Shoka Sonjuku was the small private academy run briefly by Yoshida Shoin from 1857. From its modest rooms emerged many leaders of the Meiji Restoration, including Takasugi Shinsaku, Ito Hirobumi, and Yamagata Aritomo. It is now part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site on Japan's industrial heritage.

The origins of Shoka Sonjuku date to 1842, when Tamaki Bunnoshin, an uncle of Yoshida Shoin, established a small private academy at his home. The school was later taken over by another relative before Yoshida Shoin assumed leadership in 1857, while under house arrest following his confinement in Noy…