About 4 km northwest of the city of Engaru, when you stand at the main gate of the school, the dignified cold air of early winter wraps your whole body. The Hokkaido Family School was founded in 1914 (Taisho 3) as a branch school of the Tokyo Sugamo Family School (at that time) by Kosuke Tomeoka, a pioneer of social welfare in Japan and a practitioner of inspirational education.

The school is also called "Forest School" and is dotted with school buildings, dormitories, housing, and livestock barns in a vast school area of ​​439ha, which is 93 times larger than the Tokyo Dome. Currently, 15 boys live with staff, and sometimes they support their independence through life, learning, and work in the beautiful and sometimes harsh nature.

In December, when the steeple of the chapel pierced the blue sky filled with the cold of winter, I visited Mitsuru Kiyosawa, the 10th principal.

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Utopia sought in the undeveloped wilderness of Okhotsk at the northern end.

 

Kosuke Tomeoka, who was based in Tokyo Katei Gakko, worked on the ideal new rural construction and inspirational project in the undeveloped northern land "Okhotsk" at the age of 50, and was left until his death at the age of 70. Was dedicated. Mr. Kiyosawa, the founder of the school, Kosuke Tomeoka, was baptized in Christianity at the age of 18, studied theology at Doshisha Academy and became a pastor, and in 1891 (Meiji 24) became a teacher of Sorachi prison in Hokkaido. The teacher who traveled all over the country aimed to build a new rural school by establishing a new home school in the north instead of the south, with the belief that people grow better and stronger in harsh nature. I think it was a perfect match for the land of Engaru. The teacher who recognized the importance of improving the prison at Sorachi prison was later studied abroad in the United States, but when he saw the inscription "all the way to white" on the right side of the teacher, he had the path as his destiny. There is a place where I feel that it was prepared.

 

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Keigetsu Omachi, the poet, visited Kosuke and left a song  "あなたとう（尊う）平和の山に湧き出でて　人の命をすくう真清水" Kosuke's philosophy is still flowing to the land of Okhotsk, forming a universal water vein even after 100 years.

 

Mr. Kiyosawa: Some people still mistakenly think that the home school is the same as the juvenile training school, but there are no closed gates or fences here, and the key is the key except for the museum where historical materials are stored. It's not hanging. The townspeople of Engaru who know this seem to enjoy the nature of the four seasons. Home school is a "home and school" where students live and learn with staff based on the Christian spirit. I feel that I am loved and proud of the local Engaru townspeople. As the only facility for supporting the independence of boys and children run by a social welfare corporation in Japan, we still value the tradition of a "small house couple system" in which children and a couple of staff live under one roof.

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Ryukan Godo(Do your best and leave the rest to Providence) and Sanoshugi(Trinity).

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Dairy farming, which began with the breeding of one dairy cow and one breeding cow the year after the school opened, was a pioneer of Okhotsk dairy farming, and now more than 40 cows are bred. Facing nature, "working well, eating well, sleeping well". Children grow forests, cows and vegetables, make miso and butter, boil a bath with cracked firewood, and sweat the work they need in their daily lives.

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Mr. Kiyosawa: Public education was introduced in 2009 (Heisei 21), and the "Nozomioka Branch School" was established as an in-facility branch school. In the morning, we study in the main building, and in the afternoon, we study in the working group three days a week. Currently, there are five working groups: dairy, forestry, horticulture, sardines, and school management. Dairy began manufacturing and selling butter cheese. Also, on Sundays, we will meet in the chapel to calm our hearts. In recent years, the number of children with developmental disabilities and attachment disorders has increased, and individual support is important. Children face various challenges, but today, when the protection of children's rights is qualitative, we must firmly accept them as being recognized as the "subject of rights" from the "object of protection". I and the staff are always aware of this when providing support.

 

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Masatsune Tani, the 5th principal, said, "We feel relieved when we are embraced by a person with a wide chest that has abundant capacity." He also said, "The basis of education is prayer. Fear of the invisible. Now, life will flow toward the distant future. We have such an invisible long life. It's here as a piece of the flow. " Isn't this word all the meaning and significance of the home school in this land of Okhotsk?

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\ The person who wrote this article /

Kazuo Furuya / Born in Kunneppu Town. After spending his student days in Osaka, he worked at Kiyosato Town Hall as a social education director in 1976. After leaving the educational administration at the age of 40, he retired after being involved in local administration such as planning, finance, and general affairs. He is a founding member of Okhotsk Terror, and is currently a director and co-publisher of HARU.