opened as in

Abashiri is a city located in Okhotsk Subprefecture, Hokkaido, Japan. Abashiri is known as the site of the Abashiri Prison, a Meiji-era facility used for the incarceration of political prisoners. The old prison has been turned into a museum, but the city ...

Hokkaidō is Japan's second largest island and comprises the largest and northernmost prefecture, making up its own region. The Tsugaru Strait separates Hokkaidō from Honshu; the two islands are connected by the undersea railway Seikan Tunnel. The la ...

, Japan in 1936, making it one of the oldest museums on the island. When the museum opened, the collection comprised some three-thousand archaeological and ethnographic objects collected by , including items from the (a national

Historic Site A historic site or heritage site is an official location where pieces of political, military, cultural, or social history have been preserved due to their cultural heritage value. Historic sites are usually protected by law, and many have been rec ...

). In 1948, the museum was transferred to the city. A new building was added in 1961 to celebrate 25 years from the original opening. Both the main building and the new building were designed by architect Tanoue Yoshiya, a pupil of

Frank Lloyd Wright Frank Lloyd Wright (June 8, 1867 – April 9, 1959) was an American architect, designer, writer, and educator. He designed more than 1,000 structures over a creative period of 70 years. Wright played a key role in the architectural movements o ...

, and mark the transitions in his style. They are national Registered Tangible Cultural Properties. The exhibits document the natural and cultural history of the area, from the

Japanese Paleolithic The is the period of human inhabitation in Japan predating the development of pottery, generally before 10,000 BC. The starting dates commonly given to this period are from around 40,000 BC; although any date of human presence before 35,000 BC ...

, through the Jōmon and Zoku-Jōmon periods, up until daily life during the

Shōwa era The was the period of Japanese history corresponding to the reign of Emperor Shōwa ( Hirohito) from December 25, 1926, until his death on January 7, 1989. It was preceded by the Taishō era. The pre-1945 and post-war Shōwa periods are almos ...

, and include materials relating to the

Satsumon culture The is a partially agricultural, archeological culture of northern Honshu and southern Hokkaido (700–1200 CE) that has been identified as Emishi, as a Japanese-Emishi mixed culture, as the incipient modern Ainu, or with all three synonymously. ...

Okhotsk culture The Okhotsk culture is an archaeological coastal fishing and hunter-gatherer culture that developed around the southern coastal regions of the Sea of Okhotsk, including Sakhalin, northeastern Hokkaido, and the Kuril Islands during the last half o ...

, and

Ainu Ainu or Aynu may refer to: *Ainu people, an East Asian ethnic group of Japan and the Russian Far East *Ainu languages, a family of languages **Ainu language of Hokkaido **Kuril Ainu language, extinct language of the Kuril Islands **Sakhalin Ainu la ...

. The Moyoro Shell Mound Museum operates as an annex.

References

External links

Abashiri City Folk Museum
Abashiri Museums in Hokkaido City museums in Japan Folk museums in Japan Museums established in 1936 1936 establishments in Japan {{Japan-museum-stub

See also

References

External links