History Exhibition Room 2

History exhibition room 2 exhibits historical materials of Inagi City from the Meiji period to the present.

During the Edo period, the villages of Inagi, which were shogunate territories or hatamoto territories (vassals of 10,000 koku or less), became part of the new government in the Meiji period. A new era of domination has dawned. Based on materials from that time, we will introduce the changes in administrative divisions and land tax reform work aimed at fair and just taxation.

The modern education system began with the promulgation of the school system in 1872. Elementary school education began in 1873 in the Inagi area. The education at that time was based on the education at terakoya (terakoya) and private schools from the Edo period. We will look at old photographs of elementary schools and transition charts of school education.

During the Meiji period, private school education was popular in parallel with elementary school education. Keigijuku, a private school founded by Zenryo Kubo, a scholar of Chinese classics, is a private school for elementary school graduates who teaches calligraphy, reading, writing, arithmetic, and English. And so on. In addition, Yuzo Omata, the leader of the Seki school of Wasan, taught Wasan to many young people. We display materials related to Souou Juku and Wasan Juku.

In 1899, six villages were merged to form Inagi Village. At that time, Oshitate Village belonged to Tama Village, which was newly established at that time. In 1893, the Santama area was transferred from Kanagawa Prefecture to Tokyo Prefecture. The Sino-Japanese and Russo-Japanese Wars occurred in the latter half of the Meiji era, and Inagi was also greatly affected. War memorials and memorials were built in Inagi Village.

In the Taisho era, people's lives gradually modernized. Although it suffered great damage in the Great Kanto Earthquake of 1923, Nambu Railway opened from Kawasaki to Daimaru in 1927, and Tamagawara Bridge opened in 1935. Around this time, the modernization of life such as electric lights, telephones, and postal services advanced.

As we plunge into an era of war, its effects are visible even within the village. In Daimaru, the construction of the gunpowder plant for the Army Pyrotechnic Arsenal began in 1937, and gunpowder began to be produced. As the air raids intensified, group evacuations of schoolchildren began, and about 200 schoolchildren from Yamanaka Elementary School in Shinagawa Ward were evacuated to six temples in Inagi.

After the war ended, agricultural land reform was promoted under the initiative of GHQ. Agricultural cooperatives are established, and agriculture in Inagi gradually recovers. Inagi's pear cultivation, which declined during the war, is gradually reviving.

In 1949, the Minami Oshitate area, which had had exchanges with the village since ancient times, was merged with Inagi Village. In 1957, due to the population increase, it became Inagi town. In 1971, Inagi City was born as the 25th city of Tokyo. The population at this time was 36,800.

Friend Hirao, where the local reference room is located, was originally the Inagi Daihachi Elementary School. In April 2002, the 8th Elementary School and the 5th Elementary School were merged to form Hirao Elementary School. We will introduce the history of both closed elementary schools with materials such as photographs and souvenirs.