A brief overview of Matsue History Museum
Matsue History Museum, located east of our national treasure Matsue Castle, has the exterior of a samurai residence, and has become known as ‘the museum with a castle view’. Matsue History Museum has been introducing the castle town of Matsue to the public since March 2011, the same year we commemorated the 400th year since the construction of Matsue Castle.
Matsue has been an important location since even before Matsue Castle was built, being the center of ancient Izumo during the Nara period (710– 794) when government administration buildings were located here.
Matsue History Museum houses permanent exhibitions, in addition to specially-held planned exhibitions five times a year.
Outside of the exhibition room, entrance is free.
Inside the museum, you can enjoy seasonally-inspired Japanese confections in Tea Shop Kiharu, and enjoy shopping for souvenirs in Museum Shop, Enishizuku.
Regular Exhibition
For a more enjoyable stroll through the streets of Matsue
learn about its history and streetscape
The beginnings of
the castle town of Matsue
Scenes of the selection of the land for construction of Matsue Castle by Horio Yoshiharu and son Tadauji, the actual construction of the castle and the castle town, and the cleverly-structured castle town layout that still exists to this day, are introduced through live-action and CG images.
Diary of a Merchant
Taken from the diary of a merchant, the lifestyle of the townspeople at the time is introduced through paper-cut animation, in Izumo dialect.
The Castle Town- now and years ago
A castle town model of scale 1/600, with Matsue Castle at the center, is on display, and on the wall, you can see pictorial diagrams displaying events from every 100 years since the 1600s.
Underground Remains Restored
Remains of the castle town found underneath the museum have been restored and can be seen through glass flooring.
The Matsue that Yakumo loved
Photographs and works of the Matsue so-loved by the literary great of the Meiji era, Koizumi Yakumo (Lafcadio Hearn), are on display.