Shimonoseki City Museum of History, museum in Shimonoseki, Yamaguchi, Japan
Shimonoseki City Museum of History is a smaller building in the Chofu area that focuses on items from the Chofu Mori family collection and materials spanning from the end of the Edo period into the early Meiji era. The exhibits display old documents, personal belongings, and historical photographs that show the life of a traditional samurai family and the period of transition from feudal to modern order.
The museum opened in November 2016 and focuses on the transformative period from the end of the Edo era through the beginning of the Meiji Restoration, when samurai rule ended and Japan modernized. This era was particularly important for Shimonoseki, as the city served as a port and gathering place for people who drove these fundamental changes in Japan.
The name Chofu refers to a historical administrative district, and visitors can still see traces of this past in the narrow streets and traditional buildings around the area today. The neighborhood keeps the feel of an old Japanese place, where local shops and temples shape the rhythm of daily life.
Admission is affordable and the museum can be seen in about one to two hours, with the place welcoming visitors through simple, traditional displays. There is parking nearby with about 28 spaces, including spots for people with disabilities, and the site is reachable from the Jokamachi-Chofu bus stop in about a ten-minute walk.
A famous story connects the city to a legendary duel between two samurai, Miyamoto Musashi and Sasaki Kojiro, which took place on nearby Ganryu Island. Musashi won by arriving late and using a wooden sword he had carved from an oar, and today a statue on the island commemorates this celebrated event.
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