Architectural museum celebrates 30th anniversary
TOKYO (Japan News/ANN) — The Edo-Tokyo Open Air Architectural Museum in Koganei, Tokyo, is running a special exhibition to celebrate its three-decade history of relocating and preserving traditional buildings.
The museum was opened in March 1993 as an annex of the Edo-Tokyo Museum in Sumida Ward, Tokyo. The architectural museum in Koganei park has reconstructed 30 buildings dating from the Edo period (1603-1867) to the middle of Showa era (192689), after these buildings were demolished in original locations and relocated to the park, as it was difficult to restore them in their original state. So far, it has drawn in about 7 million visitors.
The reconstructed buildings include the house of Korekiyo Takahashi (1854-1936), which was relocated from Minato Ward, Tokyo. Takahashi was a finance minister who was killed at this house by young Imperial Japanese Army officers when they stormed it as part of an attempted coup in 1936, known as the Feb. 26 Incident.
Another famous building is Takei Sanshodo, a stationery store originally built in Chiyoda Ward, Tokyo. Its interior is said to have served as the inspiration for a room in Studio Ghibli’s “Sen to Chihiro no Kamikakushi” (“Spirited Away”).
Also on display are farmhouses with thatched roofs, along with a public bathhouse and an izakaya bar, which were both relocated from Tokyo’s shitamachi old area.
The restored structures evoke nostalgic feelings, bringing people back to a different era. “I hope visitors will take a look at the lifestyle of the past, as urban areas today are going through major, rapid changes,” said Terunobu Fujimori, director of the Edo-Tokyo Museum.
The special exhibition, titled “Life and Transportation in Edo-Tokyo,” showcases about 70 items from the museum’s collection. *Asia News Network (ANN) is the leading regional alliance of news titles striving to bring the region closer, through an active sharing of editorial content on happenings in the region. Born as a grouping of nine media titles in March 1999, ANN now includes 23 leading titles, based in major capitals of the region. The network’s members hail from the 10 Southeast Asian economies as well as several other locations in East and South Asia. Twenty one years after the existence of the voluntary alliance, members of the grouping agreed to formally register it as a company limited by guarantee in Singapore, in February 2020. With the formation of the new company — Asia News Network Ltd — the grouping will widen its activities to include joint projects, webinars and events. ANN was formed to promote the coverage of Asian affairs through Asian journalists, for readers in Asia. Given the growing significance of the region, and interest in the work of its titles, ANN will seek to meet the needs of a wider audience. Our website is www.asianews.network.