Chido Museum

On the premises of the Chido Museum, one of the buildings that truly stands out is the former Nishitagawa-gun government office. Designated as a National Important Cultural Property, this is the oldest of the many buildings of the Giyofu style (buildings in a Western design but uses a traditional Japanese technique for the basic structure) in Yamagata Prefecture. It was built in 1881 by the order of Michitsune Mishima, Yamagata's first prefectural governor. The master carpenter was Kanekichi Takahashi, who was from Tsuruoka and studied Western architecture. Kanekichi was one of the preeminent master carpenters in Shonai and created many Giyofu architecture structures. The 20-meter-high, two-story wooden building with a clock tower and a central balcony was used as the official lodging when Emperor Meiji visited the Tohoku region. (Part of the Japan Heritage Cultural Asset "Samurai Silk")

About an 8-minute walk from the Chido Museum, Chidokan is the only existing domain school building in the Tohoku region. It was founded in 1805 by Tadaari Sakai, the ninth feudal lord of the Shonai domain. For around 70 years until the school closed in 1873, Chidokan valued Soraigaku (teachings of Sorai Ogyu), a rare curriculum among domain schools across the country. With an educational policy respecting self-learning, the principal aim was to develop the strong characteristics of each person according to their nature, thus planting the roots to foster the region’s Shitsujitsu-goken (simple and sturdy) educational culture. Today, the main gate (Omote-gomon), Confucius shrine (Seibyou), lecture hall and room for the feudal lord’s visit (Oirima) remain and are publicly exhibited as a designated National Historic Site. (Part of the Japan Heritage Cultural Asset "Samurai Silk")