Matsumoto City Museum

Matsumoto City Museum is a municipal general museum located in the Sannomaru area of Matsumoto Castle, adjacent to the National Treasure Matsumoto Castle (Matsumoto, Nagano Prefecture). It relocated to its current site, newly built, and opened in October, Reiwa 5 (2023) (its predecessor opened in Meiji 39 (1906)). The museum presents Matsumoto's history, culture, folk traditions, and natural environment from multiple perspectives. For Japanese sword enthusiasts, the sword exhibitions are a highlight, including the collection sword exhibitions and the 2025 special exhibition “Japanese Swords Are Beautiful.”

Matsumoto Domain and the Toda Family The Toda family, the last lords of Matsumoto Castle, were fudai daimyō who ruled Matsumoto's 60,000 koku under the Tokugawa shogunate. In fiscal 2024, the museum held the planned exhibition “Collection Exhibition: The Toda Retainers — The Last Samurai Corps of the Matsumoto Domain.”

Sword Exhibitions In fiscal 2025, the museum held the special exhibition “Japanese Swords Are Beautiful” (October 2 to November 16, 2025), supervised by the NBTHK Nagano South Branch. The museum has also held other sword exhibitions, including the collection sword exhibitions and the year-end New Year sword exhibition.

Related Sword Programs Related programs for the 2025 special exhibition included demonstrations of Japanese sword polishing and of Japanese sword maintenance, a lecture titled “Making a Japanese Sword: Recreating Old Works,” and a Musō Shinden-ryū iaidō demonstration.

Connection with Matsumoto Castle The museum is adjacent to the National Treasure Matsumoto Castle Park, and visitors can combine a visit with the exhibits inside the castle's main keep (tenshu). An e-ticket covering Matsumoto Castle is also available. Weapons and armor are also displayed inside the castle, complementing the sword exhibits at Matsumoto City Museum.

The museum's location in the Sannomaru of Matsumoto Castle is itself a witness to history. Visitors can experience sword culture while strolling the Matsumoto city center, which retains the atmosphere of a castle town, making this a facility of high value to visit.