The is an

open-air museum An open-air museum is a museum that exhibits collections of buildings and artifacts outdoors. It is also frequently known as a museum of buildings or a folk museum. Definition Open air is "the unconfined atmosphere ... outside buildings" ...

located within Koganei Park,

Tokyo Tokyo, officially the Tokyo Metropolis, is the capital of Japan, capital and List of cities in Japan, most populous city in Japan. With a population of over 14 million in the city proper in 2023, it is List of largest cities, one of the most ...

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

. It opened in 1993 as a branch of the Edo-Tokyo Museum and is operated by the Tokyo Metropolitan Foundation for History and Culture, a public interest incorporated foundation. The museum relocates and reconstructs buildings that originally stood in Tokyo (formerly Edo) from the

Edo period The , also known as the , is the period between 1600 or 1603 and 1868 in the history of Japan, when the country was under the rule of the Tokugawa shogunate and some 300 regional ''daimyo'', or feudal lords. Emerging from the chaos of the Sengok ...

through the mid- Showa era, which could no longer be preserved at their original locations, and presents them as part of the city's cultural heritage. The site covers an area of . The museum grounds feature 30 restored structures, including the private residences of politicians, entrepreneurs, architects, and farmers from different historical periods, as well as traditional businesses such as an '' izakaya'' (Japanese-style pub), a '' sentō'' (public bathhouse), and a '' ryokan'' (traditional inn). These buildings recreate the appearance of historic Japanese streetscapes, and visitors are able to enter and explore their interiors. The origins of the open-air museum date back to 1934 with the opening of the Tokyo Kyōdo Shiryō Chinretsukan (lit. "Tokyo Local History Exhibition Hall") in Arisugawa-no-miya Memorial Park. In 1948, it was relocated to Inokashira Park and renamed the Musashino Hakubutsukan (lit. "Musashino Museum"). In 1954, it was moved again to Koganei Park and reopened as the Musashino Kyōdokan (lit. "Musashino Folklore Museum"), which remained in operation until 1991. The animator

Hayao Miyazaki is a Japanese animator, filmmaker, and manga artist. He co-founded Studio Ghibli and serves as honorary chairman. Throughout his career, Miyazaki has attained international acclaim as a masterful storyteller and creator of Anime, Japanese ani ...

often visited here during the creation of his film, '' Spirited Away'', for inspiration.

Restored buildings

The park is divided into three zones. The west zone is lined with Musashino farm homes and Yamanote houses, the center zone is lined with prestigious historic buildings, and the east zone is a reproduction of the downtown area. The following is a complete list of buildings exhibited at the Edo-Tokyo Open Air Architectural Museum.

Center Zone

*Former Kōkaden Hall (now Museum Visitor Center): A temporary building erected in the Imperial Palace Outer Garden as the venue of in 1940. It was relocated to this area in 1941 after the ceremony. *Former Jishōin Mausoleum: A mausoleum built in 1652 in the early Edo period by Kōra Muneyoshi, a master builder of the Shogunate. Third Shogun

Tokugawa Iemitsu was the third ''shōgun'' of the Tokugawa shogunate, Tokugawa dynasty. He was the eldest son of Tokugawa Hidetada with Oeyo, and the grandson of Tokugawa Ieyasu. Lady Kasuga was his wet nurse, who acted as his political adviser and was at the ...

's concubine (great-granddaughter of

Ishida Mitsunari was a Japanese samurai and military commander of the late Sengoku period of Japan. He is probably best remembered as the commander of the Western army in the Battle of Sekigahara following the Azuchi–Momoyama period of the 16th century. He ...

) was enshrined. It is a Designated Tangible Cultural Property (building) of the Tokyo Metropolitan Government. *House of Takahashi Korekiyo: The residence of

Takahashi Korekiyo Viscount was a Japanese politician who served as Prime Minister of Japan, prime minister of Japan from 1921 to 1922 and Ministry of Finance (Japan), Minister of Finance when he was assassinated. He was also a member of the House of Peers (Japan) ...

, a politician who was assassinated in February 26 Incident on the building's second floor. It was completed in 1902 (Meiji 35) and made entirely of

tsuga ''Tsuga'' (, from Japanese (), the name of '' Tsuga sieboldii'') is a genus of conifers in the subfamily Abietoideae of Pinaceae, the pine family. The English-language common name "hemlock" arose from a perceived similarity in the smell of it ...

wood. This is an early example of using window glass in a Japanese-style mansion. *Nishikawa Annex: A house of Izaemon Nishikawa, the founder of Nishikawa Silk Reeling, used as a guesthouse and retreat. It was completed in 1922 (Taisho 11). *Date Family Gate: The front gate of a mansion built by the Date Marquis family (formerly the Date family of the Uwajima Domain) in Shirokane Sankocho during the

Taishō era The was a period in the history of Japan dating from 30 July 1912 to 25 December 1926, coinciding with the reign of Emperor Taishō. The new emperor was a sickly man, which prompted the shift in political power from the old oligarchic group ...

. It is built in the style of a daimyo mansion with a one-sided office. *Kaisuian: A Taisho era

Chashitsu ''Chashitsu'' (, "tea room") in Japanese tradition is an architectural space designed to be used for Japanese tea ceremony, tea ceremony (''chanoyu'') gatherings. The architectural style that developed for ''chashitsu'' is referred to as the '' ...

(tearoom) by (宗徧流) tea masters Yamagishi Soju (Kaisui). File:Kokaden.jpg, Former Kōkaden File:Jisho-in-Mausoleum.jpg, Former Jishōin mauseolum File:House of Korekiyo Takahashi.jpg, House of Takahashi Korekiyo File:Second House of Nishikawa Family.jpg, Nishikawa Annex File:Gate of the Date Residence.jpg, Date clan gate File:Kaisuian Interior.jpg, Kaisuian interior

West Zone

*Tokiwadai Photo Studio: A photo studio built in Tokiwadai, a suburban residential area in the early Showa period. The

Art Deco Art Deco, short for the French (), is a style of visual arts, architecture, and product design that first Art Deco in Paris, appeared in Paris in the 1910s just before World War I and flourished in the United States and Europe during the 1920 ...

-style building, erected in 1937, utilizes large areas of windows on the north side to allow indirect light to enter. * Mitsui Hachirōemon Residence: A Japanese-style residence of the

Mitsui is a Japanese corporate group and '' keiretsu'' that traces its roots to the ''zaibatsu'' groups that were dissolved after World War II. Unlike the ''zaibatsu'' of the pre-war period, there is no controlling company with regulatory power. Ins ...

Zaibatsu is a Japanese language, Japanese term referring to industrial and financial vertical integration, vertically integrated business conglomerate (company), conglomerates in the Empire of Japan, whose influence and size allowed control over signifi ...

family, which was relocated from Kyoto to

Azabu is an area in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. Built on a marshy area of foothills south of central Tokyo, its coverage roughly corresponds to that of the former Azabu Ward, presently consisting of nine official districts: Azabu-Jūban, Azabudai, Aza ...

, Minato-ku after the end of

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. A tangible cultural property (building) designated by the Tokyo Metropolitan Government. *Takakura in Amami: A grain storehouse built in Uken Village,

Amami Ōshima , also known as Amami, is the largest island in the Amami Islands, Amami archipelago between Kyūshū and Okinawa Prefecture, Okinawa. It is one of the Satsunan Islands, all of which belong to Kagoshima Prefecture, Japan. The island, 712.35 ...

, around the end of the Edo period. In the Takakura style, the thatched roof is used as a storage. *Yoshinoya farmhouse: A farm house in Nozaki Village, Tama County (多摩郡) (currently Nozaki, Mitaka City) in the late Edo period. The house's interior has been laid out as it was around 1955. * Hachioji Sennin Concentric (八王子千人同心) Kumigashira House: The mansion of the late Edo period Kumigashira (郷士). It has a higher style than ordinary private houses, such as a tatami room with an alcove and an entrance with a ceremony table. *House of Kunio Maekawa:

modern architecture Modern architecture, also called modernist architecture, or the modern movement, is an architectural movement and style that was prominent in the 20th century, between the earlier Art Deco and later postmodern movements. Modern architectur ...

house of Kunio Maekawa is 1942 Jitei was built in . While keeping the building area small under the building control during the war, the living room with a colonnade and the second floor in a loft style are arranged in the center of the large roof. A tangible cultural property (building) designated by the Tokyo Metropolitan Government. * Den-en-chōfu House (Okawa House): A Western-style suburban house built in the suburbs that was developed as a garden city. There is a pergola on the clapboard outer wall and terrace . Designed by Michio Mitsui, who was in Okada Shinichirō's office. *Tsunashima family farmhouse: A valuable mid-Edo period farmhouse in Okamoto,

Setagaya is a special ward in the Tokyo Metropolis in Japan. It is also the name of a neighborhood and administrative district within the ward. Its official bird is the azure-winged magpie, its flower is the fringed orchid, and its tree is the '' Ze ...

. *Koide House: A house designed by architect Sutemi Horiguchi immediately after returning from Europe in 1923. It is a mixed Japanese-Western style house with a large quadrangular pyramidal roof and broad eaves. It is designated a tangible cultural property (building) by the Tokyo Metropolitan Government. *De Lalande House: Shinjuku Shinanomachi (信濃町) there to the Western Museum. It was a one-story building that was said to have been designed by meteorologist and physicist Kitao Jiro as his own residence, but around 1910, it was extensively expanded to a three-story wooden building by the German architect Georg de Lalande. An external elevator to allow access to the second floor was added after the building was relocated to the museum. File:Tokiwadai Photo Studio.jpg, Tokiwadai Photo Studio File:Residence-of-Hachiroemon-Mitsui-01.jpg, Residence of Hachiroemon Mitsui File:Granary in Amami.jpg, Granary in Amami File:Farmhouse of Yoshino Family 20200822.jpg, Farmhouse of Yoshino Family File:House of Leader of Hachioji Guards 20200822.jpg, House of Leader of Hachioji Guards File:House-Kunio-Maekawa-03.jpg, Kunio Maekawa's residence File:Edo-tokyo-tatemono okawa.jpg, Denenchofu House (Okawa House) File:Farmhouse-of-Tsunashima-Family-00.jpg, Farmhouse of Tsunashima Family File:House-of-Koide.jpg, House of Koide File:House of De Lalande.jpg, House of De Lalande

East Zone

*Tenmei family (farm house): A prestigious farm house with a Nagayamon (traditional Japanese gate style, 長屋門), where a wealthy farmer lived from the Edo period. *Odera Shoyu Store: A merchant house made of girders. They sold sake, miso, and soy sauce by weight. The inside of the store reproduces the situation in the latter half of the Showa 30's. *Kagiya (Izakaya): A popular izakaya in Shitaya, Taitō-ku (built in 1856). *Kodakara-yu: A Sentō (public bathhouse) built in a palace in Senju, Adachi-ku ( built in 1929). *Tailor: A townhouse made of girders. The interior recreates the workplace of a tailor in the Taisho era. *Takei Sanshodou (Stationery Store): A stationery store in Kanda. Signboard architecture.　 *Flower City Flower Shop: A flower shop in Kanda. Signboard architecture. Reliefs are applied to the copper plate of the

façade A façade or facade (; ) is generally the front part or exterior of a building. It is a loanword from the French language, French (), which means "frontage" or "face". In architecture, the façade of a building is often the most important asp ...

. *Manseibashi alternating: Manseibashi of the foot, the former Manseibashi Station near to there was brick of alternating. The year of completion is unknown, but it is estimated to be in the late Meiji era. *Uemura House: A copper-plated signboard in Shintomicho. *Maruji Shoten (Rough goods store): A rough goods store in Kanda Jimbocho (daily necessities store). Signboard architecture. The façade is finished with a copper plate using the Edo Komon pattern. *Murakami Seikado (cosmetics store): A booth store in Ikenohata. Signboard architecture. The appearance that combines the Ionic order- style colonnades and the tile-roofed Japanese-style roof is unique. *Kawano Shoten (Japanese umbrella wholesaler): A Japanese umbrella manufacturing wholesaler with a girder structure. *Yamatoya Main Store (Dry Food Store): A three-story wooden store in

Shirokanedai is a district of Minato, Tokyo. The district today is made up of 5 '' chome''. As of November 1, 2007, the population of Shirokanedai is 10,001. The former neighborhood of Shirokanedai (Shirokanedaimachi, 白金台町) consisted only of very nar ...

, Minato-ku. *Mantoku Ryokan: A ryokan located along the Ōme Kaidō in Nishiwake-cho, Ōme City. The building has been restored to its original appearance, and the interior has been restored to its appearance around 1950. File:House of Tenmyo Family.jpg, Farmhouse of Tenmyō Family File:Kodera Soy Sauce Store 20070812.JPG, Kodera Soy Sauce Store File:Bar-Kagiya.jpg, Kagiya bar (izakaya) File:Kodakara-yu.jpg, Kodakara-yu (communal bathhouse) File:Tailors-Workshop.jpg, Tailors workshop File:Takei Sanshodo & Hanaichi Flower Shop.jpg, Takei Sanshōdō & Hanaichi Flower Shop File:Koban (police box) from Sudo-cho.jpg, Kōban (police box) from Sudō-chō ( Manseibashi) File:House Uemura.jpg, Uemura House File:Maruni Shoten.jpg, Maruni Shōten (shop) File:Murakami Seikado.jpg, Murakami Seikadō (cosmetics store) File:Kawano Store.jpg, Kawano Shōten (Japanese umbrella wholesaler) File:Yamatoya Main Store.jpg, Yamatoya Main Store File:Mantoku Inn 2018.jpg, Mantoku Ryokan

Outdoor exhibits

The following outdoor exhibits are part of the museum's collection. * Toei 7500 series train No. 7514: 1962 of manufacturing

Tokyo Toden The or simply Toden, is the tram network of Tokyo, Japan. Of all its former routes, only one, the Tokyo Sakura Tram, remains in service. The Tokyo Metropolitan Bureau of Transportation operates the Toden. The formal legal name is ''Tokyo-to Den ...

tram (scrapped in 1978). Since it was not remodeled into a one-person operation, it retains its original shape at the time of manufacture. *Bonnet bus

Isuzu , commonly known as Isuzu (, ), is a Japanese multinational automobile manufacturer headquartered in Yokohama, Kanagawa Prefecture. Its principal activity is the production, marketing and sale of Isuzu commercial vehicles and diesel engines ...

TSD43 ( dynamics saved ): 1968 formula, Kitamura Mfg body. Originally used by the

Japan Air Self-Defense Force The , , also referred to as the Japanese Air Force, is the Aerial warfare, air and space warfare, space branch of the Japan Self-Defense Forces, responsible for the defense of Japanese airspace, other air and space operations, cyberwarfare and ...

, it used to be a Toei bus paint that was changed when the movie appeared, but now it is the same cream paint as the Toden. Privately owned. Since it is a sightseeing vehicle limited to running in the park, it does not have a license plate. Although the park was operated on holidays (drivers and conductors may wear the uniforms of the

Japanese National Railways The , abbreviated JNR or , was the business entity that operated Japan's national railway network from 1949 to 1987. Network Railways As of June 1, 1949, the date of establishment of JNR, it operated of narrow gauge () railways in all 46 pre ...

on board), it is not operating as of 2011 due to maintenance problems such as aging. *Imperial Palace Main Gate Ishibashi Ornamental Lamp: One of the six ornamental lamps installed on the parapet of the Imperial Palace Main Gate Ishibashi (on the front side of the Nijūbashi bridge). Manufactured around 1886 (Meiji 20). Due to aging, a lamp of the same shape was manufactured and replaced in 1986 (Showa 61). The same thing is exhibited in the Meiji-mura museum. *Ueno Fire Station (former Shimotani Fire Station) Watchtower Upper part: The watchtower ( Fire lookout tower) used from 1925 (Taisho 14) to 1970 (Showa 45 ). The upper 7m of the total height of 23.6m has been relocated. * Noonday Gun: A cannon that was placed at the site of the former Honmaru in the Imperial Palace and fired a blank gun (noon gun) that signals noon. It was used until it was switched to a siren in 1929 (Showa 4). File:Edo-tokyo-tatemono toden.JPG, Toden 7514 File:Isuzu TSD43 in the Edo-Tokyo Open Air Architectural Museum 20200822.jpg, Isuzu Bonnet Bus TSD43 (newly painted) File:Old-Type-Bus-in-Edo-Tokyo-Museum.jpg, Isuzu Bonnet Bus TSD43 (old paint) File:Imperial Palace Main Gate Bridge Light.jpg, Imperial Palace Main Gate Ishibashi Ornamental Lamp File:Ueno Fire Station Watchtower.jpg, Ueno Fire Station (former Shitaya Fire Station) Upper part of the watchtower File:Time Gun in Tokyo.jpg, Noonday Gun

In popular culture

According to the Studio Ghibli diary, the "Kodorayu" (Children's Bathhouse) at the museum was an inspiration for the bathhouse setting in '' Spirited Away''.

References

External links

*
Japan guide information

unofficial video of the park
— ''and accessible gateway to J google''. {{Coord, 35, 42, 56.96, N, 139, 30, 45.41, E, type:landmark, display=title Museums in Tokyo Architecture museums in Japan Open-air museums in Japan Koganei, Tokyo Museums established in 1993 1993 establishments in Japan Tokyo Metropolitan Designated Tangible Cultural Property