The Shokasonjuku is located in the grounds of the Shoin Shrine in Hagi, Yamaguchi, and is where Yoshida Shoin taught many of the future leaders of Meiji Japan.
It was originally just a single-roomed structure but was expanded due to the large number of students who wanted to attend. It was also his home as at the time he was under house arrest for his attempt to stow away on an American ship.
Shoin taught here for just one year before he was rearrested and the school forced to close.
His students included Ito Hirobumi, the first Prime Minister of Japan, Yamagata Aritomo, Japan's third Prime Minister, Kido Takayoshi, a senior statesman and another of the architects of the new Meiji state, Inoue Kaoru, another major politician and statesman of Meiji Japan.