Gifu Sekigahara Battlefield Memorial Museum

岐阜関ケ原古戦場記念館, Gifu Sekigahara Kosenjō Kinenkan

This new museum (built 2020) offers a good introduction to the battle itself. It is especially helpful because the first two exhibits (both visual media - a bird's eye view of the battle and an anime-like 4D theater movie depicting what it was like in the fray) provide the necessary background to understand how the 6-hour battle went and why Tokugawa won. The upper floors contain mainly replicas (although some original artifacts and documents are displayed) of writings relating to the battle or Tokugawa's rise to power, and then goes in depth of the aftermath of the battle and the consolidation of his rule. Kids and the young at heart will enjoy the third floor, which offers a hands-on exhibit where you can play around with different types of weapons used during the battle (such as katanas, matchlock rifles, and battle fans). The fifth floor is an observation deck that gives a panorama of the battlefield and town, and has signs (in Japanese) that indicate where each important thing is/was. The staff don't speak English and about 85% of the exhibits have English translations, but the movies have English subtitles.

• museum
• viewpoint
• family

Getting there

just north of the Station, about a 3- to 5-minute walk up a slight hill

Price

¥500 for adults, ¥400 for students, and ¥300 for kids

Website

sekigahara.pref.gifu.lg.jp (opens in a new tab)