Chidokan is the former school of the Shonai domain, built for samurai children during the Edo period. It stands near Tsuruoka Park and is one of the clearest surviving pieces of the city's castle-town past.
The buildings are low, wooden, and restrained, which is exactly why they work. Rather than a reconstructed castle, you get a more intimate look at how a provincial warrior class trained its sons to read, write, calculate, and serve.