Maizuru Repatriation Memorial Museum (舞鶴引揚記念館)

The Maizuru Repatriation Memorial Museum is a facility for preservation of historical artifacts and tradition in Maizuru City, Kyoto Prefecture

The Port of Kyoto-Maizuru functioned as a military base for the Imperial Navy, and after the war the port was designated as one of the ports of entry for repatriated soldiers and people from mainland China as well as the departure point for Chinese and Koreans who had been expatriates in Japan. Also, former soldiers who had been illegally detained in Siberia by Soviet army, which unilaterally breached Soviet-Japanese Neutrality Pact and invaded, returned to Japan through this port. Because other ports had been removed from the designation for repatriations at an early stage, nearly all these repatriated people arrived at the Port of Kyoto-Maizuru. For this reason, many people who had anxiously longed for the return of their husbands, fathers, sons and relatives came to this port from all over Japan to welcome them.

Many concerned people helped to establish the Maizuru Repatriation Memorial Museum in 1988 as Japan's only facility for the exhibition of materials concerning the repatriation. Repatriation Memorial Park was created on a hill overlooking the Taira district, where landing bridges for repatriates had been placed, and the Memorial Museum was built in a corner of the park.

In 2005, the sixtieth anniversary of the repatriation, several memorial events were held on and around November 7, which was the date the first repatriation ship arrived at the port.

Overview of the Facility

Information
Taira, Maizuru City (phone: 0773-68-0836)
Hours of operation
9:00 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.
(The entrance gate closes at 5:00 p.m.)

Admission: The fees shown in parentheses are for groups.
Adult: 300 yen (200 yen)
Student: 150 yen (100 yen)
Parking
Free of charge; available for motorcoaches

Closed
Year-end and New Year holidays

Access
By train or bus
From Higashi Maizuru Station (West Japan Railway), take the bus of Mihama Route or Tai Nohara Route (Kyoto Kotsu Maizuru) and get off at the Hikiage Kinen Koen Mae bus stop (time required: approximately 15 minutes).

From Higashi Maizuru Station (JR), take the Maizuru Sightseeing Bus and get off at the Hikiage Kinenkan bus stop.
By car

From the Maizuru Higashi interchange on the Maizuru-Wakasa Expressway, take Kyoto Prefectural Road 28, Kokura Nishi Maizuru Route (Kyoto Prefectural Road 51, Maizuru Wachi Route), National Route 27, and head toward the Oura Peninsula via the Kyoto Prefectural Road and Fukui Prefectural Route 21, Maizuru Noharako Takahama Route (time required: approximately 20 minutes).

Neighboring sightseeing spots, cultural facilities, and festivals

World Brick Museum
Maizuru Shisei Kinenkan (twelve warehouses made of brick)
Maizuru Wisdom Warehouse
Akarenga Festival (Maizuru) (in October)
Taira-sanbashi Pier
Maizuru Crane Bridge
Maizuru Shinkai Park
Maizuru Natural Park

[Original Japanese]