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About the Museum

A Brief History of the Naha City Museum of History

Greetings

We would like to take this opportunity to offer you our greetings, on the occasion of the opening of the Naha City Museum of History.

Okinawa Prefecture was once a unique nation known as the Ryukyu Kingdom. The Kingdom flourished in its heyday as a commercial nation, trading across Asian seas, while being simultaneously involved with the Japanese shogunate and incorporated into the domain system under a “sappo-shinko” tributary relationship with China.
Naha City was the political and economic center of the Kingdom. People from various countries came and went and different cultures mingled there, leading to the creation of a unique culture that was strongly influenced by both China and Japan.
Naha City has a large collection of the arts and crafts of that time and place, and historical artifacts donated by many people. These include National Treasure: Ryukyu King Sho Family Related Documents.
The Naha City Museum of History opened on July 8th, 2006, which is now known as “Naha Day”. The Museum’s opening commemorated the 85th anniversary of the establishment of Naha as a city, with the earnest intent of preserving and exhibiting these valuable historical materials. We hope that the Museum will contribute to strengthening the special identity of the people of Okinawa, who have created their own unique culture. We also hope that it will serve as a facility for the education of our children about their historic roots, as they will be responsible for the next generation. We envision it as a place where people from within and outside the prefecture can come face to face with the history and culture of Okinawa.

A Brief History of the Naha City Museum of History

* Red text indicates important topics

Date	Event
May 20, 1961	The creation of a written account of the city’s history was planned by the Public Relations Section of the Planning Department’s Planning Office, to commemorate the 40th anniversary of Naha’s municipalization.
August 1, 1962	After a reorganization of the City government, the section responsible for the Project was changed from the Public Relations Section to the General Affairs Division, Planning Department.After a reorganization of the City government, the section responsible for the Project was changed from the Public Relations Section to the General Affairs Division, Planning Department.After a reorganization of the City government, the section responsible for the Project was changed from the Public Relations Section to the General Affairs Division, Planning DeAfter a reorganization of the City government, the section responsible for the Project was changed from the Public Relations Section to the General Affairs Division, Planning Department. After a reorganization of the City government, the section responsible for the Project was changed from the Public Relations Section to the General Affairs Division, Planning Department.
April 1966	A Basic Plan for Writing a Naha City History was formulated, and it was decided that it would be comprised of a total of 9 volumes: 4 volumes of general history, 4 volumes of reference materials, and 1 chronology.
August 1, 1966	Due to organizational changes in the City government, the General Affairs Division of the General Affairs Department became the section responsible for carrying the Project forward.
October 30, 1966	“Naha City History: Part One of Volume 2 - Reference Materials (a collection of newspapers published in recent modern times in Naha City)” was published. This was the first step in completing the Project to systematize the writing of Naha City’s History (This is the first of the publications, which will become a series of volumes).
July 15, 1967	Due to organizational changes in the City government, the General Affairs Division of the General Affairs Department became the City History Editing Office of the General Affairs Department. (An office is the administrative equivalent of a division.)
April 1968	The first revision of the Basic Plan for Writing a Naha City History was made, resulting in the objective of publishing a total of 18 volumes: 3 volumes of general history, 13 volumes of reference materials, and 2 supplementary volumes.
May 1970	The Basic Plan for Writing a Naha City History was revised for the second time, with a revision of the contents.
May 28 – June 7, 1971	An “Exhibition of Historical and Folklore Materials” was held, to commemorate the 50th anniversary of Naha’s municipalization. The Naha Civic Hall and the GRI (Government of the Ryukyu Islands) Museum were the joint venues of the exhibition.
July 31, 1971	Due to organizational changes in the City government, the City History Editing Office became part of the Planning Department.
November 1, 1972	The third revision of the Basic Plan for Writing a Naha City History changed the number of publications planned for the Project to a total of 22 volumes: 3 volumes of general history, 18 volumes of reference materials, and 1 supplementary materials volume.
August 5, 1974	The first edition of the “Naha City History Newsletter” was published. It was later renamed the “Historical Materials Office Newsletter”, and continues to be published under that name.
July 19, 1979	Due to the fourth revision of the Basic Plan for Writing a Naha City History, the number of publications included in the Project was changed to a total of 33 volumes: 3 volumes of general history, 29 volumes of reference materials, and 1 supplementary materials volume.
March 20, 1980	The “Photo Album: Naha Hyakunen no Ayumi (Naha: A Century of History)” was published.
March 10, 1982	“Okinawa no Dokoku” (Okinawan Lamentations), a record of Okinawa’s wartime and post-war experiences, won the Okinawa Times Publishing Culture Award Special Prize.
April 1, 1985	Due to organizational changes in the City government, the City History Editing Office became the City History Editing Section, Cultural Promotion Division.
November 3 - 8, 1987	The “Sapposhi (Chinese Investiture Envoys) Exhibition” was held at the Naha Civic Gallery to commemorate the 6th anniversary of the Fuzhou-Naha Friendship City Agreement.
March 22, 1988	The 5th revision of the Basic Plan for Writing a Naha City History was made, with a revision of the contents.
June 16 - 30, 1988	The exhibition, “The Battle of Okinawa and the Citizens”, was held at the Naha Civic Gallery.
June 20 - 30, 1989	A special exhibition, “The Battle of Okinawa and the Changes in Naha”, was held at the Naha Civic Gallery.
April 1, 1991	Due to organizational changes in the City government, a Cultural Bureau was established in the Planning Department, and the City History Editing Office became the City History Editing Section of the Cultural Promotion Division, under this newly established Cultural Bureau within the Planning Department. Due to organizational changes in the City government, a Cultural Bureau was established in the Planning Department, and the City History Editing Office became the City History Editing Section of the Cultural Promotion Division, under this newly established Cultural Bureau within the Planning Department.
September 29 – October 4, 1992	A special exhibition, “The Battle of Okinawa and Shuri Castle: The Underground Bunker of the 32nd Army Headquarters that Lies Beneath Shuri Castle” was held at the Naha Civic Gallery.
September 28, 1993	The City History Editing Section received a donation of approximately 20,000 Okinawa-related administrative documents and arts & crafts materials (including a “divine cat” painting) from Mr. Jo Yokouchi. He is the grandson of Tasuku Yokouchi, who served as the Governor's secretary within the Okinawa Prefectural Government during the Meiji and Taisho periods (1868 - 1926).
April 1, 1994	Due to organizational changes in the City government, the City History Editing Section became the Cultural Bureau's Historical Materials Office, the administrative equivalent of a division.
October 4 - 9, 1994	The “The 50th Anniversary Exhibition of the Air Raid against Naha on October 10” was held at the Civic Gallery.
January 24 - February 5, 1995	“The Yokouchi Family and Modern Okinawa”, an exhibition of Yokouchi Family Documents, a collection of documents donated by the Yokouchi Family, was held at the Naha Civic Gallery.
June 14, 1995	Historical Site signboards were installed as part of Naha City's “Historical Sites and Place-names Sign Project” (an ongoing endeavor).
September 5, 1995	The Historical Materials Office received a donation from Mr. Hiroshi Sho (the 22nd head of the Sho Family, the Royal Family of Ryukyu). It consisted of 1,341 historical documents from the Sho Family’s Collection of Inherited Cultural Heritage.
October 6 - 24, 1995	The Naha City 50th Anniversary Commemorative Exhibition was held at the Naha Civic Gallery and other venues in and around the Palette Kumoji Event Square.
March 28, 1996	A photo album, “Naha in Photographs: 50 Years After the War (1945-1995)”, was published.
May 2, 1996	The Historical Materials Office received a donation from Mr. Hiroshi Sho (the 22nd head of the Sho Family, the Royal Family of Ryukyu). It consisted of 85 separate arts & crafts items from the Sho Family’s Collection of Inherited Cultural Heritage.
February 14 - 23, 1997	“An Exhibition of the Sho Family’s Collection of Inherited Cultural Heritage -- Treasures of the Brilliant Royal Family of Ryukyu” was held at the Naha Civic Gallery.
June 24 - July 6, 1997	A commemorative exhibition to celebrate the 25th anniversary of Okinawa’s reversion to Japan, “Post-war Okinawa as seen by a former Japanese soldier: The Watanabe Norio Photo Exhibition”, was held at the Naha Civic Gallery.
August 12 - 17, 1997	An exhibition, “The 50th Anniversary Commemoration of the Death of Fuyu Iha, the Father of Omoro Study (research into Okinawan folk songs) and Okinawalogy” was held at the Naha Civic Gallery.
April 1, 1998	Due to organizational changes in the City government, the Historical Materials Office became part of the Economic and Cultural Affairs Department.
November 2 - 7, 1999	The “Naha City Arts & Crafts Collection Exhibition” was held at the Naha Civic Gallery.
February 1, 2000	The 6th revision of the Basic Plan for Writing a Naha City History was made, with a revision of the contents.
November 28 - December 3, 2000	A photo panel exhibition, “Naha in the Early Post-War Period: the Masayoshi Onoda Photo Exhibition” was held at the Naha Civic Gallery.
April 1, 2001	Due to organizational changes in the City government, the Historical Materials Office became part of the Civic and Cultural Affairs Department.
June 26, 2002	The collection of arts & crafts inherited by the Sho Family was designated as an Important Cultural Property by the National Government.
October 4 -12, 2002	A commemorative exhibition, “Arts and Crafts Inherited by the Sho Family – The Beauty of the Ryukyu Royal Family”, was held at the Naha Civic Gallery to celebrate the designation of the Sho Family’s Collection of Art and Crafts as an Important Cultural Property.
August 20 - September 30, 2004	“The Treasures of the Ryukyu Dynasty” exhibition, featuring works from the collection of the National Palace Museum in China, was held at the Naha Civic Gallery under the joint sponsorship of the Naha City Museum of History and China’s National Palace Museum.
April 1, 2006	The organizational name of the Historical Materials Office was changed to the Civic and Cultural Affairs Department History Museum. The organizational name of the Historical Materials Office was changed to the Civic and Cultural Affairs Department History Museum.
June 9, 2006	A total of 1,251 items related to the Ryukyu Royal Sho Family (85 arts & crafts items and 1,116 documents & records) were designated as national treasures in the category “historical materials”.
July 8, 2006	The Naha City Museum of History opened. A special exhibition, “The Brilliace of the Ryukyu Kingdom”, was held until August 30, 2006 to commemorate the opening.
March 31, 2008	The “Naha City History Supplementary Volume: Naha City Government Chronology and General Index” was published, bringing to an end the publication of the final total of 33 volumes of Naha City History.
December 19, 2008	The 33-volume Naha City History series won the Okinawa Times Publishing Culture Award Special Prize.
April 1, 2008	Due to organizational changes in the City government, the History Museum and Tsuboya Pottery Museum were integrated. The new name of the organization became the Civic and Cultural Affairs Department Museum.
April 1, 2013	Due to organizational changes in the City government (the unification of the cultural affairs administration), the Cultural Properties Division of the Board of Education and the Civic and Cultural Affairs Department Museum were integrated and the organizational name became the Cultural Properties Division of the Civic and Cultural Affairs Department.
April 1, 2014	The Naha City Museum of History Digital Museum opened."

*The main publications have been listed in the brief history.
*Exhibitions held since the Museum opened have been omitted, except for the special exhibition to commemorate the opening of the Museum.