Hiroshima Prefectural Museum of History
Apr 7th, 2007 by Ad Blankestijn
The history museum of Hiroshima Prefecture stands in the Castle Park of Fukuyama, and not in the capital, Hiroshima. But Fukuyama was selected for a good reason: it is the site of Kusado Sengen, a medieval port city in the Ashida River delta that flourished in the Kamakura and Muromachi periods and in its heyday counted about 1,000 houses. The town was gradually deserted in the 16th c. and its remains were buried under rice fields. Since the 1960s over a period of 30 years excavations of the site were undertaken and the results are now on view in this museum - in a very impressive way.
[Hiroshima Prefectural Museum of History in Fukuyama - Photo © Ad Blankestijn]
The exhibition is divided into three parts. First we have the history of the Setouchi area, a display about trade and traffic in the Inland Sea. Next we get the most impressive part of the exhibition, a beautiful reconstruction in actual size of a corner of the port town, as it must have been one evening in early summer in the 14th c. There is a market place beside a wharf, we see various workshops as a blacksmith, clog maker and lacquerware maker; and at the end of the reconstructed alley you will find a shrine with some gravestones. The reconstruction was minutely based on the results of the excavations.
In the third section you will find a systematic arrangement of the items found in Kusado Sengen: pottery, not only from nearby Bizen, but also from Seto and Tokoname and even from China, Korea and Vietnam; lacquerware bowls which were produced in the town and used as common tableware; imported Chinese coins; carpenter’s tools; and wooden objects for rituals and games.
[Cherryblossoms in the Fukuyama castle park - Photo © Ad Blankestijn]
These artifacts provide a vivid picture of daily life in this commercial port town. The permanent exhibition has been installed on the second floor of the museum; the galleries on the first floor are used for temporary exhibitions, which may also feature art works.
Tel: 0849-31-2513
Hours: 9:00-17:00;CL Mon (except NH), NY, BE
Access: 5 min on foot from N exit of JR Fukuyama St
