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Tsuruga is an impressive port city in Hokuriku region in the central northern area of mainland Japan. Tsuruga faces the Sea of Japan and is home to a beautiful blue ocean and a thriving international transportation hub.
In the early 20th century, Tsuruga Port was a “path to life” for European orphans and refugees fleeing post-revolutionary Russia and Nazi German-occupied Europe.
In the 1920s, 763 Polish orphans were rescued by the Japan Red Cross and were welcomed via the port town. Later in the 1940s, Tsuruga would again be the setting of welcoming 6,000 Jewish refugees with visas for life issued by Japanese diplomat Chiune Sugihara in Lithuania.
In 2008, to commemorate the history of welcoming refugees, the Port of Humanity Tsuruga Museum opened. To celebrate the 100th and 80th anniversaries of these important events, the museum was expanded and relocated to nearly-100-year-old former port buildings after they were renovated.
In the museum , the history of the port and the turbulent period, along with heartwarming interactions between the refugees and Tsuruga locals, is documented through the displayed photos, documents and videos.
“The displayed items and exhibitions at this museum are simply telling us how important life and peace are,” said Akinori Nishikawa, director of the museum.
Visit Tsuruga to check out the unique history of the Port of Humanity while enjoying its old western-style museum buildings and crystal-clear blue ocean!
Port of Humanity Tsuruga Museum
Location: 23-1 Kanegasaki Town, Tsuruga City, Fukui prefecture
Hours: Thu – Tue, 9 a.m. – 5 p.m. (closed Wednesdays)
Admission: ages 13 and older, 500 yen; ages 4-12, 300 yen
