Bunka Gakuen Costume Museum is affiliated with Bunka Gakuen Educational Foundation and is a specialized garment museum of which there are few in Japan. Bunka Gakuen was established in 1923 and comprises of Bunka Gakuen University, Bunka Fashion College, Bunka Fashion Graduate University, Bunka Fashion Research Institute, a library, museum, and publishing bureau. As a general fashion education institution it is central to fashion education in Japan and produces a large number of graduates for the fashion industry. When Bunka Gakuen was established there was a plan to create a specialist apparel museum for research and education purposes based on original, high quality items. Bunka Gakuen Costume Museum was opened in 1979 and in commemoration of Bunka Gakuen’s 80th anniversary in 2003 it moved to its present location in the Shinjuku Quint Building which is located along Koshu main road. Bunka Gakuen Costume Museum is a specialist university-affiliated museum that specializes in clothing – a fundamental element of everyday life.
It is our hope that the museum’s garments which have been collected for academic purposes will be made available to the general public and contribute towards the promotion of knowledge.