50Hizen Saga Bakumatsu-Meiji Restoration Expo Memorial Exhibition Kōdōkan - Discovering the Power of Education to Change the World -

Coinciding with the 150th anniversary of the Meiji Restoration in 2018, the Hizen Saga Bakumatsu–Meiji Restoration Expo was held to commemorate Saga’s great achievements and prominent people from that era and to keep the aspirations of these Meiji period pioneers alive for current and future generations. A piece of the Expo has been preserved here in the form of the “Real Kōdōkan” exhibit that was displayed in greater detail as one of the central pavilions of the Expo. The Kōdōkan was a domain school run by Saga Domain during the Edo period that attracted nationwide attention for its innovative approach to education and that produced many of the prominent people who helped bring about the end of the Tokugawa shogunate during the turbulent Bakumatsu era, as well as build a new Japan following the Meiji Restoration. This exhibit presents the historical background of Saga Domain’s commitment to education, introduces the ideas espoused by the Lord of Saga Domain, looks at what it was like to study at the Kōdōkan, and examines the secrets of why the Kōdōkan’s educational approach was so successful.