Verkehr Museum - Shizuoka

I was born and raised in Shizuoka City, and I knew it existed for a long time, but I visited there about once. The conclusion is that if you haven't visited, you can visit once and there is no loss. I was able to learn about the history of the development of Kiyomigata (Shimizu Port), about ships (modern dedicated ships), and about canning.

He had held a miniature exhibition of cute rat. Use the antique fabrics and beads, work that has been expressed to very fine place there was a lot. Quaint in a beautiful building, is convenient because parking is next to (free) There is also a permanent exhibition, you can see the history of Shimizu. I enjoyed a half-day at 400 yen. I want to use it again.

It's hard to tell what the "Verkehr Museum" is, but it's a port-related museum in Shimizu Port. By the way, it has nothing to do with the Dutch painter Vermeer (laughs). The building has a calm and fashionable atmosphere, and the interior and exhibits are more like a museum than a museum. The museum name Verkehr means "transportation" in German. But why German? Germany, a continental nation, does not have much image of shipping, but ... The recommended exhibits at this museum are a number of "Wasens" that have been precisely reproduced on a huge scale. I will introduce the highlights of the model. Compared to Western ships, Japanese ships have only one mast without multiple masts, and the rudder is unusually large for the hull. The reason why there is only one mast is because the Edo Shogunate decided so (laughs). It's not structurally inevitable, but it's because the Shogunate was afraid of high-performance ships that could travel abroad. This characterized the Japanese ship. If you have multiple masts and sails, you can make them also act as rudders, but since they do not exist in Japanese ships, you had to deal with them by making the rudder extremely large. Also, since there is only one sail, the mast is long and tall so that it can receive as much wind as possible. As a result, the center of gravity of the ship became higher, and at the same time, the mast became vulnerable to strong winds and was easily broken. In addition to that, the huge rudder was easily damaged by the waves. That is why there were many ship distresses during the Edo period, such as Daikokuya Kodayu. By the way, there is also an exhibition of "Japanese-Western eclectic ships" built after the regulations of the Shogunate were abolished in the Meiji era, so let's compare them. First of all, there are multiple sails and the number of masts has increased, so there is no need to raise the sail column unnecessarily, the center of gravity is lowered and the appearance is stable. And notice that the rudder is so small that you wonder, "Is this okay?" The time has come for the shogunate to be sent off not only for political reasons but also for the advancement of ships and trade.