Kodokan

Kodokan (弘道館, Kōdōkan) is a historic former samurai school located in the heart of Mito. Established in 1841 by Tokugawa Nariaki—the ninth lord of the Mito domain and founder of Kairakuen Garden — the school became one of the largest han schools of its time. Kodokan provided samurai with a well-rounded education that combined academic subjects such as Confucianism, history, and Chinese classics with martial training like swordsmanship and horseback riding. After its closure in 1872 following the Meiji Restoration, the building served as a government facility before eventually opening to the public as a heritage site.

Today, visitors can explore the school’s preserved wooden halls and tatami-matted rooms that once functioned as classrooms and dormitories. The grounds are especially picturesque in early spring, when surrounding plum trees bloom and create a peaceful atmosphere reminiscent of the school’s scholarly past. Inside the main building, exhibits display artifacts from the Edo period, including a copy of the Dai Nihonshi—a monumental historical text begun by Tokugawa Mitsukuni, the second lord of Mito. Kodokan also stands on the former grounds of Mito Castle, where reconstructed features such as gates and a turret help evoke the site's samurai-era legacy.