Tekijyuku, Osaka

The Tekijyuku School building is an example of the typical houses of merchants during the Edo Period. It was a school dedicated to Dutch Studies and had many eminent students.

The Tekijyuku School was founded by Dutch scholar and medical scientist, Ogata Kaon. He founded the school in a nearby building at first. He bought the Tekijyuku in 1845 to accommodate the increasing number of students who attended his school. It is located in an area called the Senba. At the time of founding, the school was surrounded by the homes of many prominent Osaka merchants. The neighborhood was almost wholly destroyed by bombings during World War II. Very few merchant houses including the Tekijyuku miraculously survived.

In its heyday the Tekijyuku was one of the most prominent schools in Japan. Sons of the Samurai warlords and medical scientists were sent here to study. Koan ran the school for 24 years between 1838 and 1862. He then went to Tokyo as a medical doctor for the ruling Shoguns. An important object in the school building is the study worn Dutch to Japanese dictionary which is displayed in the room called the Zuufu Beya or Room of the Zuufu Dictionary. The Tekijyuku is a declared Important National Cultural Asset and National Historic Site. Visitors can view the building on all days of the week except Mondays.