World Heritage of Osaka: Bunraku and Korean Envoys to Japan

Special Featured Exhibition :
World Heritage of Osaka: Bunraku and Korean Envoys to Japan

September 30 (Sat.) to November 26 (Sun.), 2017



Overview of the exhibition

The Osaka Museum of History will hold a special featured exhibition titled “World Heritage of Osaka: Bunraku and Korean Envoys to Japan” in the Special Exhibition Hall on the 6th floor from September 30 (Sat.) to November 26 (Sun.), 2017.

Many of Osaka’s cultural properties have international appeal and historical importance. The exhibition will showcase cultural heritage artifacts from the collection of the Osaka Museum of History related to bunraku and Korean envoys to Japan.

Bunraku, also known as ningyo joruri, is Japan’s traditional puppet theater that was founded in Osaka and long been supported by its people. Bunraku performances consist of an ensemble of narrators, shamisen players and puppeteers playing together, and bunraku was included in UNESCO’s Intangible Cultural Heritage list in 2008. This exhibition will showcase a sample wig for a bunraku puppet, which was recently donated to the museum, and posters of bunraku plays, in order to show what goes on behind the scenes of a bunraku performance and the history of bunraku in the Showa period.

Artifacts associated with the Korean envoys to Japan (333 items in total consisting of 209 items in Japan and 124 items in Korea) are now being considered for inscription on UNESCO’s Memory of the World Register. During the Edo period, Korean envoys visited Japan twelve times as a token of friendship between the two countries and many historical artifacts were left behind in Osaka. This exhibition will showcase well-preserved items related to the Korean envoys, out of which eleven items are included in the artifacts being considered for inclusion in UNESCO’s Memory of the World Register.



Special Featured Exhibition “World Heritage of Osaka: Bunraku and Korean Envoys to Japan”
Organizer Osaka Museum of History
Co-organizer Korean Cultural Center Osaka (Korean Envoys to Japan)
Exhibition period September 30 (Sat.) to November 26 (Sun.), 2017
*Closed on Tuesdays
Hours 09:30-17:00
*Please enter 30 minutes prior to closing.
Venue Special Exhibition Hall on the 6th floor, Osaka Museum of History access
Admission fees

Permanent exhibition fee.

Permanent exhibition
Adults JPY 600 (540)
High school /
university students
JPY 400 (360)

*The fees in brackets indicate prices for those in groups of 20 people or more.

*Admission is free for junior high school-aged and younger children; citizens of Osaka aged 65 years and older (a document certifying citizenship and age should be presented); and individuals with a disability certificate (plus one accompanying person).

Number of exhibits Bunraku: Approx. 100
Korean Envoys to Japan: Approx. 25