“All the staff and students of Kinjo Girls’ School”, Nagoya, c. 1920.

“All the staff and students of Kinjo Girls’ School”, Nagoya, c. 1920. “Kinjo” means “golden castle”. Kinjo Gakuin was founded in 1889 by an American Presbyterian missionary, Annie Edgar Randolph, as a young women’s private school.

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“Kinjo Jo Gakko [‘Golden Castle’ Girls’ School] was established in September, 1888, and [its] government license was received in September, 1889.

“Mrs. [Annie Edgar] Randolph, the first principal, began the school with three girls, in a house having two small rooms, with one window in each room. There were two departments in the school, a preparatory course of three years and a high school course of four years. Any graduate from the government primary school was eligible to enter the first class of the high school course. In addition to the regular school work, any pupil who desired could be taught music.

“At this time girls’ education in Japan was on a very low plane, much lower than for boys. In fact, there were no government schools for girls in the Empire. In Nagoya there was only one small mission school which had been started by the Northern Methodist Church. The education of girls in Japan was commenced by missionaries, and our mission felt strongly the need of a school in connection with their work here in the stronghold of Buddhism … In 1894 the first pupil was graduated from the school.

“… In March, 1913, the old buildings, with the exception of the chapel, were torn down, and [new], substantial and attractive buildings erected.

“… [I]n January, 1914, we made application to the Minister of Education that our school be recognized as complying with all the rules laid down in the educational law, and that our pupils be admitted to higher government schools without examination. This is in connection with the regular high school course. In due course the application was granted and the school received full Government recognition.

“[A new street car line] cut off from our property twenty-eight hundred and eighty square feet, on which was a beautiful old pine tree three hundred of years old. There were seven of these old trees in the city, which were planted in the sixteenth century by Hideyoshi, the great warrior, and it was with great regret that we consented to part with a tree so much prized for its beauty as well as historical association. Although this tree was over three hundred years old, it was found to be in perfect condition. Two sections of the trunk were cut into planks of five inches each, and these alone brought over three hundred dollars to the purchaser of the tree.”

– “Kinjo Jo Gakko”: Golden Castle Girl’s School, by Charlotte Thompson, Principal; Presbyterian Church in the United States, 1915