The is a city-supported history museum located in the city of

Gifu is a city located in the south-central portion of Gifu Prefecture, Japan, and serves as the prefectural capital. The city has played an important role in Japan's history because of its location in the middle of the country. During the Sengoku ...

Gifu Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located in the Chūbu region of Honshu. Gifu Prefecture has a population of 1,991,390 () and has a geographic area of . Gifu Prefecture borders Toyama Prefecture to the north; Ishikawa Prefecture to the northwest, F ...

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

. Located in

Gifu Park is a public park located at the base of Mount Kinka in the city of Gifu, Gifu Prefecture, Japan. Inside the park, there are many attractions, including Gifu Castle, Mount Kinka, the Mt. Kinka Ropeway, the Gifu City Museum of History, the Eiz ...

at the base of Mount Kinka, it is in the heart of Gifu City's sightseeing area. The museum primarily focuses on the history and traditional crafts of the surrounding area and includes a recreation of a

Warring States Period The Warring States period () was an era in History of China#Ancient China, ancient Chinese history characterized by warfare, as well as bureaucratic and military reforms and consolidation. It followed the Spring and Autumn period and concluded ...

free market that was created by

Oda Nobunaga was a Japanese ''daimyō'' and one of the leading figures of the Sengoku period. He is regarded as the first "Great Unifier" of Japan. Nobunaga was head of the very powerful Oda clan, and launched a war against other ''daimyō'' to unify ...

, a leading feudal lord of the 16th century, as well as many hands-on exhibits.''Gifu City Walking Map''. Gifu Lively City Public Corporation, 2007. However, the museum often hosts special exhibitions, which cover a wide variety of themes.

History

Planning for the museum began in 1972 as a result of an initiative by the local Social Education Committee. Construction was completed in 1985 and the museum opened in November of that year. In March 2005, after undergoing extensive renovations, the museum held a grand renewal opening, just in time for its 20th anniversary that November.Gifu City Museum of History Homepage
Gifu City Museum of History. Accessed June 8, 2007. Currently, both the

Eizō & Tōichi Katō Memorial Art Museum The is a museum located in Gifu Park in the city of Gifu, Gifu Prefecture, Japan. It is dedicated to the works of the brothers Eizō and Tōichi Katō, who were born in the city. It is part of the Gifu City Museum of History. Facility layout ...

in Gifu Park and the Yanaizu Folklore Museum in Yanaizu-chō serve as branches to the museum.

Hands-on activities

The history museum offers the following activities:Artifact Challenge
. Gifu City Museum of History. Accessed October 25, 2007. *Historical Gifu :The first area of the permanent exhibit is dedicated to Gifu's early history, going back to the

Jōmon period The is the time in Japanese history, traditionally dated between 6,000–300 BCE, during which Japan was inhabited by a diverse hunter-gatherer and early agriculturalist population united through a common Jōmon culture, which reached a c ...

. Visitors can try their hand at putting together a broken vase, making their own designs on a clay vase, ringing an ancient bell, or wearing old armor. *Warring States period :The second permanent area focuses on the

Warring States period The Warring States period () was an era in History of China#Ancient China, ancient Chinese history characterized by warfare, as well as bureaucratic and military reforms and consolidation. It followed the Spring and Autumn period and concluded ...

of Gifu's history, when Gifu received its name and first flourished. Men and women can try on period clothing, visit recreated stores and houses, have '' koma'' battles, or practice ''ryūgo'' or ''

sugoroku (literally 'double six') refers to two different forms of a Japanese board game: ''ban-sugoroku'' (盤双六, 'board-sugoroku') which is similar to western tables games like Backgammon, and ''e-sugoroku'' (絵双六, 'picture-sugoroku') which is ...

''. *Modern Gifu :The last section of the permanent exhibit focuses on Gifu's more recent history. There are scent boxes that represent each of Gifu's traditional industries, musical recordings and pictorial slides from decades ago, and an opportunity for visitors to make their own ''

ukiyo-e Ukiyo-e is a genre of Japanese art which flourished from the 17th through 19th centuries. Its artists produced woodblock prints and paintings Painting is the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a solid surfac ...

'' (''see right'') of

Gōdo-juku was the fifty-fourth of the sixty-nine stations of the Nakasendō connecting Edo with Kyoto in Edo period Japan. It is located in former Mino Province in what is now part of the city of Gifu, Gifu Prefecture, Japan. ''Gifu City Walking Map''. Gi ...

, one of Gifu's two former

post towns A post town is a required part of all postal addresses in the United Kingdom and Ireland, and a basic unit of the postal delivery system.Royal Mail, ''Address Management Guide'', (2004) Including the correct post town in the address increases ...

on the

Nakasendō The , also called the ,Richard Lane, ''Images from the Floating World'' (1978) Chartwell, Secaucus ; pg. 285 was one of the five routes of the Edo period, and one of the two that connected Edo (modern-day Tokyo) to Kyoto in Japan. There were 6 ...

Facilities information

*Contact :Address: 2-18-1 Ōmiya-chō, Gifu, Gifu Prefecture *Hours of Operation :9:00am to 5:00pm (entry until 4:30pm) *Holidays :Mondays (Tuesday, if Monday is a holiday) :Day after national holidays :Dec. 29 to Jan. 3 *Entrance Fee : :*Group discounts are available to parties of 20 or larger. :*Those over 70 years of age are allowed free admission. :*Special exhibit fees are separate.

Access

From JR Gifu Station (Bus Platform 11) or

Meitetsu Gifu Station is a railway station located in the city of Gifu, Gifu Prefecture, Japan, operated by the private railway operator Meitetsu. It is one of the two major railway stations of the city along with JR Gifu Station. Lines Meitetsu Gifu Station is th ...

(Bus Platform 4), board any bus operated by

Gifu Bus is a public transportation company based in Gifu, Gifu Prefecture, Japan. It is a subsidiary of Nagoya Railroad and primarily operates within Gifu Prefecture. Some of its public transportation routes within the city of Gifu were handed over by ...

heading towards Nagara. Get off the bus at "Gifu Kōen, Rekishi Hakubutsukan-mae," approximately 15 minutes from the train stations.

References

{{Coord, 35.43332, 136.772803, type:landmark, display=title Buildings and structures in Gifu History museums in Japan Museums in Gifu Prefecture Museums established in 1985 1985 establishments in Japan