The Mecca of Mitsubishi group. It is a small museum, but you can find authentic Mitsubishi stories from Yataro Iwasaki to the biggest conglomerate to the current companies in the group.

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A museum where you can learn the history of the Mitsubishi zaibatsu. Free. No photos. No parking. There are materials important to the Mitsubishi zaibatsu, but given how big the zaibatsu was, it feels a bit underwhelming. Maybe that's on purpose. You'd want to visit it together with the Iwasaki Residence, but the Iwasaki Residence entrance is on the opposite side and you have to go the long way around, so it's a fair bit of walking.

I visited at 12:30 PM on a weekday. It's in a quiet spot sandwiched between the Iwasaki Garden and the University of Tokyo, on the 1st floor of Mitsubishi Economic Research. The building isn't that old, but it has a solid, stately feel. Admission is free. As you come in the entrance, on the right is a statue of Yataro Iwasaki, the founder of Mitsubishi, who had close ties with Sakamoto Ryoma's Kaientai. This archive displays many historical materials, starting with those related to Yataro, Yanosuke, Hisaya, and Koyata, presidents of the Mitsubishi zaibatsu that became the foundation of today's Mitsubishi Group. It's the perfect place to learn modern Japanese history from an economic perspective. I really enjoyed it. Note that photography inside is prohibited. It's open on weekdays only. For the Reiwa 7 year-end and New Year holidays, it's closed from Friday, December 26 to Monday, January 4. Please check before you go.

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An archive museum next to the Iwasaki Garden that showcases the history of the prosperity of the Mitsubishi zaibatsu, beginning with Yanosuke Iwasaki. Admission is free. Once inside, a 21-minute introductory video is shown just before the exhibition room, and it's structured to tie in closely with the exhibits. It's a bit long, but I felt that watching the video first before going around the exhibits deepens your understanding and makes it easier to grasp the overall flow. After watching the video and going around the exhibition room, I got a good understanding of Mitsubishi's history. Also, learning that Mitsubishi's founder, Yanosuke Iwasaki, was from the Tosa domain, and that the Mitsubishi mark comes from the family crest of the Yamauchi clan, the lords of Tosa, was a new discovery for me and left a very interesting impression. By the way, photography is prohibited inside the exhibition room.

Photography isn't allowed inside, so this is just the building's exterior. The building is big, but the archive itself is small, and unless you take your time with the videos and booklets, one loop takes less than 20 minutes. Entry is until 16:00, and admission is free.