Dazaifu 2019: Kyushu National Museum (九州国立博物館)

Up on a hill in the eastern part of Dazaifu is the Kyushu National Museum. This is the newest of Japan’s four national museums, having been built in 2005 (the other three national museums are in Tokyo, Kyoto, and Nara). I’m honestly not sure if the museum building is supposed to look like anything in particular but the glass on the southern side does a good job of reflecting the sky and nearby trees, to the point where the building looks like it merges with the surrounding scenery. The Kyushu National Museum is home to multiple exhibits and I bought a ticket to the permanent collection. Located on the fourth floor, this part of the museum tells the story of Japan from prehistoric times up to the Edo Period and it has a genuinely impressive collection of artifacts. There are also a lot of English-language displays throughout the museum, which are helpful for a non-Japanese speaker like myself. Photography was prohibited in most of the museum but a few rooms allowed it and the photos in today’s post are from those areas.