The area now occupied by The Institute for Nature Study has been occupied since prehistoric times, and mid-
Jōmon period shell middens and
Jōmon pottery from about 2500 years ago have been found in the area. During the
Heian period, the area was farmland, with
rice paddies, and in the
Muromachi period the area contained a number of fortified manor houses. The place name of "
Shirokanedai" has been found in written records from 1559 AD. After the foundation of the
Edo Period Tokugawa shogunate, the area was initially part of the holdings of
Zōjō-ji, an important
Buddhist temple. However, in 1664, it became part of the estate of
Matsudaira Yorishige, the
daimyō of
Takamatsu Domain. Some of the oldest
pine trees in the Institute are thought to have been trees which were part of the
Japanese garden in the villa on this estate. Following the
Meiji restoration, the site was taken over by the
Navy Ministry and
Army Ministry for use as a
gunpowder magazine. It became property of the
Imperial Household Agency in 1917, and was renamed the "Shirokane Imperial Estate". However, little was done with the land, and during
World War II, a number of fields were planted and
air raid shelters were dug in its grounds. Following the
surrender of Japan, the estate was transferred to the
Ministry of Education in 1949, and was opened to the public as a national natural-education park. It has been designated The Institute for Nature Study as part of the
National Museum of Nature and Science in 1962. == Gallery ==