Kangien was a private academy founded by Hirose Tanso in the Edo period, and it became one of Hita's most important intellectual institutions. Its surviving buildings and grounds are modest, but the story is good: students came from across Japan, and the school admitted people by ability rather than family status.
It pairs naturally with Mameda-machi because both explain why Hita had more weight than its present size suggests. The visit is quiet and short, but it gives the town a sharper identity than old streets alone.