Former Site of Mie Prefectural Ujiyamada Middle School

Location: 1 Funae, Ise City

Ujiyamada Middle School was an intermediate educational institution that existed from the third decade of the Meiji period (1868–1912) through the second decade of the Showa period (1926–1989). In March 1899, the school was established as Mie Prefecture Daiyon Ordinary Middle School, and in April of the same year, it opened under the name of Mie Prefecture Daiyon Middle School. At the beginning, the school used a portion of the residence of Ryudayu, a former onshi (Shinto priest who served as a pilgrimage guide) of Ise Jingu, in Ozekocho as its school building. In 1900, it then used a part of the preaching hall of Otani-ha Hongan-ji Temple in Shimonakanogocho (now Miyamachi), but in the same year, moved to Yokomakura, Funaecho (current location) with the completion of its new building. It was renamed Mie Prefectural Daiyon Middle School in 1901 and then Mie Prefectural Ujiyamada Middle School in 1919. Before daybreak on July 29, 1945, its wooden building was burned down in an air raid. In 1948, the middle school came to the end of its history through the educational system reform, and its role was taken over by newly established high schools, such as today’s “Mie Prefectural Ujiyamada High School” (established in 1950) and “Mie Prefectural Ise High School” (established in 1956). In short, Ujiyamada Middle School is considered as the predecessor of those high schools.

As remnants of Ujiyamada Middle School, you can still see the stone pillars that stood at its main gate and the bricks that were used for the chimney of its dormitory building. Today, a pair of stone pillars from its main gate stands on the premises of Ujiyamada High School and the other pair at the main gate of Ise High School. The bricks remain under this information board as well as at Ujiyamada High School. The chimney itself used to be located 150 meters northeast of here, where there is a commemorative monument and an information board today. At Ujiyamada High School, historical materials on Ujiyamada Middle School have been stored since the merger of the alumni associations of Ujiyamada Middle School and Ujiyamada Girls’ School.

Some of the graduates of Ujiyamada Middle School, such as OMODAKA Hisataka (Japanese literature scholar), HAMACHI Bunpei (National Diet member), IWATA Junichi (painter), OZU Yasujiro (film director), NISHIMURA Yukio (baseball player) and TAKEUCHI Kozo (poet), are famous for their active contributions to various fields including culture, art and politics.

November 30, 2022

Ise City Cultural Policy Division

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