Sakai City Museum

The Sakai City Museum is a humanities-oriented museum located in Daisen Park, Sakai Ward, Sakai City, Osaka Prefecture. It opened in 1980 as part of Sakai City’s 90th-anniversary commemorative projects. Aiming to promote lifelong learning and enhance citizens’ cultural awareness, the museum exhibits materials related to history, art, archaeology, and folklore. In addition to its permanent exhibition, it hosts special and planned exhibitions and offers a free kofun (ancient tomb) theater. In June 2019, the museum surpassed 3 million visitors. The museum is organized into five sections: “Kofun & Emperor Nintoku’s Mausoleum,” “The Free City of Sakai,” “Sakai’s Industry & Culture,” “Prayer & Festivals,” and “Special Exhibition Corner.” At the entrance stands a large replica of a horned-helmet-shaped haniwa excavated from the Itasuke Kofun; the original is displayed in the Kofun section. This haniwa avoided destruction thanks to citizen movements, is designated a tangible cultural property by Sakai City, and is also known as the symbol mark of Sakai’s cultural assets. The Kofun section further introduces excavated artifacts from tumuli such as the Nintoku mausoleum and explains excavation findings from sites like the Otsukayama Kofun.