  Founded to honor the contributions made by German physician Ph.Fr. von
Siebold (1796-1866) to the modernization of Japan, this museum was built by
 Nagasaki City on property adjacent to Siebold's former residence in 
the Narutaki neighborhood.  
  The building and entrance vestibule are designed after Siebold's house in 
Leiden, the Netherlands and the Lotz family residence in Germany where he
spent his early years.
  The hydrangea, which puts forth elegant purple-blue blossoms in early summer
and which Siebold introduced to the world under the botanical name
 "Hydrangea otaksa," is now the　city flower of Nagasaki.