Edo-Tokyo Open Air Architectural Museum
Japan · Asia
About
The Edo-Tokyo Open Air Architectural Museum (Edo Tōkyō Tatemono En, lit. "Edo Tokyo Buildings Garden") is an open-air museum located within Koganei Park, Tokyo, Japan. It opened in 1993 as a branch of the Edo-Tokyo Museum and is operated by the Tokyo Metropolitan Foundation for History and Culture, a public interest incorporated foundation. The museum relocates and reconstructs buildings that originally stood in Tokyo (formerly Edo) from the Edo period through the mid-Showa era, which could no longer be preserved at their original locations, and presents them as part of the city's cultural heritage. The site covers an area of 70,164 m2 (17.338 acres). The museum grounds feature 30 restored structures, including the private residences of politicians, entrepreneurs, architects, and farmers from different historical periods, as well as traditional businesses such as an izakaya (Japanese-style pub), a sentō (public bathhouse), and a ryokan (traditional inn). These buildings recreate the appearance of historic Japanese streetscapes, and visitors are able to enter and explore their interiors. The origins of the open-air museum date back to 1934 with the opening of the Tokyo Kyōdo Shiryō Chinretsukan (lit. "Tokyo Local History Exhibition Hall") in Arisugawa-no-miya Memorial Park. In 1948, it was relocated to Inokashira Park and renamed the Musashino Hakubutsukan (lit. "Musashino Mus
Adapted from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA). Photography via Wikimedia Commons.