is a museum that displays the history of

Tsuruga Port The Tsuruga Port is now one of the three main ports on the Sea of Japan. History Since the early 9th century, Tsuruga port has been involved in Japan maritime trade. Tsuruga Port has been prospering as a trade gateway between Japan and the Asi ...

, located in Kanegasaki Park,

Tsuruga, Fukui is a city located in Fukui Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 66,123 in 28,604 households and the population density of 260 persons per km2. The total area of the city was . Geography Tsuruga is located in central ...

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 ...

. It emphasizes

Chiune Sugihara was a Japanese diplomat who served as vice-consul for the Japanese Empire in Kaunas, Lithuania. During the Second World War, Sugihara helped thousands of Jews flee Europe by issuing transit visas to them so that they could travel through Japan ...

, who saved the lives of many

Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

refugees A refugee, conventionally speaking, is a displaced person who has crossed national borders and who cannot or is unwilling to return home due to well-founded fear of persecution.

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

by issuing transit visas. Tsuruga Port was the place they disembarked after their long journey from their native Europe.

Exhibition

150228 Port of Humanity Tsuruga Museum Tsuruga Fukui prefecture Japan02n

The main exhibit covers the history of Tsuruga Port. Since early times, Tsuruga Port has connected Japan to the Asian continent. Especially starting from the

Meiji period The is 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 colonization ...

to the early Showa period, it enjoyed its heyday by serving as a departing point connecting Japan to the

terminus Terminus may refer to: * Bus terminus, a bus station serving as an end destination * Terminal train station or terminus, a railway station serving as an end destination Geography *Terminus, the unofficial original name of Atlanta, Georgia, United ...

of the

Trans-Siberian Railroad The Trans-Siberian Railway (TSR; , , ) connects European Russia to the Russian Far East. Spanning a length of over , it is the longest railway line in the world. It runs from the city of Moscow in the west to the city of Vladivostok in the eas ...

Vladivostok Vladivostok ( rus, Владивосто́к, a=Владивосток.ogg, p=vɫədʲɪvɐˈstok) is the largest city and the administrative center of Primorsky Krai, Russia. The city is located around the Zolotoy Rog, Golden Horn Bay on the Sea ...

.http://www.tmo-tsuruga.com/kk-museum/index_e.html　Official Webpage The exhibit highlight the activities of

(also pronounced as Senpo Sugihara). While he served as an acting consul of Japanese Consulate in

Kaunas Kaunas (; ; also see other names) is the second-largest city in Lithuania after Vilnius and an important centre of Lithuanian economic, academic, and cultural life. Kaunas was the largest city and the centre of a county in the Duchy of Trakai ...

Lithuania Lithuania (; lt, Lietuva ), officially the Republic of Lithuania ( lt, Lietuvos Respublika, links=no ), is a country in the Baltic region of Europe. It is one of three Baltic states and lies on the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea. Lithuania ...

, he saved the lives of many Jews persecuted by

Nazis Nazism ( ; german: Nazismus), the common name in English for National Socialism (german: Nationalsozialismus, ), is the far-right totalitarian political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in Na ...

by issuing

transit visa A visa (from the Latin ''charta visa'', meaning "paper that has been seen") is a conditional authorization granted by a polity to a foreigner that allows them to enter, remain within, or leave its territory. Visas typically include limits on t ...

, ignoring the directives of the Japanese

Ministry of Foreign Affairs In many countries, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is the government department responsible for the state's diplomacy, bilateral, and multilateral relations affairs as well as for providing support for a country's citizens who are abroad. The entit ...

. The Tsuruga Port was the first point of disembarkation on Japanese territory after a long and harsh journey from Europe via Trans-Siberian Railroad. The museum explains how the local citizens warmly supported the Jewish refugees during their short stay in Tsuruga before they departed for further journeys to their final destinations by exhibitions and interviews with those who survived, as well as their descendants. "ムゼウム" is a Japanese transliteration of the word "museum" in

Polish Polish may refer to: * Anything from or related to Poland, a country in Europe * Polish language * Poles, people from Poland or of Polish descent * Polish chicken *Polish brothers (Mark Polish and Michael Polish, born 1970), American twin screenwr ...

, based on the fact that many of the Jewish refugees originated from

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populous ...

Access

The museum is about 30 minute walk from

Tsuruga Station is a railway station in the city of Tsuruga, Fukui, Japan, operated by West Japan Railway Company (JR West). It is served by the Hokuriku Main Line and the Obama Line. A freight-only branch Line known as the Tsuruga Port Line operated by JR Frei ...

of JR

Hokuriku Main Line The Hokuriku Main Line ( ja, 北陸本線, ) is a 176.6 kilometer railway line owned by the West Japan Railway Company (JR West) connecting the Maibara Station in Maibara, Shiga, with the Naoetsu Station in Joetsu, Niigata. The section betwee ...

, or an eight minute bus ride (Tsuruga Shuyu bus) from Tsuruga Station to Kanegasaki Park, followed by about a four minute walk.

Open date

Closed December 29-January 1. Opens at 9:00 and closes at 17:00 (admission closes at 16:30).

References

* The

Chiune Sugihara Memorial Hall The Chiune Sugihara Memorial Hall is a museum in Yaotsu, Gifu, Japan. The museum tells visitors the story of Chiune Sugihara, a Japanese diplomat who saved the lives of thousands of Jews while living in Kaunas, Lithuania. The museum features ten ...

, located in

Yaotsu is a List of towns in Japan, town located in Kamo District, Gifu, Kamo District, Gifu Prefecture, Japan. , the town had an estimated population of 11,036 and a population density of 886 persons per km2, in 4311 households. The total area of the to ...

Kamo The name Kamo may refer to the following: Places Japan (Note: ''kamo'' ( 鴨), is the common word for ''duck'' in Japanese, but the following names do not necessarily mean ''duck'' and are not necessarily written with that character.) * Kamo, N ...

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 ...

. *

Other nearby attractions

- Kanagasaki park - Kirameki-minato kan - Former Tsuruga port station building ( Tsuruga railway museum) - Takatoro Tall Stone Lantern at Suzaki - Lamp house - Tsuruga warehouses -

Tsuruga Red Brick Warehouse is a pair of warehouse buildings located within the Port of Tsuruga in the city of Tsuruga, Fukui Prefecture, Japan. The buildings are preserved as a historical monument, and have been renovated for use as a restaurant hall (south-wing) and ...

* Tsuruga Municipal Museum * Minato Tsuruga Yama Kaikan * Kami-Warabe Washi-Paper Doll Museum *

Kehi Shrine is a Shinto shrine located in the Akebono-chō neighborhood of the city of Tsuruga, Fukui Prefecture, Japan. It is the ''ichinomiya'' of former Echizen Province. The main festival of the shrine is held annually on September 4. The shrine is con ...

External links