Ibaraki Municipal Christian Relics Depository, History and religious museum in Sendaiji district, Ibaraki, Japan

The Ibaraki Municipal Christian Relics Depository is a small museum in the Sendaiji district of Ibaraki, Osaka, built by the city on land donated by the local Higashi family and opened in September 1987. Its displays present hidden-Christian relics found in the area, including the Ueno Maria tombstone, a replica of the Francis Xavier portrait, and the Maria Jugo Gengizu. The tombstone was moved indoors when its original site was earmarked for the Shin-Meishin Expressway.

The depository opened in September 1987 in a building put up by Ibaraki City on land donated from the Sendaiji district, opposite the Higashi family house. Its finds trace back to 1919, when the local historian Fujinami Daichō identified Sendaiji as a hidden-Christian village and found a Christian gravestone on Kurusu Hill. In 1920 the Higashi family's portrait of Francis Xavier was made public, and in 1922 ivory Christian images came from the Nakaya and Ōgami houses.

The collection displays a portrait of Francis Xavier found in Japanese textbooks and the Maria Jugo Gengizu depicting scenes of the Virgin Mary and Christ. These artworks show how Christian teachings took visual form in this region.

The museum stands in the Sendaiji district of Ibaraki, Osaka, at 262 Sendaiji. From Hankyu Ibaraki-shi Station or JR Ibaraki Station, take a Hankyu bus toward Ninteiji or Sendaiji-guchi, about 40 minutes, then walk 15 minutes from the Sendaiji-guchi stop; from Senri-Chuo Station the bus takes about 30 minutes. A free car park sits just below the building, five minutes by car from the Ibaraki-Sendaiji interchange. It opens 9:30 to 17:00, closes at noon on Mondays, and shuts on Tuesdays and over New Year.

The museum stands opposite the former home of the Higashi family, who kept a portrait of Francis Xavier hidden; the land was donated by the Sendaiji district. The building is run day to day by local residents, and some of the families who gave objects were themselves hidden Christians, so the person at the desk may share personal accounts.