Yokohama Archives of History

The Yokohama Archives of History houses 250,000 historical materials about the history, culture, and economy of Yokohama from the end of the Edo period (1603-1868) to the early Showa era (1926-1989). It includes one-of-a-kind historical materials from individuals and government institutions, other materials such as administrative publications, newspapers, and magazines mainly published by Yokohama City and Kanagawa Prefecture, and image materials such as ukiyoe Japanese paintings and photographs, as well as private collections left by individuals. The archives complex consists of two buildings: one is the former British Consulate building, which is a Yokohama City Cultural Property, and the other is a newly built annex. Both buildings were built in the courtyard surrounding the Tamakusu-no-ki tree, which is the tree that symbolizes the opening of the Yokohama port. This tree is a vigorous tree because even after it was burned down in the 1923 Great Kanto Earthquake, it regrew to be as beautiful as it used to be. The complex is a two-minute walk from the Minato Mirai Line Nihon-Odori Station.