The Kaohsiung Wude Hall () is a

museum A museum is an institution dedicated to displaying or Preservation (library and archive), preserving culturally or scientifically significant objects. Many museums have exhibitions of these objects on public display, and some have private colle ...

Gushan District Gushan District () is district of Kaohsiung City, Taiwan. Administrative divisions The district consists of Gufeng, Xiongfeng, Qianfeng, Guangrong, Minzu, Neiwei, Jianguo, Zhongzheng, Zijiang, Longjing, Zhengde, Pinghe, Minjiang, Housheng, Longzi ...

Kaohsiung Kaohsiung, officially Kaohsiung City, is a special municipality located in southern Taiwan. It ranges from the coastal urban center to the rural Yushan Range with an area of . Kaohsiung City has a population of approximately 2.73 million p ...

Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia. The main geography of Taiwan, island of Taiwan, also known as ''Formosa'', lies between the East China Sea, East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocea ...

History

The

Dai Nippon Butoku Kai (DNBK, , ) was the largest martial arts organization in Japan with strong ties to WWII-era Japanese government, originally established in 1895 in Kyoto and had the biggest influence on Budo in modern Japan. The first president was Imperial Prin ...

was established in

Kyoto Kyoto ( or ; Japanese language, Japanese: , ''Kyōto'' ), officially , is the capital city of Kyoto Prefecture in the Kansai region of Japan's largest and most populous island of Honshu. , the city had a population of 1.46 million, making it t ...

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 ...

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 or the in Japan, was signed at the hotel in Shimonoseki, Japan, on April 17, 1895, between the Empire of Japan and Qing China. It was a treaty that ended the First Sino-Japanese War, ...

with the

Qing Dynasty The Qing dynasty ( ), officially the Great Qing, was a Manchu-led Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty of China and an early modern empire in East Asia. The last imperial dynasty in Chinese history, the Qing dynasty was preceded by the ...

, 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. The main geography of Taiwan, island of Taiwan, also known as ''Formosa'', lies between the East China Sea, East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocea ...

in 1945, the building was used and operated by the Kaohsiung Police Department. In 1999, the Civil Affairs Bureau of

Kaohsiung City Government The Kaohsiung City Government is the municipal government of Kaohsiung. It was formed after the merger of Kaohsiung County and Kaohsiung City in December 2010. Its chief administrator is the directly elected mayor of Kaohsiung. History In ...

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 , was a Japanese swordsman, strategist, artist, and writer who became renowned through stories of his unique double-bladed swordsmanship and undefeated record in his 62 duels. Miyamoto is considered a ''Kensei (honorary title), kensei'' (swo ...

, Japanese taiko drums, a

kamidana are miniature household altars provided to enshrine a Shinto . They are most commonly found in Japan, the home of worship. The is typically placed high on a wall and contains a wide variety of items related to Shinto-style ceremonies, the mos ...

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 Kaohsiung Metro () is a rapid transit and light rail system covering the metropolitan area of Kaohsiung, Taiwan. Its rapid transit network is known as Kaohsiung Mass Rapid Transit System or Kaohsiung Rapid Transit (KRT). Construction of the 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