Saga Prefectural Nagoya Castle Museum, Prefectural museum at former Nagoya Castle site in Karatsu, Japan.
The Saga Prefectural Nagoya Castle Museum is a prefectural museum in Karatsu, built on the grounds of a former castle and displaying artifacts recovered from the site. The permanent collection focuses on objects excavated there and on materials that document ties between Japan and Korea during the castle period.
The castle was built in 1591 as a base for Toyotomi Hideyoshi's military campaigns into Korea, making it one of the largest castle constructions of the era. After the campaigns ended, the site was gradually abandoned and fell into ruin.
A reconstructed Golden Tea Room lets visitors step into the tea culture of the castle period, with furnishings that reflect how the practice looked at the time. The room gives a concrete sense of how this ritual was observed in a military and political setting.
The museum is reachable by public transport and is generally open most days of the week, with occasional special exhibitions running alongside the permanent display. It is worth setting aside time to walk the surrounding castle grounds, which are open to visitors.
Despite sharing its name with the famous city, this Nagoya has no connection to the one in Aichi Prefecture: the name comes from local place names on the Kyushu coast. The museum also houses a Japan-Korea Exchange Center with active partnerships with Korean research institutions.
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