Kitamaebune Ship Museum 北前船の里資料館

Official explanation

The Kitamaebune Ship Museum celebrates the history of kitamaebune, wooden ships that traded along the Sea of Japan coast from the Edo period (1603–1867) to the turn of the twentieth century. The museum is set in the grand home of a wealthy kitamaebune owner, built in 1878.

Parts of the house are constructed with expensive materials gathered along the kitamaebune shipping route. The woodwork includes doors made of single panels of Akita cedar and huge pine beams that span the great hall. Many wood surfaces are coated with lacquer.

Read the full explanation

The museum’s exhibits feature navigation tools, scale models, and ship chests. They provide detailed information illustrating life on board the kitamaebune ships.

Many kitamaebune owners hailed from the surrounding Hashitate district. Some of their stately homes, with their distinctive red-tiled roofs, still stand out in the area.

出典: 地域観光資源の多言語解説文データベース（観光庁） — www.mlit.go.jp/tagengo-db. この英語解説文は観光庁の地域観光資源の多言語解説整備支援事業で作成しました。
Source: Japan Tourism Agency, Multilingual Explanation Database. This English text was produced by the Japan Tourism Agency's multilingual explanation project and is shown unedited. Opening hours and services may have changed since it was written.