National Museum of Comic Art (Taichung Prison Drill Ground) Introduction
The current building is the National Museum of Comic Art. The Taichung Prison Martial Arts Hall is located at No. 33, Linsen Road, West District, Taichung City. It was built during the Japanese colonial period in Showa 12 (1937) and served as a dojo for prison officials and police training. It is the only surviving martial arts hall in the city, with its historical appearance preserved intact, making it highly valuable for conservation, reuse, and architectural research. The martial arts hall complex includes the main building and auxiliary buildings on the east side. The main building is constructed in a symmetrical style, with a shrine at the central rear, a judo hall on the left side facing the shrine, and a kendo hall on the right side. There is only a single side seating area inside the martial arts hall, making it smaller compared to similar martial arts facilities from the same period, such as the Budo Pavilion. The architectural style is a typical martial arts hall from the Japanese colonial period, with an elevated foundation, façade imitating wooden structures and decorative wall columns, and a mother-roof style roof adorned with large decorative tiles and wind shields. The Taichung Prison Martial Arts Hall was built during the Japanese colonial period in Showa 12 (1937) as a training ground for daily judo and kendo exercises for prison officials and police. It was registered as a historical building in 2004.
