Timeline
1886
- April 12
- The National School Establishment Law is issued, and on the next day, the Junior High School Government system is formulated.
1887
- April 15
- Kumamoto is chosen as the site of the Fifth Junior High School.
- November 14
- Classes begin after a ceremony is held celebrating the enrollment of a total of 81 students (24 in level 3 preparatory program and 57 for probationary acceptance) at a temporary school building in the Kumamoto Castle.
1889
- August
- Construction of the Fifth Junior High School's
main building is completed.
- December
- Construction of the Fifth Junior High School's
science laboratory is completed.
1890
- October 10
- The school opening ceremony is held.
1891
- August 13
- Ministry of Education Councilor, Jigoro Kano, the founder of judo,
is appointed the third principal of the school.
- November 9
- Lafcadio Hearn, an American writer and novelist who is a naturalized Japanese citizen, begins teaching English at the school.
1892
- July 10
- The first graduation ceremony is held.
- October 10
- The School is opened. October 10 is designated as a holiday to commemorate the opening of the school.
1894
- September 11
- The school is renamed the Fifth High School.
1896
- April 14
- Natsume Kinnosuke (later Natsume Soseki, one of the most famous novelists in Japan) begins teaching English at the school.
- July 1
- The preparatory course is discontinued.
1897
- April 17
- The Faculty of Engineering is incorporated.
1906
- March 29
- The Faculty of Engineering becomes autonomous and is renamed the Kumamoto Junior College of Engineering.
1921
- April
- Graduation proceedings are moved to March and admissions to April.
- November 15
- The Emperor Hirohito visits the school.
1937
- October 10
- A ceremony is held to commemorate the school's 50th anniversary.
1943
- January 20
- The National Senior High School Law is reformed, with all senior high schools becoming two-year schools until May 1946 due to students' wartime labor.
1946
- May 4
- Senior high schools go back to their previous three-year programs after the end of World War II.
1949
- May 31
- New educational system is enforced with the pressure of GHQ under American occupation. The Fifth High School is abolished due to its elite education and reformed as a part of Kumamoto University as well as other national high schools, ending its 63-year-long history.
1950
- March 25
- A ceremony is held to mark the end of courses conducted at the Fifth High School.
1969
- August 19
- The main building, chemistry laboratory, and main gate (red gate) of the Fifth High School are designated as important national cultural property.
1987
- October 10
- A ceremony to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the opening of the school is held.
1993
- October 9
- The main building is opened to the public as "The Memorial Museum of the Fifth High School."
2000
- April 1
- The museum is renamed "The Kumamoto University Memorial Museum of the Fifth High School."
2007
- October 10
- A ceremony to commemorate the 120th anniversary of the opening of the school is held.
The Memorial Museum of the Fifth High School