The Akune Local Museum is located on floors 2 and 3 of the Akune City Library. The museum has a wide variety of cultural, archeological, and historical materials available for public viewing. Their permanent exhibits are the Mingu Room on the second floor and the History and Archaeology Room on the third floor. Their collection of 650 items includes important cultural properties such as the Akune Cannon, the Kanan Documents, and remains extracted from the Wakimoto tombs.
From the library entrance you go up the stairs to the second floor, and on the right hand side you will find the "Mingu Room" (Old Everyday Tools Room.) This room contains a variety of folk tools collected through the help of the people of Akune City. This room is packed with everyday items, farming tools, and pottery ranging from the Edo Period to the Meiji Period. The total number of exhibits extends well past 400. The massive wagons and well-used farming tools are priceless cultural artifacts that provide us with a peek into the past. Tools like abacuses and braziers paint a vivid picture of the everyday lives of people who lived hundreds of years ago. This room also features a full collection tracing the history of "Satsuma-yaki" pottery. As you reflect on the good old days you'll gain a deeper appreciation of how Akune's ancestors lived.
To learn about how Akune progressed from its foundations to its modern state, you'll want to check out the History and Archaeology Room on the third floor. This room contains materials covering 5 different themes: Akune's natural environment, the lifestyles and nation building of ancient people, the transitions in the Akune region's name and rulers, the expansion toward the sea, and Akune's pioneers. Their collection of over 240 items includes 3 important cultural properties, those being the Akune Cannon, the Kanan Documents, and remains extracted from the Wakimoto tombs. Excluding those 3 designated cultural properties, the History and Archaeology Room also has a wide collection of items tracing Akune's roots. Such items include a world map that was hand-drawn by Jisuke Kanan as well as a map of the former Satsuma Domain. From maps like these, we can see that there were individuals within Akune who already had their eyes set on the world outside Japan. Their collection also contains a letter from Saigo Takamori that was delivered to a relative of the Kanan family.
Among the various exhibits in the building, one of the most well-known is the Akune Cannon, an item that
is designated by the prefecture as an important cultural property. This item was actually discovered in
1952 by a young schoolboy walking along the beach near where the former Akune City Fort was located.
This huge copper cannon is 3m long with a caliber of 7cm. It is theorized to be a gun from Portugal that
would have belonged to a Portuguese ship visiting Akune's port.
The museum also holds the ancient Kanan Documents, which are a set of documents relating to marine
shipping. These were recorded by Motosura and Motonaka, the 6th and 7th generation middle palace guards
of the Kanan family. The Kanan family were the government purveyors for the Shimazu Domain. These Kanan
documents are critical records of marine shipping during that time period, and they are known all
throughout Japan.
Finally, the exhibition of the remains extracted from the Wakimoto tombs. Located about 7km north of
Akune City is an inlet containing the Wakimoto tombs, an area that is designated by the prefecture as an
important cultural property. It is a critical historical site that provides insight into the Kagoshima
region's tomb culture. Items such as iron swords, katanas, and arrowheads have been recovered from these
tombs. These relics are estimated to date back to early and middle 6th century.
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