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

Gifu, 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 period, various warlords, including Oda Nobunaga, used...

, Gifu Prefecture

Gifu Prefecture

is a prefecture located in the Chūbu region of central Japan. Its capital is the city of Gifu.Located in the center of Japan, it has long played an important part as the crossroads of Japan, connecting the east to the west through such routes as the Nakasendō...

, Japan

Japan

Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...

. Located in Gifu Park

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 Eizō & Tōichi Katō Memorial Art Museum, and the Nawa Insect...

 at the base of Mount Kinka

Mount Kinka (Gifu)

, also known as Kinkazan, is located in the heart of the city of Gifu, Gifu Prefecture, Japan, and rises to a height of . Previously called Mt. Inaba , it has long served as the representative symbol of Gifu. It stands along the Nagara River, creating bountiful nature within the city...

, 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

Sengoku period

The or Warring States period in Japanese history was a time of social upheaval, political intrigue, and nearly constant military conflict that lasted roughly from the middle of the 15th century to the beginning of the 17th century. The name "Sengoku" was adopted by Japanese historians in reference...

 free market that was created by Oda Nobunaga

Oda Nobunaga

was the initiator of the unification of Japan under the shogunate in the late 16th century, which ruled Japan until the Meiji Restoration in 1868. He was also a major daimyo during the Sengoku period of Japanese history. His opus was continued, completed and finalized by his successors Toyotomi...

, a leading feudal lord of the 16th century, as well as many hands-on exhibits. 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.

Currently, both the Eizō & Tōichi Katō Memorial Art Museum

Eizo & Toichi Kato 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:

• Historical Gifu

The first area of the permanent exhibit is dedicated to Gifu's early history, going back to the Jōmon period

Jomon period

The is the time in Japanese prehistory from about 14,000 BC to 300 BC.The term jōmon means "cord-patterned" in Japanese. This refers to the pottery style characteristic of the Jōmon culture, and which has markings made using sticks with cords wrapped around them...

. Visitors can try their hand at putting together a broken vase, making their on 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

Sengoku period

The or Warring States period in Japanese history was a time of social upheaval, political intrigue, and nearly constant military conflict that lasted roughly from the middle of the 15th century to the beginning of the 17th century. The name "Sengoku" was adopted by Japanese historians in reference...

 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

Sugoroku

refers to two different forms of Japanese board game, one similar to western backgammon and the other similar to western Snakes and ladders.Sugoroku plays identically to backgammon , except for the following differences:...

.

• 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 pictoral slides from decades ago, and an opportunity for visitors to make their own ukiyo-e

Ukiyo-e

' is a genre of Japanese woodblock prints and paintings produced between the 17th and the 20th centuries, featuring motifs of landscapes, tales from history, the theatre, and pleasure quarters...

(see right) of Gōdo-juku

Godo-juku

was the fifty-fourth of the sixty-nine stations of the Nakasendō. It is located in the present-day city of Gifu, Gifu Prefecture, Japan...

, one of Gifu's two former post towns

Shukuba

were post stations during the Edo period in Japan, generally located on one of the Edo Five Routes or one of its sub-routes. They were also called shukueki . These post stations were places where travelers could rest on their journey around the nation...

 on the Nakasendō

Nakasendo

The , also called the , was one of the five routes of the Edo period, and one of the two that connected Edo to Kyoto in Japan. There were 69 stations between Edo and Kyoto, crossing through Musashi, Kōzuke, Shinano, Mino and Ōmi provinces...

.

Facilities information

• Contact

Telephone: (058) 265-0010

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

  Permanent Exhibit	Individual Rate	Group Rate
  Adult	300 yen Japanese yen The is the official currency of Japan. It is the third most traded currency in the foreign exchange market after the United States dollar and the euro. It is also widely used as a reserve currency after the U.S. dollar, the euro and the pound sterling...	240 yen
  Child	150 yen	90 yen

• 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

Gifu Station

is a train station operated by Central Japan Railway Company and is located in the heart of Gifu, Gifu Prefecture, Japan. Along with Meitetsu Gifu Station, it is one of the two main rail stations in Gifu City.-History:...

 (Bus Platform 11) or Meitetsu Gifu Station

Meitetsu Gifu Station

is the main terminal of Nagoya Railroad in the city of Gifu, Gifu Prefecture, Japan. It is one of the two major train stations of the city along with JR Gifu Station....

 (Bus Platform 4), board any bus operated by Gifu Bus

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 Meitetsu Bus on October 1, 2004. On April 1, 2005, it...

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