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Osaka City Museum Building

Ex-HQ of the 4th Division of the Imperial Japanese Army

When I visited Osaka Castle and Osaka Castle Park the other day I found other things, curious things, in the park near the main tower of Osaka Castle. This Osaka City Museum Building was one of them. It's located in the open space in front of the main tower and stood out, as it was a 'Western' building when everything else seemed 'Japanese' there. Intrigued, I explored the building from outside (it's not open to the public). It turned out this building has a long, unique history; it was first built as the headquarters of the fourth division of the Imperial Army, was bombed heavily during WWII due to its military cennections, yet survived, then was confiscated by GHQ but was returned to Japan in 1948. It was then used as the Osaka Prefectural Police office till 1958, then turned into a city museum. In 2001, when the new Osaka Museum of History opened just outside the Osaka Castle Park it finished its role as a museum and was closed down forever. Like Osaka Castle, this western building also survived turbulent times and still stands strong!

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