みどころ：丸太柱
螺旋階段の丸太柱は、開智学校洋館が建設される以前、授業が行われていた近くの仏教寺院「全久院」にあったものである。螺旋階段は伝統的な建築物にはなく、開智学校の建築家も馴染みがなかった。そのため、一段一段の幅が狭く、先生方が使えるのは階段の一番外側だけで、しかも何十年も使って磨り減っている。
全久院は、1726年から松本を治めていた戸田家の菩提寺であった。1868年の明治維新後、仏教を外来物とみなし、全国的に仏教を撲滅しようとする動きが起こった。寺の土地は没収され、鐘や仏像は溶かされ、僧侶は他の職業に就くことを余儀なくされた。松本城最後の城主となった戸田光則（1828-1892）は全久院を廃寺とし、その境内を小学校に転用した。
Key Point: Round Pillar
The round wooden pillar of the central spiral staircase was originally part of Zenkyūin Temple, the Buddhist temple that occupied the grounds prior to the construction of the Kaichi School’s pseudo–Western style building. Spiral staircases are quite rare in traditional Japanese architecture, and the school’s builders were unfamiliar with them. As a result, the width of each step is so narrow that the teachers and other adults could only use the outermost edge of the staircase, which has been worn down from decades of use.
Zenkyūin was the family temple of the Toda family, who had governed Matsumoto since 1726. Following the Meiji Restoration in 1868, the government issued several edicts calling for the separation of Shinto and Buddhist institutions, which had been merged for centuries. In some regions, this sentiment was taken to violent extremes: temple lands were confiscated, bells and statues were melted down, and monks were forced to find other professions. Toda Mitsuhisa (1828–1892), the last lord of Matsumoto Castle, abolished Zenkyūin himself and had the temple grounds repurposed to host the elementary school.
