The is a private museum in

Tsuruoka is a Cities of Japan, city in Yamagata Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 125,389 in 49,024 households, and a population density of 95.74 persons per km2. The total area of the city is . Tsuruoka is the biggest city in ...

Yamagata Prefecture is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located in the Tōhoku region of Honshu. It has a population of 1,005,926 (1 February 2025) and an area of 9,325 Square kilometre, km2 (3,600 Square mile, sq mi). Its neighbours are Akita Prefectu ...

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

. It was founded in 1950 by the former Lord

Sakai is a city located in Osaka Prefecture, Japan. It has been one of the largest and most important seaports of Japan since the medieval era. Sakai is known for its '' kofun'', keyhole-shaped burial mounds dating from the fifth century. The ''kofun ...

of the

Shōnai Domain was a Han (Japan), feudal domain in Edo period Japan, located in Dewa Province (modern-day Yamagata Prefecture), Japan. It was centered on Tsuruoka Castle in what is now the city of Tsuruoka, Yamagata, Tsuruoka in Yamagata Prefecture, and was t ...

who donated his properties with the intention of promoting local culture. The museum houses folk materials from Shōnai, classical calligraphy, woodcraft and ceremonial sake barrels. In addition to the ''Goinden'', retirement residence of the Sakai Lords built in 1863, the Lord's arsenal (''Mingu no Kura''), and the attached Japanese garden, designated as

Place of Scenic Beauty is a collective term used by the Japanese government's Law for the Protection of Cultural Properties to denote Cultural Properties of JapanIn this article, capitals indicate an official designation as opposed to a simple definition, e.g "Cultural ...

, a number of buildings have been relocated and newly built at the museum site. Two Western style from the early

Meiji period The was an era of Japanese history that extended from October 23, 1868, to July 30, 1912. The Meiji era was the first half of the Empire of Japan, when the Japanese people moved from being an isolated feudal society at risk of colonizatio ...

built by the prefectural governor

Mishima Michitsune was a Japanese samurai of the Satsuma Domain during the Late Tokugawa shogunate. After the Meiji Restoration he served in the Home Ministry as a bureaucrat and viscount. He is also commonly known as Yahei or Yahée (弥兵衞 ''Yahee''). His s ...

have been designated as Important Cultural Property: the ''Former Nishitagawa District Office'' from 1881, relocated in 1972; and the ''Former Tsuruoka Police Station'' from 1884, relocated in 1957. A large

minka are Vernacular architecture, vernacular houses constructed in any one of several traditional Japanese architecture, Japanese building styles. In the context of the four divisions of society, were the dwellings of farmers, artisans, and merchan ...

three-story farmhouse with thatched roof known as the ''Former Shibuya Family Home'', built in 1822 in Tamugimata, Asahi village was relocated to the museum in 1965. In 1981 a new building, the ''National Important Folklore Cultural Assets Storage'' was established. The museum houses a number of

Cultural Properties of Japan A is administered by the Government of Japan, Japanese government's Agency for Cultural Affairs (Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology), and includes Tangible Cultural Properties of Japan, tangible properties (structures ...

: two

National Treasure A national treasure is a structure, artifact, object or cultural work that is officially or popularly recognized as having particular value to the nation, or representing the ideals of the nation. The term has also been applied to individuals or ...

tachi A is a type of sabre-like traditionally made Japanese sword (''nihonto'') worn by the samurai class of feudal Japan. ''Tachi'' and '' uchigatana'' ("''katana''") generally differ in length, degree of curvature, and how they were worn when she ...

, a painting

Wang Zhaojun Wang Qiang (Wang Ch'iang; 王牆, also 王檣 and 王嬙), commonly known by her courtesy name Wang Zhaojun () was known as one of the Four Beauties of ancient China. Born in Baoping Village, Zigui County (in current Hubei Province) in the Weste ...

( Important Cultural Property) and seven Important Tangible Folk Cultural Properties: ''Mogami River fishing implements'', ''Collection of transport implements used by porters along the Himekawa river valley of

Echigo Province was an old provinces of Japan, old province in north-central Japan, on the shores of the Sea of Japan. It bordered on Uzen Province, Uzen, Iwashiro Province, Iwashiro, Kōzuke Province, Kōzuke, Shinano Province, Shinano, and Etchū Province, ...

'', ''Collection of Kurimono and related tools from Shōnai and surrounding areas'', ''Shōnai collection of work clothes'', ''Shōnai collection of wooden drinking vessels'', ''Collection of Daihō-ji pottery'' and ''Collection of Bandori from Shōnai''.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Chido Museum Museums in Yamagata Prefecture Open-air museums in Japan Folk museums in Japan Giyōfū architecture Tsuruoka, Yamagata Museums established in 1950 1950 establishments in Japan

See also

References