from the museum director
guidance in building
the fifteen-year war
modern warfare
buiding peace
Room1
Room2
Room3
The Studio of Life&quotKyoto Annex to the Mugonkan
getting to the kyoto museum for world peace
Room 3
Kyotoites Working For Peace-Sending Messages from the People of Kyoto to the World

In this room we can learn about some of the ways the people of Kyoto have been involved in war, and also see some of the initiatives they have taken for peace. "A Tour of Kyoto Peace Sites" consists of maps identifying peace-related sites in the City of Kyoto and within Kyoto Prefecture and folders that contain interesting stories about each of these sites. The "International Children's Peace Sculpture" at the far end of the room was created by students from high schools in Kyoto to symbolize their desire for world peace. Hanging next to it is a picture of a peaceful realm for children, made on a folding screen using Japan's famous yuzen dyeing process. On the same wall there are also a number of "Peace Messages from Kyoto" written by the head priests of famous Buddhist temples in Kyoto. The glass case on that wall contains sheet music about Article 9 of the Japanese Constitution, which renounces war. In addition, the case holds a set of karuta playing cards on an anti-nuclear war theme, along with the original illustrations for the cards, as well as a Kyoto doll figurine called "The Sound of an Explosion", which shows a mother trying to protect her child during an air raid. Together, the displays in this room present another side of the city of Kyoto.
 
pick upTour of Kyoto Peace Sites

These maps identify peace-related sites in the City of Kyoto and within Kyoto Prefecture, presenting a different slant on an area that is a popular tourist destination. There are three different kinds of sites featured on these maps: those related to war, peace and human rights. Detailed explanations of each spot in Japanese are found in the folders on the shelf below the maps.
 
pick upTimeline of Life on Earth

On the right-hand wall as you move from Rooms 1 to 3 on the second floor, you'll find a timeline on which the 4.6 billion years of the earth's history are compared to a single calendar year. Humanity doesn't even appear until the night of December 31st. At 23:59:58 on New Year's Eve, the Industrial Revolution flashes past, followed by the development of nuclear weapons with just 0.4 seconds to go. This timeline is designed to make us realize that human beings emerged only very recently on the stage of global history, yet we are poised on the brink of obliterating any trace of that history—along with all life itself. At the end of the timeline is a mirror framed by children's faces.The reflection in the mirror represents you as you are now, as well as the earth as it is now. As the message over the mirror says, we are relay runners in human history. Let's make sure we pass the baton to the next generation.