Kobe City Museum (Kobe Shiites Hakubutsukan) Kobe

Kobe in Japan had been an international port since years and had been playing a significant role in cultural communication between Japan and overseas countries.

Based on this theme of “International Culture Exchange -Contact between Eastern and Western Cultures and Their Changes by the Interaction”, the Kobe City Museum was constituted and opened to public in 1982.

Previously there were two museums- The Municipal Archaeological Art Museum and the Municipal Namban Art Museum, but later the two were integrated into the Kobe City Museum.

Displays - By focusing on Kobe, cultural exchange between foreign countries and Japan are exhibited in the Kobe City Museum under the following six main themes in chronological manner-

• Cultural exchange with East Asia

Exhibition Rooms 4 & 5 (2F)

• Japan and Other Countries during the Age of Seclusionism

Exhibition Room1 (1F)

• Growth of Regional Culture

Exhibition Room 5 (2F)

• The Hyogo-Tsu Port in the Edo Period Enlightenment and Modernization of Japan

Exhibition Room 3 (1F)

• The Meiji Era exhibits focus on presenting

Exhibition Room 1 (1F)

• Port Opened for Foreign Trade

Exhibition Rooms 1,2 and 3 (1F)

The Kobe City Museum altogether exhibits about 39,000 objects consisting of National Treasure and Cultural assets. Other artifacts and objet'd art includes

• Namban Komo Art Collection
• Archaeological artifacts
• Portrait of St. Francis Xavier, the Jesuit who first introduced Christianity to Japan in 1549.
• Small Map of Japan by Ino