The title of the museum’s exhibit might lead many people to imagine an old private house-style building with exhibits that reproduce the lifestyle and customs of the Edo and Meiji periods, but Minato Ward, Tokyo, has gone way beyond expectations.
Here is the front entrance of the Minato City Local History Museum, located near Shirokanedai Station. Dooooooooo!
This building is the former Public Health Center, built in 1938 with the assistance of the Rockefeller Foundation of the United States, and is designated as a tangible cultural property of Minato City. The building is used as it is as a historical museum, and on my first visit I was a bit taken aback by its massive appearance.
Here is a link to the official website of the museum, including a description of the building.
After entering the museum through the main entrance and paying the admission fee (300 yen for the permanent exhibition only, 600 yen including special exhibits), you can freely tour the spacious museum. Photography is allowed in all areas of the museum except for main exhibition rooms, so I took some shots of the museum’s stately interior.
The imposing hall in the center of the first floor.
Looking up at the second floor, which is a stairwell in the same location, again, this is a gorgeous view.
Conversely, looking down from the second floor, it looks like this
Unlike today’s building architecture, which is only neat and clean and, in fact, as lightweight as possible, inside and out, don’t you think you feel the “weight of the stone” somehow?
I’m getting tired of symmetrical pictures, so I changed the composition a bit.
The exhibition rooms were filled with shell mounds from the Jomon period, medieval and early modern documents, and the history of urbanization and industrialization from the Edo period to the Meiji period……………….. However, taking photos is not allowed, so those interested should visit the site,
Outside the window, there is also a view of historical buildings with a taste of brick construction.
I toured the museum with great admiration.
This is the Director’s office from the days of the Public Health Institute.
There is also an exhibit area where visitors can relax a bit, and since photography was allowed here, I took a few quick shots.
Skeletal specimen of a minke whale. I wonder if this means that there were minke whales in Tokyo Bay?
A “once upon a time” kind of exhibit area.
I miss the ice refrigerator I saw at my relative’s house when I was a kid.
On display in another room is a piano that was donated by the royal family to an elementary school in Minato Ward. It is said to be an early Yamaha model.
So, I visited the museum without much expectation and received a strong counter.
This time, I ended up taking pictures with a Pentax K-3III and Sigma 17-70 lens, but next time I will bring a full-size Lumix S5 and a wide-angle lens.
