・Progress and the Role of the Museum and its Future

   Over the years, the Museum’s steady research and efforts in artificial firefly breeding, larval releases, and educational activities to conserve the water environment for fireflies have started to yield positive results.

　The Moriyama Firefly Park & Walk has attracted many people from within and outside of the prefecture, and the number of visitors to the museum exceeded 200,000 in 2011 and 300,000 in 2015, for which a commemorative event was held. In 2000, the 10th anniversary of the museum, the 33rd National Firefly Research Convention was held in Moriyama, where we had the opportunity to present the conservation activities of Genji fireflies in Moriyama City, which had been inherited from the research and achievements of Mr. Kiichiro Minami.
On the 20th Anniversary of the museum, we published “Bulletin No. 1” as a commemorative publication, reflecting on the five years of the museum’s activities. Unfortunately, we were unable to hold the 30th anniversary commemorative event due to COVID-19.

　The number of Moriyama Genji fireflies, which were once in danger of extinction, has gradually increased,
and in May 2018 (Heisei 30), “Spring Water and Fireflies of Moriyama” were designated as a Japanese Heritage Site as “Lake Biwa and its Waterside Landscape – Water Heritage of Prayer and Life”.

    The HOTARU(Firefly) Forest Museum will continue to play an important role as a base facility for projects that aim to make Moriyama “a city, where fireflies live”.