Teshirosawa  

When I was researching the history of Hitane Elementary School (直根小学校), I found reference to Teshirosawa Elementary School (手代沢分校), which was open from 1948 to 1961, according to the Hitane Elementary School history records (http://www2.chokai.ne.jp/~hitane/enkakusi1.htm). But Teshirosawa Elementary School doesn't show up on the major map websites — neither does Teshirosawa or Teshiro. The school and hamlet itself revolved around the timber industry, which apparently died off in the late 50s. After much searching, I found an old map showing the general location -- Momoyake, a hamlet now part of Hitane. Hitane is located in Chokai (鳥海), Yurihonjo (由利本荘市), Akita, Japan.

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Ms. Sumiko, a resident of Hitane, explained that Teshirosawa was a branch school with only a few students, the kids who couldn't make the walk into Momoyake Elementary School (百宅分校). The road to Teshiro starts SW of the highway's main fork in Momoyake. The school and other buildings were located just before the bridge over a small stream, and are no longer there. These days, that road leads to the Momoyake Trailhead of Mt. Chokai and is almost exclusively used by adventurous hikers, and perhaps occasionally by motorbikers (see http://www.cyclingtalk.net/rindo/touhoku/yamagata_tyoukai/ or http://www.rindo21.com/touhoku_minami/yamagata_tyoukai/akita_tesirosawa/). The hamlet was located around lat/long 39.101458, 140.127268.

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