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 ...

in Gushan District,

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 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 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, Japanese taiko drums, a kamidana 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 of the Kaohsiung MRT.

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