* Image is for illustrative purposes only.Uwajima City Date Museum
宇和島市立伊達博物館
- Location
- Uwajima City, Ehime Prefecture
- Access
- About 25 minutes on foot from Uwajima Station on the JR Yosan Line (or take the Uwajima Jidōsha bus to the Higashi Kōkō-mae stop, then about 2 minutes on foot). Parking available (15 spaces for regular cars).
- Opening Hours
- 9:00–17:00 (last admission 16:30). Closed Tuesdays (if a national holiday, closed the following weekday). Closed for New Year holidays (12/29–1/3). ※Scheduled to close for about one year from March 29, 2027 for renovation (new building scheduled to open in spring 2028)
- Admission
- Adults 500 yen, university students 400 yen, age 65 and over 400 yen, high-school students and younger free (3-site combined ticket with Tenshakuen and Uwajima Castle Tenshu: 700 yen)
Overview
The Uwajima City Date Museum is a municipal museum located in Uwajima, Ehime Prefecture. It holds and exhibits armor, crafts, historical documents and works of art handed down by the Uwajima Date family (Uwajima Domain). The Uwajima Date family was a branch of the Date family whose first head was Date Hidemune, the eldest son of Date Masamune. It was not a dependent domain of Sendai but an independent daimyō house with the rank of a provincial lord. From Hidemune's entry into the domain in Keichō 20 (1615), it governed Uwajima throughout the Edo period.
The collection consists mainly of items belonging to the Uwajima Date family, held by the Uwajima Date Cultural Preservation Society, a public interest incorporated foundation. Many of the objects illustrate the daily life of a daimyō family. The most renowned is the “Portrait of Toyotomi Hideyoshi” by Kano Mitsunobu, designated an Important Cultural Property of Japan.
Uwajima Castle (one of the twelve extant castles with an original main keep) and the Tenshaku-en garden can be visited with a joint ticket for three venues. Located in southern Shikoku, a little over an hour by JR limited express from Matsuyama, the museum is also well suited to combined sightseeing with Kōchi, Matsuyama and Dōgo Onsen.
Highlights
- Items of the Uwajima Date family: objects from the daimyō house held by the Uwajima Date Cultural Preservation Society are on display
- Armor of the Uwajima Date family, founded by Date Hidemune, eldest son of Date Masamune: Date cultural properties in Shikoku with ties to the Sendai Date family
- Important Cultural Property “Portrait of Toyotomi Hideyoshi”: painted by Kano Mitsunobu, held by the Uwajima Date Cultural Preservation Society
- Joint ticket for Uwajima Castle (one of the twelve extant castles with original keeps) and Tenshaku-en: can be combined with the surviving castle keep and daimyō garden
- A little over an hour from Matsuyama by JR limited express: can be combined with Dōgo Onsen and Matsuyama Castle
* Opening hours and exhibitions are subject to change. Please check the official website before visiting.