Yushukan Museum
Photo: https://www.flickr.com/photos/16801915@N06/18836998028/ — CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
The Yushukan Museum, established in 1882, is a military and war museum located within Yasukuni Shrine in Tokyo, Japan. It exhibits artifacts and documents related to Japanese military history from the Meiji Restoration to the end of World War II.
Planning your visit
Yūshūkan stands inside Yasukuni Shrine, where the spirits of Japan's war dead are enshrined — including fourteen Class A war criminals added in 1978, which is why prime ministerial visits provoke formal protests from China and South Korea.
The museum presents Japanese military history from the Meiji Restoration to 1945, and its interpretation is the point of contention: the war in Asia is framed as a defensive response to Western encirclement and as the liberation of Asia from colonialism, and the atrocities documented elsewhere are absent.
Visitors should come knowing this. As a document of how a particular strand of Japanese nationalism understands the war, it is significant and uncomfortable.
The artefacts are substantial: a Zero fighter, a kaiten suicide torpedo, a locomotive from the Burma railway, and the letters of the dead.
Allow ninety minutes. Current availability is shown below.
Before you book
Where is Yushukan Museum?
Yushukan Museum is in Tokyo, Japan. The map on this page marks its exact location.
How long should I allow for Yushukan Museum?
Allow ninety minutes. That is the time the collection itself takes at an unhurried pace, before any queue.
Is Yushukan Museum free to enter?
Yes, general admission to Yushukan Museum is free. Guided tours and special exhibitions may still be charged separately.
Do I need to book Yushukan Museum in advance?
Guided tours run to a fixed schedule and small group sizes, so they are usually booked ahead.
