The Kaohsiung Wude Hall () is a

museum A museum ( ; plural museums or, rarely, musea) is a building or institution that cares for and displays a collection of artifacts and other objects of artistic, cultural, historical, or scientific importance. Many public museums make these ...

Gushan District Gushan District () is district of Kaohsiung City, Taiwan. Administrative divisions The district consists of Gufeng, Xiongfeng, Qianfeng, Guangrong, Minzu, Neiwei, Jianguo, Zhongzheng, Zijiang, Longjing, Zhengde, Pinghe, Minjiang, Housheng, Longzi, ...

Kaohsiung Kaohsiung City (Mandarin Chinese: ; Wade–Giles: ''Kao¹-hsiung²;'' Pinyin: ''Gāoxióng'') is a special municipality located in southern Taiwan. It ranges from the coastal urban center to the rural Yushan Range with an area of . Kaohsi ...

Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the nort ...

History

The

Dai Nippon Butoku Kai ''Dai Nippon Butoku Kai'' (DNBK, ja, 大日本武徳会, en, "Greater Japan Martial Virtue Society") was a martial arts organization with strong ties to WWII-era Japanese government, originally established in 1895 in Kyoto. Following the end of ...

was established in

Kyoto Kyoto (; Japanese: , ''Kyōto'' ), officially , is the capital city of Kyoto Prefecture in Japan. Located in the Kansai region on the island of Honshu, Kyoto forms a part of the Keihanshin metropolitan area along with Osaka and Kobe. , the ci ...

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 ...

in 1895, and most of its members were police officers. After the

Treaty of Shimonoseki The , also known as the Treaty of Maguan () in China and in the period before and during World War II in Japan, was a treaty signed at the , Shimonoseki, Japan on April 17, 1895, between the Empire of Japan and Qing China, ending the Firs ...

with the

Qing Dynasty The Qing dynasty ( ), officially the Great Qing,, was a Manchu-led imperial dynasty of China and the last orthodox dynasty in Chinese history. It emerged from the Later Jin dynasty founded by the Jianzhou Jurchens, a Tungusic-speak ...

, the Japanese brought their police system with them to Taiwan and Wude culture was introduced and developed by the Japanese police. Wude Martial Arts Centers were built around Taiwan. The building in Kaohsiung was completed in 1924. After the handover of Taiwan from Japan to the

Republic of China Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the northeast ...

in 1945, the building was used and operated by the Kaohsiung Police Department. In 1999, the Civil Affairs Bureau of

Kaohsiung City Government The Kaohsiung City Government is the municipal government of Kaohsiung. It was formed after the merger of Kaohsiung County and Kaohsiung City in December 2010. Its chief administrator is the directly elected Mayor of Kaohsiung. History In ...

designated the building as an ancient monument. When the bureau was established, a restoration project was actively conducted and the restoration was completed within a year in December 2004. In April 2005, the Kaohsiung City Kendo Culture Advocacy Society was commissioned to operate and manage the building. It was the first ancient monument in Taiwan to be revitalized for the original purpose for which it was designed.

Architecture

The building is a magnificent Japanese-designed brick building with a capacity of around 100 people. It has two main parts; on the east is the Kendo practice area and on the west is the Judo practice area.

Exhibition

The hall features a permanent exhibition which includes a board inscribed by calligrapher, Huang Hua-shan, authentic handmade Japanese swords, and wooden bokken and bokuto practice swords. The historical background display features legendary swordsman

Miyamoto Musashi , also known as Shinmen Takezō, Miyamoto Bennosuke or, by his Buddhist name, Niten Dōraku, was a Japanese swordsman, philosopher, strategist, writer and rōnin, who became renowned through stories of his unique double-bladed swordsmanship a ...

, Japanese taiko drums, a

kamidana are miniature household altars provided to enshrine a Shinto . They are most commonly found in Japan, the home of worship. The is typically placed high on a wall and contains a wide variety of items related to Shinto-style ceremonies, the mos ...

shrine and various pieces of ancient Japanese armor.

Events

The building houses martial arts practice, such as Judo, Kendo or Sumo. There are also activities such as archery.

Transportation

The center is within walking distance north west of

Sizihwan Station Sizihwan is a terminus of the Orange line (Kaohsiung MRT), Orange line and adjacent to Circular light rail Hamasen light rail station, Hamasen station of Kaohsiung Rapid Transit System. It is located in Hamasing of Gushan District, Kaohsiung. Its ...

of the

Kaohsiung MRT Kaohsiung Metro () is a rapid transit and light rail system covering the metropolitan area of Kaohsiung, Taiwan. Its rapid transit network is known as Kaohsiung Mass Rapid Transit or Kaohsiung MRT. Construction of the MRT started in October 200 ...

References

External links

* {{facebook, butokuden1924 1924 establishments in Taiwan Buildings and structures in Kaohsiung Tourist attractions in Kaohsiung Martial art halls in Taiwan Gushan District