九州国立博物館

Opened in 2005 as Japan's fourth national museum (after Tokyo, Kyoto, and Nara), the Kyushu National Museum in Dazaifu is built around the concept of understanding Japanese culture through the lens of Asian cultural exchange — making it uniquely positioned to contextualize Japanese swords within their East Asian heritage. The museum's permanent Cultural Exchange Exhibition features approximately 700 objects at any time, including swords examined through the lens of continental iron-working techniques that underpinned Japanese blade development. The collection covers Kyushu's own sword traditions — including the Bungo (豊後) school of the Kamakura period and the celebrated Hizen swords (肥前刀) of the Edo period — as well as national-level treasures on rotation with other national museums. Special exhibitions occasionally assemble major Important Cultural Property and National Treasure swords from across Japan. The museum is connected by covered walkway to the Dazaifu Tenmangū shrine complex.