What Is the Kaiyu Cultural Center (Former Ushimado Police Station Main Building)?
The Kaiyu Cultural Center (Former Ushimado Police Station Main Building) is a single-storey timber police station built in 1887 in Ushimado, Ushimado-cho, Setouchi City, Okayama Prefecture, and registered as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property of Japan on July 23, 1998.
In Japanese it is 海遊文化館（旧牛窓警察署本館） (Kaiyū Bunkakan, Kyū Ushimado Keisatsusho Honkan), and the city runs it under the name Ushimado Kaiyu Cultural Center. It stands in the old town a short walk from Ushimado harbor, and its white walls and Western-style windows stand out among the tiled houses of the port.
According to a study published by WAVE (the Waterfront Vitalization and Environment Research Foundation), the building went up when the Ushimado police post of the Saidaiji Police Station was raised to the status of a branch station. It was designed by Kagawa Shin'ichi (1835 to 1920), who chaired the building committee and later became the third mayor of Ushimado. The police used it until 1977, when they moved into a new station.
The empty building was then turned into a museum. A second gallery was added in April 1992 to house festival floats, and the Kaiyu Cultural Center opened that year. City records give a total floor area of 306.02 square meters, which includes this addition alongside the registered Meiji-era building.
Why the Kaiyu Cultural Center Was Registered
The Kaiyu Cultural Center (Former Ushimado Police Station Main Building) is entry 33-0019 in the national register, part of the 10th round of registrations in 1998, listed as a model of architectural form. The Agency for Cultural Affairs describes it as a single-storey timber building with a tiled roof and a building area of 247 square meters.
The agency's description starts with the exterior. A classical pediment crowns the front entrance, and the main wing is pierced by Western windows of several different shapes. The roof, though, is carried on a traditional Japanese timber truss (Wagoya), and the walls are finished in lime-plaster mortar (Shikkui) with the corners worked to look like stone quoins. It is a textbook case of Giyōfū, the "imitation Western" style in which Japanese carpenters of the Meiji era reproduced foreign forms with local skills and materials.
Sources differ on how the Kaiyu Cultural Center was built. The agency says Kagawa designed it himself and paid for it out of his own pocket; the foundation's study says the cost was met by donations from more than 20 leading men of the district, Kagawa among them. The builder's name also varies: the agency gives Mori Enkichi, while the study names a local carpenter, Mori Kunikichi.
What to Look For at the Kaiyu Cultural Center
The pediment over the door
Stand in front of the Kaiyu Cultural Center and look up over the entrance. The triangular pediment gives a low, one-storey building a clear front and a touch of official dignity. It shows exactly where a provincial Meiji public building chose to spend its Western flourish.
Corners that pretend to be stone
Go up to a corner of the building and you will see that the plastered wall is scored into blocks there, as if the corners were built of stone. They are not; the stonework is painted and modeled in plaster. Of all the details, this one says the most about the building's imitation-Western character.
A variety of windows
The windows along the main wing are not all alike; as the agency puts it, there are "various Western windows." Walk the length of the wall and compare them one by one to see how the builders tried out different foreign patterns.
Meiji building, Heisei addition
The float gallery inside is the 1992 addition, not part of the registered building. The gallery devoted to the Korean embassies sits in the original 1887 police station, so if you came for the architecture, give its rooms and window openings your attention too.
Visiting the Kaiyu Cultural Center (Former Ushimado Police Station Main Building)
The Kaiyu Cultural Center is open to the public as a museum and you can go inside. Hours are 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., with last entry at 4:30 p.m.; it is closed on Wednesdays, though closing days can change with the season. Admission is 300 yen for adults and 150 yen for students from elementary to high school, and free for preschool children. Okayama's tourism site lists group rates for 20 or more of 250 yen for adults and 100 yen for students.
Inside are a diorama of a Korean embassy (Chōsen Tsūshinshi) procession, which called at Ushimado in the Edo period, along with panels on the embassies' history and route. The float gallery holds two real danjiri floats used in Ushimado's autumn festival, with video of the festival. The official information says nothing about photography, so ask at the front desk.
The Kaiyu Cultural Center has no restrooms of its own; visitors use those in the neighboring Ushimado branch community hall. That hall is due to close at the end of March 2027, and since autumn 2026 Setouchi City has been holding talks with private operators on new uses for the two buildings together. Opening arrangements may change, so call ahead (+81-869-34-5505) before you go.
By public transport, take a bus bound for Ushimado from Oku Station on the JR Akō Line, about 20 minutes, and get off at Honrenji-shita; the museum is right by the stop. By car it is about 15 minutes from the Oku interchange of the Okayama Blue Line, and there is parking for about 10 cars on the east side of the building.
Q&A
- When was the Kaiyu Cultural Center (Former Ushimado Police Station Main Building) built?
- In 1887, as the Ushimado branch of the Saidaiji Police Station. It served as a police station until 1977 and has been a museum since 1992.
- When was the Kaiyu Cultural Center registered as a cultural property?
- On July 23, 1998, as Registered Tangible Cultural Property no. 33-0019, listed as a model of architectural form.
- What are the opening hours and admission fee of the Kaiyu Cultural Center in Ushimado?
- 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. (last entry 4:30 p.m.), closed Wednesdays. Admission is 300 yen for adults, 150 yen for students, and free for preschool children.
- Who designed the Kaiyu Cultural Center (Former Ushimado Police Station Main Building)?
- Kagawa Shin'ichi, a local businessman and politician who later became mayor of Ushimado. The builder is given as Mori Enkichi by the Agency for Cultural Affairs and as Mori Kunikichi in a study published by WAVE.
- How do I get to the Kaiyu Cultural Center in Ushimado?
- Take a bus for Ushimado from JR Oku Station, about 20 minutes, to Honrenji-shita. By car, it is about 15 minutes from the Oku interchange of the Okayama Blue Line, and there is parking.
Basic Information
| Name | Kaiyu Cultural Center (Former Ushimado Police Station Main Building) (海遊文化館（旧牛窓警察署本館）) |
|---|---|
| Location | 3056 Ushimado, Ushimado-cho, Setouchi City, Okayama Prefecture |
| Designation | Registered Tangible Cultural Property (Building) |
| Year Designated | Registered July 23, 1998 |
| Quantity | 1 building |
| Dimensions | Single-storey timber building, tiled roof, building area 247 square meters |
| Owner | Setouchi City |
| Public Access | Open as a museum (9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., closed Wednesdays, admission charged) |
References
- Database of National Cultural Properties (Agency for Cultural Affairs): Kaiyu Cultural Center (Former Ushimado Police Station Main Building)
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/bsys/maindetails/101/00000607
- Setouchi City: Ushimado Kaiyu Cultural Center (Japanese)
- https://www.city.setouchi.lg.jp/soshiki/23/122203.html
- Setouchi City: Market sounding on the use of the Ushimado Kaiyu Cultural Center and Ushimado branch community hall (Japanese)
- https://www.city.setouchi.lg.jp/soshiki/23/162790.html
- WAVE (Waterfront Vitalization and Environment Research Foundation): Port culture of Ushimado (PDF, Japanese)
- https://www.wave.or.jp/minatobunka/archives/report/076.pdf
- Okayama Kanko Web: Ushimado Kaiyu Cultural Center (Japanese)
- https://www.okayama-kanko.jp/spot/11138
Last verified: 2026.10.02