Nagaoka City Museum of Local History
This museum’s design is based on the general appearance of castles in feudal Japan. During the Edo period (1603–1867), Nagaoka Castle was located several miles from here, on the site where JR Nagaoka Station now stands.
The castle was destroyed in 1868 during the Boshin War, a civil war that broke out between the forces of the shogunate and supporters of the restoration of imperial rule under Emperor Meiji. The railway station opened on the site in 1898.
As part of the design of the museum’s entrance facade, large rocks that had been part of the castle’s ramparts were transported here and worked into the museum walls. These rocks represent a physical reminder of the history exhibited inside.
The Nagaoka City Museum of Local History, officially opened in 1968, chronicles the story of Nagaoka, from its origins up to the present day. The displays include original artifacts and personal items belonging to the daimyo lords who oversaw the Nagaoka domain for centuries. Examples include works of poetry and verse handwritten by the daimyo themselves.
The museum also commemorates other famous historical figures who hail from Nagaoka and the surrounding areas. These include Hori Naoyori (1577–1693), who founded Nagaoka Castle; Yamada Matashichi (1855–1917), the creator of Yukyuzan Park and founder of the Eneos Oil Company; and Yamamoto Isoroku (1884–1943), the wartime commander-in-chief of Japan’s naval fleet.