Before the towns of Shimoyoshida and Fujiyoshida merged, the town hall of Shimoyoshida was situated here next to the pond at Gekkoji Temple. After the town merger in 1951, this government office became obsolete and the building was used as a school library, and finally as a supplementary school for children with special needs called “Kotoba no Kyoshitsu”.

After “Kotoba no Kyoshitsu” was transferred elsewhere in 1996, this building was vacant for a few years until it was used as the tourist information center of an art installation event called “Machi Ga Museum”, or “The Town is the Museum”. The event was held every year for 10 years between 2000 to 2009, and over that time this building became the symbol of the annual art event.

“Machi Ga Museum” invited contemporary artists to create installation pieces in vacant houses around Fujiyoshida, and Kobe-born visual artist Sadaharu Horio worked on the installation at the “Kotoba no Kyoshitsu” site.

That building, which played a variety of roles in the Fujiyoshida landscape, was eventually torn down in 2015, but the “Kotoba no Kyoshitsu” sign remains and holds its stories for future generations.