LibGuides: National Museum of Japanese History (Rekihaku): Museum (博物館）

General Information

Facility:	National Museum of Japanese History
Address:	Att: Information Service Center, 117 Jonai-cho, Sakura, Chiba 285-8502
Phone:	+81-43-486-0123 (Switchboard)
FAX:
Email:	kokusai-e#ml.rekihaku.ac.jp (Please replace # with @)

Hours:
When Monday is a national holiday, the Museum and Garden are closed the following Tuesday.

About the Museum:

The museum currently has a collection of about 230,000 items, including original materials, replicas, copies, and restoration models based on historical artifacts. The museum focuses on civilization in Japan from the Paleolithic era to modern times. The museum is visually oriented with a large collection of artifacts, interactive projects, and reconstruction of villages and landscapes from various time periods. Exhibitions utilize explanatory aids such as graphic panels, descriptive commentary, and video.

The permanent exhibit consists of 5 galleries. The first gallery contains an introduction to prehistoric and early Japan and, in the second and third galleries respectively, a presentation of the medieval and early modern periods. In all, the first 3 galleries address a total of 13 topics and 3 subtopics. The fourth gallery introduces 6 topics relating to the folk cultures of the Japanese people, while the fifth and final gallery includes 3 topics on modern and contemporary Japan.

Research Collections

Museum
博物館
--------------------- Library--------------------
Library
図書館

Summary of Collection(s)

Website

Collection Size: 230,000 items

Focus: Civilization in Japan from the Paleolithic era to modern times.

Permanent Exhibition:

Gallery 1
This gallery depicts Japan from the Paleolithic age to the Nara Period. Featured are clay figures excavated from different areas, the reconstruction of a Jōmon village, a Takakura sōko (高床倉庫) -Raised Storehouse for harvested rice, Hashihaka Kofun (箸墓古墳) - the largest of the earliest generation of Keyhole shaped burial mounds, and Rajōmon (羅城門) - the main entrance to Heijō-kyō 平城京, the Nara Period capital city.
Gallery 2
This gallery features Medieval Japan (8th-16 century). This includes a reconstruction of Higashi Sanjōdono (東三条殿) - the palace of Fujiwara no Michinaga (藤原道長), the most influencial nobleman of the time, built in the Heian capital about 1,000 years ago. The exhibition also includes Jūnihitoe 十二単- the multi-layered court dress for women. Reconstructions of a Kamakura period Samurai residence and surrounding agricultural villages, from 16th century Kyoto, and Shuinsen (朱印船)- Red Seal Ship, round out the Medieval exhibitions.
Gallery 3
This gallery features the Edo Period including export ceramics, made to export from Nagasaki to Holland, a reconstruction of Hatago (旅籠) -an Edo Period inn, a tread-wheel, a diorama display of parts of the City of Edo (as Tokyo was then known), Kitamaesen (北前船)- the reconstruction of a cargo ship that sailed from Hokkaido to markets in Osaka through the Japan Sea.
Gallery 4
Folk Cultures of the Japanese Archipelago
Gallery 5
This gallery features modern Japan (from the late 19th century to the 1920s). Exhibitions include pictures of Commodore Matthew Perry, a reconstruction of The Tsukiyoe Schoolhouse- the school from Tokyo's first foreign settlement in Tsukiji, The Orthodox Church, Dōjunkai (同潤会アパート)- the middle class apartments constructed of reinforced concrete following the Great Kanto Earthquake in 1923, and a diorama display of the Yokohama harbor.
Gallery 6
Opening soon) This gallery features Japan before and after World War II (from the 1930s to the 1970s). This includes a many forms of visual images including films, commercials, news articles, and photographs.

Note: The Guide uses the ALA/LC standard romanization, however, it also reflects a different romanization system used by an individual institution or collection

Access

Directions

How to Use the Facility

Visiting the Museum

Give Us Your Feedback

We are constantly improving the guide contents and we want your opinion.

For all comments and questions about the Guide, please e-mail us:

mlaguide@nccjapan.net

National Museum of Japanese History (Rekihaku): Museum (博物館）