Located in Kobe’s central Sannomiya district, Kobe City Museum is an outstanding museum with an impressive collection of 70,000 works of art and archaeological items. On the ground floor of the museum there is a free and very thorough exhibition on Kobe’s history and on its upper floors it also hosts a variety of large-scale special exhibitions.
Kobe City Museum
The museum is located inside a rather grand Neoclassical building which was designed by Kotaro Sakurai and built in 1935. Formerly a bank, it is now a nationally designated Important Cultural Property. The museum opened here in 1982 and is the result of a merger between the city’s previous art and archaeology museums.
Outside the museum entrance is a bronze sculpture by August Rodin called Jean de Fiennes
Even if you only visit the museum to see the free Kobe History Exhibition on the ground floor, it is well worth your time. With a focus on Kobe’s unique character as an international port city, this is a great spot to learn about Kobe’s long history as a gateway for cultural exchange between Japan and the world.
The beginning of the Kobe History Exhibition showing a model of the Goshikizuka burial mound
This section of the museum covers Kobe’s history from ancient times to the early modern period with a wealth of archaeological materials, models, dioramas, videos, historic photographs and other documents. Thorough explanations for all the displays are given in English and Japanese.
A scale-model reconstruction of Kobe’s foreign settlement in the late 19th century
On the second floor you can view items from the museum collection, which are shown in a rotating permanent exhibition. Among the paintings, ceramics, glassware and historic maps of the permanent exhibition is a rare collection of Nanban art — a type of Japanese art from the 16th and 17th centuries, which was influenced by contact with missionaries and traders from Europe. There is also a set of bronze dotaku ritual bells from Japan’s Yayoi period (from around 300 BC — 300 AD) which have been designated as a National Treasure. These bells and related pottery and bronze swords were all discovered in an excavation of the Sakuragaoka site on Kobe’s Mount Rokko in 1964.
A display of ancient ceramics
Kobe City Museum regularly hosts visiting exhibitions of treasures and artworks from museums across the world. Previous special exhibitions at the museum have included shows related to Ancient Egypt, Ancient Greece, Renaissance Italy, Studio Ghibli, the art of J. M. W. Turner, and the manga of Osamu Tezuka.
The museum shop
There is also a museum shop on the ground floor selling exhibition catalogs and unique souvenirs and a cafe serving light meals, sweets and drinks.
Inside the museum cafe
Location
Kobe City Museum is a 12 minute walk to the south of JR Sannomiya Station. It is located on the west side of Kyomachisuji Street.
A street view of the Kobe City Museum
Opening Hours: 9.30 to 17.30 (open till 19.30 on Fridays and Saturdays)
Closed most Mondays (If Monday is a holiday, the museum will be open but closed the following day).
Also closed during year-end and New Year holidays.
Admission:
1st floor Kobe History Exhibition — Free
2nd floor Permanent Exhibition — Adults: 300 yen, University students: 150 yen, High school students and younger: Free
3rd floor Special Exhibitions — Prices vary
Article and original photos by Michael Lambe. All rights reserved.
