Ueda City Museum is a municipal museum located within Ueda Castle Ruins Park in Ueda City, Nagano Prefecture. The museum introduces the history, culture, traditional industries, and natural heritage of the region, with a particular focus on Ueda Castle, the former Ueda Domain, and the castle town.
For visitors exploring Ueda Castle, the museum offers an opportunity to look beyond the surviving walls and turrets and discover the people, objects, and historical events that shaped this important castle town.
After the Meiji Restoration, Ueda Castle was abandoned as a castle, and its buildings and grounds were sold to private owners. Concerned local residents began efforts to preserve the area’s historical heritage.
In 1929, the Chokokan Museum was established inside the surviving West Turret of Ueda Castle. Historical objects from the former Ueda Domain were displayed there, marking an important early step in preserving the region’s cultural heritage.
The South and North Turrets of Ueda Castle had been relocated and were later incorporated into a pleasure district. The City of Ueda purchased them back and reconstructed them within the castle grounds in 1949.
In 1953, the Chokokan was renamed the Ueda City Museum. In 1959, the West, South, and North Turrets were designated Nagano Prefectural Treasures.
The present main museum building opened in 1965 on the former second enclosure of Ueda Castle. It was designed by Hirotaro Ota, a professor at the University of Tokyo.
Its distinctive exterior was inspired by traditional sericulture buildings from the Ogata region, reflecting the architectural heritage of a part of Nagano where silk production once played an important role.
The West Turret was closed to the public after the new museum opened. In 1994, the East Toraguchi Turret Gate and its side walls were reconstructed, and the South and North Turrets were subsequently opened to visitors as part of the museum facilities.
Since 2018, these historic structures have been reorganized as the Ueda Castle Turret Museum, allowing visitors to experience the surviving architecture of the castle while learning about its history.
In 1962, the Yamamoto Kanae Memorial Museum opened next to the Ueda City Museum. Yamamoto Kanae was a pioneer of the Farmer Art Movement during the Taisho era and played an important role in promoting art rooted in everyday rural life.
The memorial museum introduced his life and achievements. When the Ueda City Museum of Art opened at Santomyuze in 2014, the collection was transferred there and the memorial museum temporarily closed.
The building reopened in January 2016 as an annex of the Ueda City Museum and continues to serve as an exhibition space.
In 2016, the NHK historical drama Sanada Maru brought renewed attention to the Sanada clan and Ueda’s samurai history. A special exhibition was held at the museum to coincide with the broadcast, attracting many visitors.
During that year, the museum remained open every day, and the previously closed West Turret was also opened to the public for a limited period of one year.
The museum houses a wide-ranging collection of historical, folk-cultural, and natural materials related to the Ueda region from the Kamakura period onward.
Materials associated with Ueda Castle and Ueda Domain number approximately 18,300 items. The museum also holds around 3,000 items related to modern industry and everyday life, as well as approximately 1,500 natural history specimens.
Together, these collections reveal not only the history of samurai and castle lords, but also the changing lives, industries, and natural environment of the people of Ueda.
One particularly noteworthy collection is Someya Ware, pottery once produced in the former Kamishina Village area of Ueda.
The techniques used to make this pottery are believed to have been introduced from Tokoname during the middle of the Edo period. Someya Ware is characterized by its simple, practical appearance and was primarily created for everyday use.
The collection includes large water jars, indigo-dyeing jars, storage jars, small jars, and traditional pharmaceutical tools known as yagen. These objects provide an intimate glimpse into the daily lives of ordinary people during the Edo period.
Sixty-six examples of Someya Ware were designated Important Tangible Folk Cultural Properties of Japan in 1964.
The museum introduces a number of important cultural properties connected with the history of Ueda and Japan. Among them is a formal samurai garment with a small-pattern paulownia crest said to have been used by Oda Nobunaga, designated an Important Cultural Property of Japan.
Another important object is a reflecting telescope made by Kunitomo Ikkansai, one of Japan’s important early scientific instruments and also designated an Important Cultural Property.
The collection also includes a Japanese sword by Yamaura Masao, designated a Nagano Prefectural Treasure, as well as armor associated with Matsudaira Tadachika, designated a Ueda City Cultural Property.
A Shinano Province map dating from the Shoho era, designated a Nagano Prefectural Treasure, provides valuable insight into how the region was understood and represented in the Edo period.
The museum also has a memorial room dedicated to Katsusaburo Yamagiwa, a pioneering cancer researcher who was born in Ueda. Materials relating to his life and scientific work introduce visitors to an important figure in the history of modern Japanese medical research.
The first floor contains the reception area and permanent exhibition galleries focusing on the Edo period and folk culture, as well as the Katsusaburo Yamagiwa Memorial Room.
The second floor presents exhibitions on the modern period and natural history, together with a research room.
The first floor of the annex includes a reception area, museum shop, café, and rest area. The second floor is used as a special exhibition gallery.
A barrier-free multipurpose restroom is available between the main building and the annex.
The Ueda Castle Turret Museum includes the historic South and North Turrets, together with the East Toraguchi Turret Gate and its side walls. These structures allow visitors to experience surviving and reconstructed elements of the former castle while exploring the museum’s historical displays.
The Ueda City Museum is located directly within Ueda Castle Ruins Park, making it particularly convenient for travelers exploring the castle. A visit to the museum helps put the stone walls, turrets, gates, and castle grounds into a broader historical context.
Rather than focusing solely on famous samurai figures, the museum also explores traditional industries, everyday life, folk culture, natural history, and scientific achievements. This makes it possible to understand Ueda as a living region shaped by many different aspects of history.
The museum is approximately a 10-minute walk from Ueda Station. The station is served by the Hokuriku Shinkansen, Shinano Railway, and Ueda Electric Railway’s Bessho Line, providing convenient access from other parts of Nagano and beyond.
Ueda City Museum is an ideal companion to a visit to Ueda Castle. The castle tells the story of defensive strategy and samurai warfare, while the museum reveals the objects, people, industries, and traditions that shaped the surrounding castle town.
For travelers interested in the Sanada clan, Japanese castles, samurai culture, traditional crafts, and the history of everyday life, the museum offers a deeper understanding of Ueda’s remarkable past.
After exploring the museum’s collections, step outside into Ueda Castle Ruins Park and continue your journey through the historic castle grounds, where centuries of Japanese history remain woven into the landscape.