In the middle of a nice garden. Very interesting exhibits, including on local geology, and a nice library. There are also small temporary exhibitions.

Very interesting museum.

Great local history.

The nearest station is Setagaya Station, and admission is free. I've been making the rounds of museums in the 23 wards, and Setagaya Ward's content is neither good nor bad. Setagaya Ward's defining feature is, simply put, ancient times! Numerous archaeological sites have been found, and the display of Jomon-period pottery is overwhelming. After that, my impression is that rather than being at the center of history, it quietly formed villages and had nothing particularly noteworthy until modern times. In the Edo period, it became an exclave of the Hikone Domain and land associated with Ii Naosuke. Ii Naosuke's grave is at nearby Gotokuji Temple, so I recommend visiting both together. After that, the exhibits continue with a covers-everything overview from the war to the present. I'd like to see something that encourages repeat visits. With this content, you're satisfied after one visit. ① Culture in Setagaya and Suginami blossomed rapidly after the mass evacuation following the Great Kanto Earthquake, so how about including a bit more about the modern era? ② Exhibits that make use of digital technology. Rotating content each season ③ Setagaya Castle, Shoin Shrine, garden city development like Futako-Tamagawa—there must be much, much more The museums in Shinagawa, Shinjuku, and Adachi wards are well made, and if you use them as a reference, I think you'll see how to build something that firmly emphasizes the ward's selling points. I suppose covering history broadly and generally is the basic approach, but that makes for content that somehow doesn't leave an impression. You could call it calm, but it felt like a lonely facility. There's so much more that could be done, so I hope they keep at it.

+3

The quantity and quality of the exhibits are hard to believe for a free museum. The main building has a chronological exhibition from prehistoric times to the present, with a very rich collection of actual artifacts (see images). The new building is connected to the main building and has folklore and art exhibits. For folklore, there were exhibits on daily-life items and folk religion. Personally, I would have liked a bit more of the folklore exhibits.