Renewal of Obi Castle Historical Museum

Obi, Nichinan City, Miyazaki Prefecture, is a scenic castle town that has continued since the feudal era and is designated as an Important Preservation District for Groups of Traditional Buildings. The area is being revitalized through private sector participation, with the opening of a hotel renovated from a former samurai residence.
This project is based on the renewal concept of "50% displays + 50% sightseeing" at the well-known local Komura Jutaro Memorial Museum and Obi Castle History Museum, with the main focus on increasing visitors' intellectual curiosity and satisfaction with their stay, leading to more sightseeing in Obi.
The refurbished Obi Castle Historical Museum has moved from a passive displays that focused on document commentary to an experiential approach that emphasizes experience and storytelling. displays provide easier-to-understand information unique to the area, such as Obi Castle, the Obi Domain, and its feudal lord, the Ito family, while also providing easy-to-access access to related nearby spots.
The lighting and displays are designed to beautifully display the valuable collection of swordsmith Inoue Shinkai.
Furthermore, we are also working to improve the up-to-dateness of information through "information lines" and bulletin boards.
In addition, this project has adopted the production concept of "A town museum created by everyone," and displays are created together with local residents throughout the year. The facility also incorporates the results of the children's workshops into displays information, facilitating tours of the town.

① We would like to change displays from displays is mainly focused on materials to one that emphasizes experience and narrative, making them easier to understand, more enjoyable, and more inviting for people to explore the exhibits.
② We would like to actively utilize this facility to promote sightseeing around the town (Obi Castle Town) and to use it as a base facility for sightseeing to increase the number of visitors and provide guidance.
3) We hope to create a facility that can contribute to the future revival of inbound tourists, accommodate groups such as school trips within and outside the prefecture, and extend their stay.
4) Pursue an enjoyable and fun facility that visitors can easily enjoy even on rainy days.

・In order to clearly convey the appeal of local cultural resources such as Obi Castle, the castle town, the Ito family home, and the Important Cultural Property District, we have introduced displays that are more experiential and narrative-oriented, something that was lacking until now.
The exhibits will range from document-based displays to projection mapping, a hands-on experience of feeling the weight of swords and matchlock guns, and a video that tells the story of the origins of the feudal lord Ito family. displays will allow visitors to experience the unique history and culture of Obi in a fun and easy-to-understand way.
The high case displaying the women's vehicles that was in the center of displays room has been removed, making the tight displays space more spacious and improving viewing and movement around the exhibits.
・In creating displays, we received cooperation from various citizen groups, who helped us with graphic concept design and video production to convey the charm of the region.
This work is being carried out through collaboration between NOMURA, Smiles Co., Ltd. (creating experiential value), and a local concept design firm (pursuing the unique style of Obi).