Materials Related to Okubo Toshimichi

Materials Related to Okubo Toshimichi: Diaries, Letters and Belongings

The Materials Related to Okubo Toshimichi (大久保利通関係資料) are a collection of 1650 diaries, letters, documents and personal effects of the statesman Okubo Toshimichi, from the late Edo to the Meiji period, kept at the Reimeikan, Kagoshima Prefectural Center for Historical and Art Materials, in Shiroyama-cho, Kagoshima City, and designated a national Important Cultural Property in 2004.

The collection belongs to Kagoshima Prefecture. According to the Agency for Cultural Affairs, it combines what the Okubo family inherited (Okubo's own diaries and papers, objects he used, and letters addressed to him) with material the family gathered energetically after his death in 1878. Papers of the same kind are held at the National Museum of Japanese History; the family's transfers split the archive between the two institutions.

In 1889 the Okubo house at Shiba Nihonenoki in Tokyo caught fire, and a good deal was probably lost. What survives was carried out in time, and scorch marks on some letters still record the escape.

Why It Was Designated

Letters form the core of the Kagoshima holdings: 1595 in all, mounted as scrolls or left unmounted. They include the earliest known letter by Okubo, dated the 4th day of the 6th month of 1853, asking his brother-in-law Ishihara Chikamasa for a loan, and a letter to Saigo Takamori from London dated the 19th day of the 7th month of 1872, reporting that he could not meet Queen Victoria and passing on Bismarck's reputation.

Among the documents are an outline of administrative reform for fiscal recovery drawn up in the 12th month of 1876, on the tenth anniversary of the new government, and draft terms presented to the Qing court in Beijing to settle the aftermath of the Taiwan expedition.

The Okubo family recognised the scholarly value of the papers early and published the diaries and letters. The Agency regards the Reimeikan and National Museum holdings together as precious for conveying the whole of Okubo's career.

What to Look For

The letters let you follow the years from the end of the shogunate to early Meiji through Okubo's own hand, from a young man asking for money to a senior statesman writing home from London.

The calligraphy and personal effects are few, but alongside scrolls in Okubo's hand there are go stones and a go board, a comb, a soap case and a toothbrush. Seen next to his state papers, they add a more human dimension.

Visiting

The Reimeikan, which keeps the Materials Related to Okubo Toshimichi, opens from 9:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. (last entry 5:30 p.m.). It closes on Mondays (the next weekday if Monday is a holiday), on the 25th of each month (unless that falls on a weekend or holiday) and from 31 December to 2 January. Admission to the permanent galleries is 430 yen for adults, 270 yen for high school and university students, and 160 yen for elementary and junior high pupils.

Historical documents are rotated for conservation, so a given item may not be on show; if you want to see something specific, ask the Reimeikan on 099-222-5100. The Reimeikan also announces that the second floor of its permanent galleries will close from 1 December 2026 to 25 April 2027 for lighting work.

The museum is a 15-minute walk from JR Kagoshima Station, or 7 minutes from the Shiyakusho-mae or Suizokukan-guchi tram and bus stops. There is free parking on site.