The Gifu Sekigahara Battlefield Memorial Museum is an interactive museum dedicated to the Battle of Sekigahara, located in Sekigahara Town, Fuwa District, Gifu Prefecture.
Sekigahara Town is famous as the site of the Battle of Sekigahara, one of the most decisive battles in Japanese history. In October 2020, the Gifu Sekigahara Battlefield Memorial Museum opened as an immersive facility equipped with advanced technology to help visitors understand the full story of the battle.
Highlights include a large-scale floor projection that provides an overview of the battle and its nationwide impact, spectacular theater presentations, and a valuable collection of artifacts associated with the historic battlefield. Discover a new way to experience Sekigahara and its remarkable history.
The museum is a five-story building with a total floor area of approximately 5,200 square meters.
The audiovisual attractions on the first floor, including the Ground Vision and theater, operate on a rotating schedule every 20 minutes. Visitors with advance reservations are given priority for admission to these presentations.
Ground Vision: An immersive floor-screen presentation that illustrates the battle and its historical background.
Theater: A large-scale audiovisual experience recreating the Battle of Sekigahara.
Regional Tourism Information Corner: Information about local attractions and sightseeing throughout the wider region.
Exhibition Rooms: Displays covering the history of the battle and its legacy.
Sengoku Experience Corner: An interactive space where visitors can engage with the world of Japan’s Warring States period.
Seminar Room: A venue for lectures, workshops, and other educational events.
Observation Room: A panoramic viewing space overlooking the Sekigahara landscape.
The annex houses a gift shop and café, where visitors can take a break and browse products and refreshments related to Sekigahara.
The Ground Vision uses a large floor screen to explain the events leading up to the Battle of Sekigahara and the enormous scale of the conflict. From an overhead perspective, visitors can follow the course of a battle that drew forces from across Japan into a decisive struggle for power.
The theater features an impressive oval-shaped screen measuring 4.5 meters high and 13 meters wide. Wind, vibration, lighting, and sound effects combine to recreate the Battle of Sekigahara in an immersive and dramatic presentation.
This information area provides brochures and details about sightseeing facilities in Sekigahara Town, as well as information to help visitors explore the battlefield and nearby historical sites. Visitors wishing to rent bicycles or join a Sekigahara historical-site guided tour can also make inquiries here.
The exhibitions trace the Battle of Sekigahara from its origins to its conclusion, using authentic historical materials and other objects. Displays also explore how the battle was remembered and described from the Edo period onward, as well as the history of efforts to preserve the battlefield and its historic sites.
Visitors can handle realistic replicas of weapons and try on a jinbaori, a traditional surcoat worn over armor by samurai commanders. It is also possible to dress up as a Sengoku-period warlord and take photographs.
The seminar room hosts lectures, workshops, and other educational programs related to history and the Battle of Sekigahara.
The observation room is surrounded by floor-to-ceiling glass, providing a 360-degree panoramic view of modern-day Sekigahara. After comparing the present landscape with the scenery of the historic battlefield, visitors can continue their exploration by visiting the actual battlefield sites.
The annex includes a shop and dining facilities offering souvenirs and menu items inspired by Sekigahara and its history. Visitors are encouraged to stop by and discover the area’s distinctive local products.
In August 2014, Gifu Prefecture and Sekigahara Town established the Sekigahara Battlefield Grand Design Planning Discussion Group to gather opinions and recommendations from experts on how to develop the historic battlefield as a tourism destination.
In March 2015, Gifu Prefecture and Sekigahara Town formulated the Sekigahara Battlefield Grand Design. The plan included developing the Sekigahara Station Tourist Information and Exchange Center, renovating the Sekigahara Town Historical and Folklore Museum into a visitor center, and repurposing the former Sekigahara Kita Elementary School building to provide access to historical archives and hands-on programs.
The Sekigahara Station Tourist Information and Exchange Center opened in October 2015 following a project costing 420 million yen. Later that year, plans advanced for a new facility tentatively called the Sekigahara Battlefield Visitor Center.
A follow-up meeting on the Sekigahara Battlefield Grand Design was held at the Gifu Prefectural Government Office on February 25, 2016. A plan outlining the proposed visitor center was approved. The building was envisioned as a four- to six-story structure, with a circular observation room on the top floor featuring glass walls on all sides. The total project cost was initially estimated at approximately 1.95 billion yen.
On February 18, 2018, reports revealed that the projected total cost of the Sekigahara Battlefield Visitor Center had risen to 5.24099 billion yen. Under Governor Hajime Furuta’s direction to pursue the project ambitiously, substantial funding was allocated with the aim of establishing one of Gifu Prefecture’s leading tourism destinations.
On October 20, 2018, the official name of the visitor center was announced as the Gifu Sekigahara Battlefield Memorial Museum.
The museum was originally scheduled to open on July 17, 2020, but the opening was postponed because of the spread of COVID-19. It officially opened on October 21, 2020, with general admission beginning the following day, October 22.
The opening date was significant because October 21, 1600, corresponds to the date of the Battle of Sekigahara in the Gregorian calendar. The battle took place on the 15th day of the ninth month of Keichō 5 according to the Japanese calendar.
Historian Tetsuo Owada, known for his research on the Sengoku period, was appointed museum director. Actress Keiko Takeshita became the museum’s ambassador.
The museum’s collection includes a folding screen depicting the Battle of Sekigahara, weapons and armor, excavated artifacts, and historical letters. These items were originally displayed at the Sekigahara Town Historical and Folklore Museum, which was renamed the Sekigahara Town Historical and Folklore Learning Museum when the new memorial museum opened.
The two museums stand next to each other and are connected by a covered passageway. The Gifu Sekigahara Battlefield Memorial Museum occupies the site of the former final camp of Tokugawa Ieyasu during the Battle of Sekigahara, giving the facility a direct connection to one of the most important events in Japanese history.