Mito Kodokan
Tokugawa Nariaki and his school – Kodokan.
Rooted in early Edo by Mito Komon and his Dai-Nihonshi, the Mitogaku had its real development and blooming in late Edo. Kodokan, also known as Mito school, was founded by Tokugawa Nariaki in 1841 for the feudal warriors and their children. All numerous sons of Nariaki, including future shogun Tokugawa Yoshinobu, attended Kodokan. This school was established for both academic and military trainings, so the students could enjoy various facilities like medical observatory, and astronomical observatory, recourses for horseback riding, and an area for military training. Among the traditional subjects there were Confucianism, history, astronomy, mathematics, and music. Values and traditions, proclaimed by Mito Komon, like respect to peasants, personal integrity, loyalty to the Imperial power, devotion to Shinto and Confucian traditions, commitment to Dai-Nihonshi were taken as samples of perfect virtues worth to admit and develop. The fame of Mito school spread widely all around Japan, and has made great influence on some prominent figures and leaders of that time, like Yoshida Shoin, Saigo Takamori etc.
Yoshida Shoin came to Mito to study in Kodokan, the accumulated knowledge and ideas he later implemented in his own school under Pine trees in Hagi.
The ancient structures of Kodokan can still be enjoyed today, so it is definitely one of the interesting places in Mito recommended to visit.