In Operation for 50 Years, Shimadzu Foundation Memorial Museum Takes on New Roles as a Registered Museum

Shimadzu Foundation Memorial Museum, which as a forerunner of corporate museums, has been in continuous operation for 50 years, is now a registered museum under the Museum Act, administered by the Japanese Agency for Cultural Affairs.

Director Misako Kawakatsu, second from the right in the front row, with the members of the Museum Co-Creation Group, General Administration Department, Shimadzu Corporation, which operates the museum

 

Shimadzu Foundation Memorial Museum

Shimadzu Foundation Memorial Museum was opened in 1975 at Nijo, Kiyamachi, the land on which Shimadzu was founded, in commemoration of the 100th anniversary of the founding of Shimadzu Corporation.

This museum, a building that the founder of Shimadzu Corporation, Genzo Shimadzu Sr. and his son, Genzo Shimadzu Jr. used as both a shop and residence, was certified as a registered tangible cultural property by the Japanese Agency for Cultural Affairs in 1999, and was certified as a Heritage of Industrial Modernization site by the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry in 2007.

The purpose of the museum is to convey to future generations not only the history of Shimadzu but also the development of science, technology, education, and industry that supported the industrialization of modern Japan, as well as the history of the modernization of Kyoto. Additionally, the operation of this facility is tied to education and our social contributions.

Museum entrance: Visitors are welcomed by a stone monument in front of and to the left of the building, inscribed with the phrase 源遠流長 (Gen-En-Ryu-Cho) by Baron Ryuichi Kuki.

Registered Museums

Logo signifying registered museums

The term “museum” refers to a facility that collects and stores materials, conducts investigative research to determine their worth, and announces the results using exhibitions and various other methods, thereby providing the public with opportunities for education and enjoyment.

Registered museums were conventionally limited to those established by the Japanese government or by incorporated administrative agencies. However, with the first revisions to the Japanese Museum Act in approximately 70 years, it became possible from April 2023 onward to register museums established by private sector companies such as Shimadzu as well.

At present (April 2025), there are 23 buildings registered as museums within Kyoto city. Only two of these, however, our museum and Takeda Garden for Medicinal Plant Conservation, Kyoto, operated by Takeda Pharmaceutical Company Limited, are registered as corporate museums.

In addition to institutional factors such as organizational structure and regulations for the collection and handling of materials, as well as facility and equipment-related standards, the registration authorities will examine the substantive content of activities. In registering the museum, over approximately one and a half years, preparations were conducted while addressing any discrepancies between Shimadzu’s operational structure and the national registration standards.

Registration is tied to the assessment of activities meticulously continued and expanded over many years, and transcending the corporate public relations framework. These include liaising with experts in the history of science and technology, the history of education, the history of the modernization of Kyoto, and architectural history; collaborating with the region and other facilities, and engaging in the promotion of education, all based on the systematic collection and storage of materials related to Shimadzu Corporation.

The living room of Genzo Shimadzu Sr., within the museum building

Activities by the Museum

Shimadzu Foundation Memorial Museum holds hands-on events related to science and technology offering members of the general public an opportunity to gain a sense of familiarity with science. Additionally, these events play a role in conveying how Shimadzu is realizing its corporate philosophy of “Contributing to Society through Science and Technology.”

●Workshop: Learning about Anime by “Creating a Stroboscope”

Students experiencing a stroboscope (the black rotating unit with slits at the center of the photograph) in the hands-on lab in the museum

A stroboscope is an animation device invented in Europe in the 1830s. It is designed to create the illusion of motion (apparent motion) where none actually exists. Shimadzu Corporation also manufactured it as a tool for science education.

This workshop was held as two events in February 2025.

●Kyoto Modern Architecture Festival

In November 2024, Shimadzu participated in the Kyoto Modern Architecture Festival. This event was hosted jointly by Kyoto City and the executive committee of the Kyoto Modern Architecture Festival. The project presents to the public a collection of attractive buildings constructed since the Meiji era. A total of 102 facilities in Kyoto were opened to the public, and 1,250 people visited Shimadzu Foundation Memorial Museum over the two-day period.