Oita Prefectural Museum of History

Oita Prefectural Museum of History is located in Usa City, home to Usa Jingū — the head shrine of all Hachiman shrines throughout Japan, venerated as the god of war and archery. The museum collects and displays archaeological, historical, and ethnological materials from Oita Prefecture, with particular strength in sword and armor materials from the medieval and early modern periods when the region flourished as Bungo Province.

Bungo Province was the domain of the Ōtomo clan in the Sengoku period. Ōtomo Sōrin (Francisco) — the Christian daimyo who welcomed Francis Xavier and spearheaded the Nanban trade — presided over a court that absorbed both Japanese warrior culture and European influences. The museum holds weapons and military equipment associated with the Ōtomo clan, including artifacts bearing the mark of Nanban cultural exchange.

Usa Jingū's status as Japan's head Hachiman shrine meant that warrior clans across the country made votive offerings of swords and armor there for centuries. The museum maintains coordinating exhibitions with these shrine treasures, presenting the reception and development of sword culture in eastern Kyushu within a unified historical framework.

The permanent exhibition covers Bungo history from the Yayoi period through the modern era. Special exhibitions regularly explore the Buddhist culture of the Kunisaki Peninsula (Rokkoku Manzan), medieval castle history, and the Sengoku battles that shaped Kyushu.