School Song
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Beyond mountains upon mountains
Soars the snow-covered peak of Hakuba
Pure and dignified, it represents our young life
Come, let us rise together because
The sacred light of the Kinshi (mythological golden kite bird) is with us
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Even in midsummer when vegetation weakens
The Chikuma River flows swirlingly
Its unstoppable power represents our young life
Come, let us rise together because
The sacred light of the Kinshi is with us
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The sky we look up to has no limit
The ground we tread on is boundless
Rich and generous minds are what we seek
Come, let us rise together because
The sacred light of the Kinshi is with us
School Crest
Our school crest was established during the years of our first-generation principal Mr. Aikichi Miyoshi. The Student Guidance Regulations put forward in 1900 contain a note about the school crest: “Our school crest features the Kinshi (mythological golden kite bird) as the design motif with the character “中” (meaning “Middle” or “Junior High”) under it. During the period when our school was called a junior high school, the Kinshi bird had its face turned to the right as seen from the front. After the school became a senior high school, however, the bird’s face became turned to the left.The Kinshi bird is derived from a passage in the Legend of Emperor Jinmu’s Eastern Military Expedition found in the “Nihon Shoki” (The Chronicles of Japan). The legend has it: In the course of his eastern military expedition, Emperor Jinmu was fighting a grueling battle with the Nagasunehiko forces. The weather suddenly worsened making the battlefield dark. It was just at that time that a golden kite bird came flying by and perched on the nock of the Emperor’s bow, which dazzled Nagasunehiko and his forces. As a result, Emperor Jinmu narrowly gained a victory.
The adoption of the Kinshi crest somehow reflects the prevalent sense of nationhood of our school’s early days (ex. The Order of the Golden Kite was awarded to army and navy officers for meritorious war services). It is also said that the crest was chosen presumably in association of Matsumoto Junior High School’s “Dragonfly” crest motif.