is an open-air architectural museum/theme park in Inuyama, near

Nagoya is the largest city in the Chūbu region of Japan. It is the list of cities in Japan, fourth-most populous city in Japan, with a population of 2.3million in 2020, and the principal city of the Chūkyō metropolitan area, which is the List of ...

in Aichi prefecture,

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 was opened on March 18, 1965. The museum preserves historic buildings from Japan's Meiji (1867–1912), Taishō (1912–1926), and early Shōwa (1926–1945) periods. Over 60 historical buildings have been moved and reconstructed onto of rolling hills alongside Lake Iruka. The most noteworthy building there is the reconstructed main entrance and lobby of

Frank Lloyd Wright Frank Lloyd Wright Sr. (June 8, 1867 – April 9, 1959) was an American architect, designer, writer, and educator. He designed List of Frank Lloyd Wright works, more than 1,000 structures over a creative period of 70 years. Wright played a key ...

's landmark Imperial Hotel, which originally stood in Tokyo from 1923 to 1967, when the main structure was demolished to make way for a new, larger version of the hotel.

History

The Meiji era was a period of rapid change in Japan. After centuries of isolation, Japan began to incorporate ideas from the west, including building styles and construction techniques. Meiji-mura was started by Yoshirō Taniguchi (谷口吉郎 Taniguchi Yoshirō 1904–79), an architect, and Motoo Tsuchikawa (土川元夫 Tsuchikawa Moto-o, 1903–74), then vice president and later president of

Nagoya Railroad , publicly trading as , is a private railway company operating around Aichi Prefecture and Gifu Prefecture of Japan. Some of the more famous trains operated by Meitetsu include the ''Panorama Car'' and the ''Panorama Car Super'', both of whic ...

(Meitetsu). While riding the Yamanote line in Tokyo, Taniguchi lamented the sight of the demolition of the Rokumeikan, a symbol of Meiji era architecture. He appealed to his college classmate Tsuchikawa to join him in working to preserve western style Meiji era buildings of cultural or historical importance. On July 16, 1962 they formed a foundation for this purpose, with Nagoya Railroad providing the funding. Meiji-mura was opened on March 18, 1965 on the banks of the Lake Iruka reservoir, operated under Nagoya Railroad with Taniguchi as museum director, with 15 buildings. Meiji-mura's goal is to preserve these historic early examples of western architecture mixed with Japanese construction techniques and materials. Incidentally, many of the buildings were saved from demolition during the post World War II period, another time of transition and rapid progress in Japanese history. Though it is still operated by Nagoya Railroad, a subsidiary company was created in 2003 to oversee it and nearby Little World. Due to the recent financial declines with Nagoya Railroad the future of the park is in question. While renovations had been put on hold for a time, work on moving the Shibakawa Yashiki from Nishinomiya, Hyōgo was begun in January 2005.

Buildings

Notable buildings of historical or cultural importance including those of later eras are preserved, including a few Japanese style buildings. Eleven of the buildings are designated as Important Cultural Assets, and nearly all the rest are registered as tangible cultural assets. The museum includes buildings from Hawaii and Seattle in the United States, and also Brazil. A steam locomotive and street car, along with shuttle buses and horse-drawn carriages, provide transportation within the grounds. An operational historic post office is included among the 67 buildings (as of 2005). Though some buildings are somewhat empty, others have displays showing the history of the building and period, period furniture, and other displays. The entrance and lobby of the Imperial Hotel was saved and moved from Tokyo between 1967 and 1985. Though only the entrance and lobby remain, it is the largest structure in Meiji Mura. Other structures preserved at Meiji Mura include

Lafcadio Hearn was a Greek-born Irish and Japanese writer, translator, and teacher who introduced the culture and literature of Japan to the Western world. His writings offered unprecedented insight into Japanese culture, especially his collections of legend ...

's summer house from Shizuoka (1868), St. John's Church from

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 ...

(1907) designed by James McDonald Gardiner and Kyoto's old St. Francis Xavier Catholic Cathedral (1890). The former cathedral is available to rent for weddings. One of the traditional merchant houses that survived from Nagoya is the Tōmatsu House (東松家住宅, ''Tōmatsu-ka jūtaku''), which was constructed in 1901 in Funairi-chō, Nagoya. It survived the bombing of Nagoya in World War II and was relocated to the museum in the 1970s. It has been designated by the government as an Important Cultural Property. File:Kikunoyo.jpg, "Kikunoyo" Brewery File:Hoheiheisha.jpg, Barrack, Sixth Infantry Regiment File:Kitasato kenkyujo.jpg, Kitasato Institute File:Chihayashogaku.jpg, Auditorium, Chihaya-Akasaka Primary School File:Miejinjoshogaku.jpg, Mie Prefectural Normal School File:Mikeprefecturetyousha.jpg, Mie Prefectural Office File:Saigotsugumitihouse.jpg, Reception Hall of Marquis Tsugumichi Saigo House File:Seiyohanekyokai.jpg, St. John's Church from Kyoto File:Francis Xavier's Cathedral.jpg, St. Francis Xavier's Cathedral File:Meijimurabunkazai16.JPG, Cabinet Library of Tokyo Imperial Palace Image:Meijimurabunkazai21.JPG, Kureha-za Theater, built in 1868 Image:Meijimurabunkazai25.JPG, Japan Red Cross Society Central Hospital, built in 1890 File:Meijimurabunkazai7.JPG, Tōmatsu House from Funairi-chō, Nagoya, built in 1901 File:Zagyosou.jpg, "Zagyo-so," Villa of Prince Kimmochi Saionji File:Meiji-Mura 3881615281 761a0c084e.jpg, Shinagawa Lighthouse File:Kyotoshiden.jpg, Dynamically preserved Kyoto streetcar

Railway preservation

The village has been active in preserving locomotives and trams from the Meiji era in working condition. Two steam locomotives are used to haul three Meiji-built carriages as a means of transport within the village: No.12, a JGR Class 160 imported from England in 1874, and No.9, a locomotive imported from the US in 1913 that operated on the Minobu line.

Village chiefs

Famous Japanese actors have served as honorary village chief. # Musei Tokugawa (1965 ~ 1971) #

Hisaya Morishige was a Japanese actor and comedian. Born in Hirakata, Osaka, he graduated from Kitano Middle School (now Kitano High School), and attended Waseda University. He began his career as a stage actor, then became an announcer for NHK, working in Ma ...

(1971 ~ 2004) # Shoichi Ozawa (2004 ~ 2012) # Sawako Agawa (2015 ~ present)

References

External links