Message from the Director

In 1973, plans to rebuild Abashiri Prison were announced. At that time, Mr. Hisashi Sato, then president of the Abashiri Shimbun, was deeply concerned that valuable Meiji-era prison buildings might be lost. He proposed preserving the former prison buildings by relocating them as a whole.

Mr. Sato’s strong passion for preservation moved many citizens of Abashiri, and with the support of the Ministry of Justice, Hokkaido Prefecture, the City of Abashiri, and other related organizations, the project began to take shape.

On May 28, 1980, Mr. Sato became the founding chairman, and the foundation received official approval as a public-interest corporation. Its purpose was to preserve former prison buildings as cultural assets and to widely exhibit modern penal materials from Hokkaido, thereby contributing to the development of education and culture.

The project to preserve and open former prison buildings as a museum was launched, and after three years of preparation, the museum opened to the public.

In 1994, the museum met the requirements to be registered under the Museum Act. In 2005, three of the preserved former Abashiri Prison buildings were registered as Tangible Cultural Properties, confirming the cultural value of the Meiji-period architecture.

In 2010, commemorating the 30th anniversary of the museum’s opening, the Penal Museum was fully renovated and reopened as the Prison History Museum.

The new Prison History Museum features the experiential theater "The Crimson Prisoners’ Forest," which highlights the prisoners who completed the 220 km Central Road from Abashiri to Asahikawa in just eight months in 1891, at the cost of many lives.

The museum also recreates the interior of a modern prison and presents exhibitions on the unique relationship between the city of Abashiri, its citizens, and the prison.

Digital video, immersive sound, and various experiential techniques have been adopted throughout the exhibitions. We are confident that every visitor will find something meaningful through their visit.

In response to the growing number of overseas visitors in recent years, we have promoted multilingualization of exhibition texts, explanations, and audio guides.

In February 2016, eight relocated buildings of the former Abashiri Prison were designated as Important Cultural Properties of Japan—the first such designation for penal architecture.

We will continue our dedicated efforts to pass on these invaluable cultural assets to future generations.