Outline of History
| 1966 | November | At the Prime Minister’s Office conference to coordinate activities for the commemorative events celebrating the century since the Imperial Restoration, it was resolved to establish a museum of Japanese history and ethnology as one such activity. This resolution was reported to the cabinet and approved. |
|---|---|---|
| 1970 | Sakura City, Chiba Prefecture was designated as the museum construction site. | |
| 1978 | April | The preparatory office for the National Museum of Japanese History (provisional name) was set up. |
| 1981 | April | The National Museum of Japanese History was established as an inter-national university research institute. |
| 1983 | March | The National Museum of Japanese History was opened, with the opening of Gallery 1 and Gallery 2 to the public. |
| November | Gallery 3 was opened to the public. | |
| 1993 | March | A part of Gallery 5 was opened to the public. |
| 1995 | March | All other parts of Gallery 5 were opened to the public. |
| September | The Botanical Garden of Everyday Life was opened to the public. | |
| 1999 | April | Department of Japanese History, School of Cultural and Social Studies, the Graduate University for Advanced Studies was established. |
| 2004 | April | In accordance with the National University Corporation Law (Law No.112 July 16, 2003), the museum was redesignated as the National Museum of Japanese History, National Institutes for the Humanities, Inter-University Research Institute Corporation. |
| 2008 | March | Gallery 3 (Early Modern History) was renewed and was opened to the public. |
| 2010 | March | Gallery 6 (Contemporary History) was opened to the public. |
| 2013 | March | Gallery 4 (Folklore) was renewed and was opened to the public. The day was the 30th Anniversary of the opening of the museum. |
| 2014 | March | General Research Building was completed. |
| 2016 | May | International Exchange Building was completed. |
List of Directors-General
First : INOUE Mitsusada (April 14, 1981 to February 27, 1983)
Second : TSUCHIDA Naoshige (April 20, 1983 to January 24, 1993)
Third : ISHII Susumu (March 1, 1993 to August 31, 1997)
Fourth : SAHARA Makoto (September 1, 1997 to August 31, 2001)
Fifth : MIYACHI Masato (September 1, 2001 to August 31, 2005)
Sixth : HIRAKAWA Minami (April 1, 2006 to March 31, 2014)
Seventh : KURUSHIMA Hiroshi (April 1, 2014 to present)
