Hakodate City Museum of Literature, Literary museum and former bank building in Hakodate, Japan
The Hakodate City Museum of Literature occupies a 1921 bank building designed by architect Yoshitoki Nishimura. The exhibition spaces present works and documents from regional authors, showcasing the local writing tradition across multiple rooms.
The building served as the Hakodate Branch of Dai-Ichi Bank from 1921 until 1964. After the JACCS company occupied it, the structure was donated to the city in 1989 and later transformed into a museum.
The collection displays manuscripts and personal belongings from Japanese writers connected to the region. The poet Ishikawa Takuboku holds a special place in the exhibits, reflecting his importance to local literary life.
The museum is a short walk from the Suehirocho stop on the Hakodate City Tram. Exhibitions occupy the first and second floors, and the courtyard terrace, repaired in 2013, opens only in summer. The Takuboku collection is shown in rotating instalments, so repeat visits reveal different manuscripts.
The building was completed in 1921, in the Taishō period, not the early Meiji era. Its designers were Yoshitoki Nishimura and Kenichi Yagi, and the contractor was Shimizu-gumi; the facade combines granite with brown tile. Hakodate lists it as a designated landscape-forming building, No. 41.
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