Old School

Today I went (with a couple of friends) to visit one of the area's most famous attractions---which happens to be conveniently located about 15 minutes from my house.  The Ashikaga Gakko is well-known as the oldest university in Japan.  Yep, in the whole country.  Rumor has it that school history goes back to the 800's but written records only go back to the 1400's (which, to an American is still really, really old).  It's heyday was in the 1500's when it was the premiere academy in Japan with 3000+ students and some worldwide recognition.  Now it is just a national historic site which has been remodeled so many times over the centuries that it would probably be unrecognizable to anyone who actually went to school there.

the Middle Gate, or School Gate, as the Chinese characters on it say "school"

The main course of study was Confucianism with some other Chinese studies thrown in on the side.   We didn't go inside the buildings too much but the grounds around the school are beautiful.  They have a little brochure in English that tells what some of the stuff is and the entrance fee is 400 yen (about $5).  There are actually a couple of big temples adjacent to the Gakko ("gakko" is just the word for "school", by the way) but I'm saving them for later trips and posts.

Confucius

from the side

grounds and pond

some building

the thatched roofs were interesting (this is shot up
from the underside), and judging by the continuous
maintenance, delicate

entrance to the big Confucian shrine

small shrines around the grounds