Atsuta Jingū Museum, History museum at Atsuta Shrine, Nagoya, Japan
The Atsuta Jingū Museum is a museum in the grounds of Atsuta Shrine in Jingū, Nagoya, completed in May 1966 and opened that December. It holds over 6,000 treasures donated by the imperial house, warrior families and ordinary worshippers, including sacred regalia, swords, Japanese mirrors, Bugaku masks, documents and utensils. As of January 2025, 28 items comprising 108 objects are National Treasures or Important Cultural Properties, and 47 items comprising 69 objects are prefectural cultural properties.
The museum was completed in May 1966 and opened that December; in 1968 it was registered as a history museum under Japan's Museum Act. It was built to display the more than 6,000 treasures donated to Atsuta Shrine by the imperial household, warrior families and ordinary worshippers. As of January 2025, 28 items comprising 108 objects are National Treasures or Important Cultural Properties, and 47 items comprising 69 objects are prefectural cultural properties.
The shrine's name appears in the inscription on a Muromachi-period wakizashi by Hasebe Kuninobu, said to have been forged and dedicated by the smith during a retreat at Atsuta; it is known as the "Atsuta Kuninobu". Another blade, by Echizen Yasutsugu, carries a dedication to Atsuta Daimyōjin and the hollyhock crest granted by Tokugawa Ieyasu.
The museum displays its collection through rotating exhibitions that feature different pieces each month. Returning visitors will see fresh selections and discover new aspects of the holdings.
The shrine's collection is especially rich in swords, earning it the name "treasury of famous blades"; on 4 October 2021 a separate hall, the Kusanagi-kan, opened to display these blades. Among them is a tanto by Rai Kunitsugu dated to 1325, called "Atsuta's Rai Kunitsugu" since olden times.
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