito · 11 min walk

Sources: mitokoumon.com · kodokan-ibaraki.jp · ja.wikipedia.org · mitokoumon.com

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