The Osaka Prefectural Museum of Yayoi Culture collects, preserves, and exhibits materials and information related to Yayoi culture in general. In the first exhibition room, which has the theme of "Visualizing Yayoi Culture," visitors pass through an introductory zone that displays a life-size pit dwelling and a representative map of the Yayoi period from around the country, and are able to learn about the culture of the Yayoi period, the "source of Japanese culture," through six sections: "The Beginning of Rice Cultivation," "The Birth of New Technology," "Village, War, and Country," "Yayoi People," "Interaction," and "Death and Festivals."
In addition, as a "museum where you can encounter Himiko," a symbolic zone related to Himiko, the queen of Yamataikoku, has been set up in the center of the exhibition room.
The second exhibition room, "Ikegami Sone World," is a museum adjacent to the Ikegami Sone Ruins, a nationally designated historic site and one of Japan's leading Yayoi period ruins, and introduces the ruins. Exhibits include the actual pillars of a large building, also known as a shrine, and a replica of an extra-large hollowed well, allowing visitors to understand what the base settlement looked like at the time.
The special exhibition room hosts special and planned exhibitions that introduce the history and culture of the Yayoi period from various perspectives each season. In the outdoor experience zone, you can experience the excavation and restoration of a pit dwelling.
It is the only specialized museum in the country that allows visitors to become familiar with and learn about Yayoi culture in general, not just local ruins.The Ikegami Sone Historical Site Park, located north of the museum, has large buildings restored and is home to the Ikegami Sone Yayoi Learning Center, where visitors can experience Yayoi-era craftsmanship.