The Saitama Prefectural Museum of History and Folklore
At the Saitama Prefectural Museum of History and Folklore, as tree main themes, history, folklore and fine arts in life and culture in Saitama we perform various scientific activity. A characteristic of the our collection is to own beautiful Japanese paintings of genpei wars, and the cultural assets about the samurai. And there is Experiences Plaza, everyone can experience industrial arts and culture of Saitama easily and in earnest. To see this video of our museum, please be interested in the history and culture.
The Saitama Prefectural Museum of History and Folklore was established as the Prefectural Museum in 1971 to mark the 100th anniversary of Saitama, and was reborn as the museum of History and Folklore in 2006. The museum celebrated its 40th anniversary in 2011. Tree main themes, history, folklore and fine arts in life and culture in Saitama, are introduced in the 10 permanent exhibitions with occasional renewals. And at the museum, several times a year of the special exhibitions are held. There is also the Yume-Taiken Hiroba (Dreams and Experiences Plaza), everyone can experience industrial arts and culture of Saitama easily and in earnest.
Open Hours
- 9:00～16:30 (entery gate closes at 16:00)
- 9:00～17:00 between 1st July and 31st August (entry gate closes at 16:30)
Museum closed
- Every Monday, except for 1st and 2nd May, and National holidays.
- 29th December to 1st January
- The museum may close at any date other than stated above.
Transport (Train)
- Five-minute walk from Omiya Koen station of Tobu Urban Park Line.
- Eighteen-minute walk from Toro station of JR Utsunomiya Line.
Admission
- Standing Exhibition : Adult 300, Students150
- Group (20 people and more) : Adult 200, Students100
- During special exhibitions, the admission may change
- Admission is free for school children of primary and junior high schools, and disability certificate holders
- Plaza Fantasy is admission free : some events may require payment.
- Annual Ticket : Adult1,500, Student750
Museum Shop
- Gifts, refreshments, and snacks are available.
Address and Contact
- Address : 4-219 Takahana, Omiya, Saitama City, 330-0803
- Phone : 048-645-8171 (Department of Curators), 048-641-0890 (Administration Office)
- Web :
Sakai Ishinage Odori (1982) 境石投げ踊り(1982) =remastered= [Official]
Performed by Sakai Ishinage Odori Preservation Society 境石投げ踊り保存会
1. ヨセ ダイコ Yose Daiko (duration: 1:16)
2. 石投げ踊り Ishinage Odori (duration: 11:14)
3. ブッキリ ダイコ Bukkiri Daiko (duration: 1:21)
Buy here:
Recorded at Saitama Folklore Museum, Iwaki City, Saitama on July 9, 1982
Remastered by Takuto Kuratani (Ruv Bytes)
Cover art by Shinsuke Takagi (Soi48)
This edition (c)&(p) 2017 EM Records
Issued under permission: Saitama Prefectural Museum of History and Folklore
All rights reserved
Saitama Japan's Raiden (Thunder God) Ancient Tomb ! - 雷電塚古墳 - Raidenzuka Kofun
Continuing my frequent trips up to Saitama via the Tobu-Tojo train line (which I'm getting to know quite well) I found another interesting 6th Century tomb in the Sakado (坂戸市) area.
If I'm not mistaken, the name translates to Thunder God Mound Ancient Tomb, which is not only a pretty cool name, but also has an interesting link to what is on the tomb itself. The thunder god part comes from Raiden 雷電 (or Raijin 雷神) which is a name some of you may recognise as a Mortal Kombat character or from anime - but more significantly he is a deity in Japanese Shinto mythology and one of the elder gods in Japan's Shinto history. Back to our tomb here - the shrine on top of the tomb (i.e. the little house looking thing around 2:25) has what appears to be a hammer inside (i.e. this is the kami or god of the shrine) which is very different to what I normally see in these shrines. Raiden is often depicted as holding a hammer, thus I'm assuming that the kami is in direct relation to the spirit of Raiden - pretty damn interesting hey ?
All that aside, I really liked this kofun and appreciate that the trees that seemingly once engulfed it are now gone. I need to choose better weather to go and see these places though, was yet another pretty gloomy, dark day - but then it was perfect for the Thunder God to make an appearance I guess ...
More info (in Japanese):
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Q: What am I watching here ?
A: You are watching footage of a kofun/古墳 - kofun are tombs in Japan that were created during the Kofun Period (roughly between the 3rd and 7th Century AD) - this era was preceded by the Jomon and Yayoi periods, and followed by Asuka, Nara and so on. These tombs were built as burial chambers for people from Japanese imperial families and other people of higher status in society during those days. The most well-known and generally largest tombs are found around Kyoto and Osaka, but they are found all over Kansai, Kanto, Tohoku etc., and even in other parts of Japan such as Shikoku and Kyushu. Figures vary greatly, but some sources state there are over 160000 of these kofun in Japan. At times you will see haniwa on and around kofun - haniwa are terracotta figures which were made in various shapes, including being formed as people and animals.
Have a read of the the Wikipedia article for more information :
I also have a Facebook page where I post these videos. Feel free to contact me via that page if you want to connect regarding anything about kofun, particularly their promotion to tourists to Japan. Ideally I'd like to build a kofun appreciation community of sorts, but that is just a dream right now -