About the Place:
It is located in a corner of the Verny Park overlooking the site of the Yokosuka Works, which is now the U.S. Navy Yokosuka Air Base.
The Verny Commemorative Museum is made up of steeply sloping roofs and stone walls characteristic of houses in Brittany, France. In addition to introducing the achievements of Verny, the museum also houses the 3-ton and 0.5-ton steam hammers used at the Yokosuka Ironworks (the 0.5-ton hammer is a nationally designated Important Cultural Property). This is a hammer that is raised and lowered by steam power, and the weight of the hammer is used to process metal to make ship parts. Its movement and mechanism can be seen in the steam-powered one-tenth size model. In addition to hands-on equipment at the memorial hall to help children learn about "weight, energy, and machines," the museum will also show a film about the history of the industry and provide tours of the historical buildings.
Now, this museum is designated as "Japan Heritage" on Apr 25, 2016.
About the Person:
Taken from Wikipedia, "Léonce Verny" (Dec 2, 1837 – May 2, 1908) was a French officer and naval engineer[1] who directed the construction of the Yokosuka Naval Arsenal in Japan, as well as many related modern infrastructure projects from 1865 to 1876, thus helping jump-start Japan's modernization.
Verny was appointed chief administrator and constructor of the Yokosuka Naval Arsenal in 1865. Yokosuka was chosen because it was a well protected inlet, in close proximity to Yokohama and Tokyo. The same year, he briefly returned to France to purchase all necessary machinery and recruit French naval experts from Brest, Toulon, and Cherbourg (45 families in all) to help organize the construction of the arsenal. During the months in France, Verny also helped in the negotiations for the First French Military Mission to Japan, consisting of military advisors under Jules Brunet to help train and re-equip the Tokugawa army from 1867, and to assist it in the Boshin War against the Satcho Alliance.
In Yokosuka, Verny trained 65 Japanese technicians and hired 2500 workers. The construction of the shipyard itself was only the central point of a major infrastructure development project, which encompassed foundries, brick kilns, gunpowder and weapons factories, an aqueduct and hydraulic power facilities, modern buildings and technical schools to train Japanese technicians were established.
The Yokosuka Naval Arsenal completed its first warship, the Yokosuka-maru in November 1866, but the planned two repair yards, three shipyards and iron works were not completed by the time of the Meiji restoration. Initial fears that the pro-Bakufu French engineers would be replaced by British engineers were soon proven groundless, and Yokosuka continued to employ on French engineers until 1878.
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visit link)
Entrance fee: Free
Open: 9:00-17:00
Closed on Monday and Dec 29-Jan 3