DOCSLIB.ORG

The Museum Experience in the Environment of the Japanese Collections Jungwon Lee

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
The Museum Experience in the Environment of the Japanese Collections Jungwon Lee Florida State University Libraries Electronic Theses, Treatises and Dissertations The Graduate School 2010 The Museum Experience in the Environment of the Japanese Collections Jungwon Lee Follow this and additional works at the FSU Digital Library. For more information, please contact [email protected] THE FLORIDA STATE UNIVERSITY COLLEGE OF VISUAL ARTS, THEATRE AND DANCE THE MUSEUM EXPERIENCE IN THE ENVIRONMENT OF THE JAPANESE COLLECTIONS By JUNGWON LEE A Dissertation submitted to the Department of Art Education in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Degree Awarded: Summer Semester, 2010 The members of the committee approve the dissertation of Jungwon Lee defended on April 27, 2010. ___________________________________ Pat Villeneuve Professor Directing Dissertation ___________________________________ Eric Wiedegreen University Representative ___________________________________ Tom Anderson Committee Member ___________________________________ Dave Gussak Committee Member Approved: _____________________________________ Dave Gussak, Chair, Department of Art Education _____________________________________ Sally E. McRorie, Dean, College of Visual Arts, Theatre and Dance The Graduate School has verified and approved the above-named committee members. ii I am because you are. Dedicated to: My Parents Sungsoo Lee and Eunhee Park Your unyielding support, sacrifice, and trust have taught me to believe that anything is possible. Father and Mother, thank you, and I love you. iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Life can be like a box of chocolates. One never knows what one will get. When faced with circumstances and problems that I did not expect in the course of this dissertation, the precious advice and trust of my parents guided me and helped me to keep going and finish this massive undertaking. My mother, who is my mentor as well as my best friend, gave me endless love and passed on her wisdom about life. My father, who never doubted that I could do anything I believed in, encouraged me to focus on my work without any concerns throughout my schooling. I extend my sincere gratitude to my advisor, Pat Villeneuve, for offering essential guidance through coursework and this constructive process of writing the dissertation. Her warm support, important advice, and words of encouragements enabled me to constantly focus on my dissertation. I also would like to thank the members of my dissertation committee: Tom Anderson, David Gussak, and Eric Wiedegreen. Tom Anderson helped me to be aware of insights about art criticism, and David Gussak provided me with the philosophical foundations for my study. I also would like to thank Jayme Harpring, who edited my dissertation. iv TABLE OF CONTENTS Abstract .......................................................................................................................................... ix 1. INTRODUCTION Introduction ........................................................................................................................... 1 Statement of the Problem ...................................................................................................... 1 Purpose of the Study ............................................................................................................. 2 Research Question .................................................................................................................. 3 Background to the Study ........................................................................................................ 3 The Museum Environment ........................................................................................... 3 Conceptual Frameworks ............................................................................................... 3 Constructivism .................................................................................................... 4 Museum as Cultural Landscape .......................................................................... 4 Interactive Experience Model ............................................................................. 4 Research Design ..................................................................................................................... 5 Research Sites ............................................................................................................... 5 Methodology ................................................................................................................. 5 Data Analysis ................................................................................................................ 6 Justification for the Study ....................................................................................................... 6 Assumptions ........................................................................................................................... 7 Researcher’s Background and Interest ................................................................................... 7 Definition of Terms ................................................................................................................. 9 Conclusion ............................................................................................................................ 10 2. REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE Introduction .......................................................................................................................... 11 The Concept of Museum Architecture ................................................................................. 11 Architecture as the museum ......................................................................................... 11 The Phenomenology of Architecture ............................................................................ 11 Japanese Museums ............................................................................................................... 13 Museum Education ............................................................................................................... 15 Meaning Making by Museum Visitors ......................................................................... 15 Museum Visitors, Learning, and Experience ............................................................... 16 v The Physical Environment of the Museum .................................................................. 20 Museum Exhibitions ..................................................................................................... 23 Conclusion ........................................................................................................................... 25 3. METHODOLOGY Introduction .......................................................................................................................... 26 Research Question and Overview ........................................................................................ 26 Research Design................................................................................................................... 28 Theoretical Underpinnings......................................................................................... 28 Study Sample ............................................................................................................. 29 Selected Museums ........................................................................................... 29 Observations .................................................................................................... 32 Interview Respondents ..................................................................................... 32 The Interview Protocol .............................................................................................. 34 Data Collection Procedures .................................................................................................. 35 Data Collection .......................................................................................................... 35 Data Analysis ....................................................................................................................... 36 Coding ........................................................................................................................ 37 Example of Coding and Data Analysis: The Norton Museum of Art ........................ 37 Conclusion ........................................................................................................................... 39 4. PRESENTATION OF DATA: THE MORIKAMI MUSEUM Introduction .......................................................................................................................... 40 Analysis of the Morikami Museum ..................................................................................... 40 Floor Plan ................................................................................................................... 40 Immersion and Response ........................................................................................... 40 Categories of Experience ........................................................................................... 42 Description ................................................................................................................. 45 Observation ...................................................................................................... 45 Seishin-an gallery..................................................................................
Load more

Recommended publications
  • 専門家会議 Meeting of Japanese Art Specialists
    専門家会議 Meeting of Japanese Art Specialists 2019 年 1 月 19 日（土） 於東京国立博物館 平成館第一会議室 January 19 (Sat.), 2019; Meeting Room 1, Heiseikan, Tokyo National Museum January 19, 2019: Meeting of Japanese Art Specialists Purpose: Tis meeting was an opportunity for experienced curators of Japanese art from North America, Europe, and Japan to exchange information and discuss challenges per- taining to their work. Venue: Meeting Room 1, Heiseikan, Tokyo National Museum Chairman and Facilitator: Mr. Atsushi Imai (Tokyo National Museum) Participants from North America Dr. Laura Allen (Asian Art Museum of San Francisco) Dr. Monika Bincsik (Te Metropolitan Museum of Art) Dr. Andreas Marks (Minneapolis Institute of Art) Dr. Anne Nishimura Morse (Museum of Fine Arts, Boston) Dr. Xiaojin Wu (Seattle Art Museum) Participants from Europe Dr. Rupert Faulkner (Victoria and Albert Museum) Dr. Akiko Yano (Te British Museum) Ms. Wibke Schrape (Museum für Kunst und Gewerbe Hamburg) Dr. Ainura Yusupova (Te Pushkin State Museum of Fine Arts) Mr. Menno Fitski (Rijksmuseum) Participants from Japan Mr. Tomoyuki Higuchi (Sendai City Museum) Dr. Maromitsu Tsukamoto (University of Tokyo, Institute for Advanced Studies on Asia) Mr. Takeo Oku (Agency for Cultural Afairs) Participants from the National Institutes for Cultural Heritage Mr. Atsushi Imai (Tokyo National Museum) Mr. Ryusuke Asami (Tokyo National Museum) Ms. Satomi Kito (Tokyo National Museum) Mr. Hideaki Kunigo (Tokyo National Museum) Mr. Hiroshi Asaka (Kyoto National Museum) Mr. Rintaro Inami (Kyoto National Museum) Ms. Melissa M. Rinne (Kyoto National Museum) Dr. Sakae Naito (Nara National Museum) Ms. Mihori Okina (Nara National Museum) Dr. Norifumi Mochizuki (Kyushu National Museum) Mr.
    [Show full text]
  • Articolo Volume Contemporary Japan 2015
    Contemporary Japan Challenges for a World Economic Power in Transition edited by Paolo Calvetti, Marcella Mariotti A New Frontier in Art From Calligraphy to Performance Rossella Menegazzo (Università degli Studi di Milano, Italia) Abstract Over the last few years writing and calligraphic forms have seen a huge revival both in Japan and in East Asia developing as a new form of art. Works and installations using calligraphy, writing or typographic fonts and exploiting the richness of Asian languages have increased to the point where there’s no exhibition or Biennal where art writing is missing. Following the classical pictorial models and formats, where calligraphy and painted images are considered as a unique form of expression, similarly, today calligraphic forms are used, mixed and overlapping with im- ages both in contemporary graphic design and in photographic works. However, we can see also an increase in research through performative acts which recall the instinctive and free gesture of the zenga masters, at the same time adding at the same time to that approach the qualities of new media, technologies and internationalized art trends. The result is a completely new form of art expression originating from a continuous exchange between worldly active and complementary creative movements. Summary 1. The Great Influence of Zen Philosophy and Calligraphic Art on American and Euro- pean Contemporary Artists. – 2. Image and Text Relationship in Classical Japanese Painting. – 2.1. Synchronic Relationship. – 2.2. Diachronic Relationship. – 3. Image and Text Relationship in Con- temporary Japanese Visual Arts. – 3.1. Synchronic Relationship. – 3.2. Diachronic Relationship. – 4. Japanese New Forms of Calligraphy Influenced by Euro-American Performative Art: the Case of the ‘Shodo¯ Girls’.
    [Show full text]
  • Reflections on the Floating World
    Reflections on the Floating World Rossella Menegazzo Published in 2020 by Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tāmaki on the occasion of the exhibition Enchanted Worlds: Hokusai, Hiroshige and the Art of Edo Japan at Reflections on the Floating World Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tāmaki Director: Kirsten Paisley Rossella Menegazzo Curator: Rossella Menegazzo Co-ordinating curators: Sophie Matthiesson and Emma Jameson Editor: Sophie Matthiesson Managing editor: Clare McIntosh Editorial assistant: Emma Jameson Catalogue design: Hilary Moloughney ISBN: 978-0-86463-330-9 © 2020, Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tāmaki and the author Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tāmaki PO Box 5749 Victoria Street West Auckland 1142 Aotearoa New Zealand www.aucklandartgallery.com This text is the print version of a lecture presented by Dr Rossella Menegazzo at Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tāmaki as part of the opening events for the exhibition Enchanted Worlds: Hokusai, Hiroshige and the Art of Edo Japan. Contents 6 Introduction 8 Hanging Scrolls 12 Edo and the World of Pleasure 36 Divine and Legendary Worlds 40 Nature and Landscape 44 Further Reading 45 About the Author Cover Utagawa Hiroshige Great Waves of Sōshū Shichiriga-hama1847, hanging scroll, ink and colour on silk. Private collection. Above Figure 1 Kawahara Keiga Bustling Scene of City Life circa1825, framed painting, ink and colour on silk 4 Private collection. 5 and under whose rule there was an increase in the importation of manuals, prints, etchings and products from Europe. So we cannot say Introduction that Japan was ‘completely closed’. It depended on the periods and on who was in power.
    [Show full text]
  • Present Status of Museums in Japan （博物館に関する英文パンフレット）
    Contents 1. Present Status of Museums in Japan・・・・・・・・・・・1 Definition and Classification of Museums in Japan ・・ 1 Founders and Operators of Museums・・・・・・・・・・ 2 Legislation Relating to Museums・・・・・・・・・・・・ 3 Classification Based on the Museum Act・・・・・・・・ 3 Process of Museum Registration ・・・・・・・・・・・・ 5 Present Status of Museum Registration・・・・・・・・・ 6 Definition of Curator ・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・ 6 Acquisition of Curator Qualifications (Certification)・・ 6 Present Status of Curators・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・ 7 Museums related Institutions ・・・・・・・・・・・・・・ 9 2. MUSEUM ACT・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・12 National Museum of Nature and Science Present Status of Museums in Japan 1 Present Status of Museums in Japan Definition and Classification of Museums in Japan The Museum Act stipulates that museums are “organizations with the purpose of collecting and preserving (including nurturing) materials related to history, the arts, folk customs, industry, natural science, etc., exhibiting them, providing them for use by the general public on the basis of educational considerations, conducting necessary work in order to contribute to education, research, recreation, etc., and in addition undertaking surveys and research relating to these materials.” Museums in Japan can be classified in various ways, such as by type of museum, by founder, and by legal status. By type of museum, broadly speaking, there are general museums (museums with both humanities and natural science sections), history museums (including archaeology, folklore, etc.), art museums, science museums (including science halls and planetariums), zoos, botanical gardens, aquariums, and so on. According to the FY 2005 Social Education Survey of the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science, and Technology (MEXT), there are a total of 5,614 museums in Japan. By type of museum, the breakdown is 3,200 history museums, the highest number, followed, in order, by 1,087 art museums and 474 science museums.
    [Show full text]
  • My Travels in Japan by Stefan Chiarantano @ Stefan Chiarantano
    My travels in Japan By Stefan Chiarantano @ Stefan Chiarantano 2006 2 Tables of Contents Introduction 5 Museums 7 The National Museum of Western Art, Tokyo 7 Yamanashi Prefectural Museum 12 Uenohara 22 Tokyo National Museum 22 The Modigliani exhibit at the Bunkamura 23 Tokyo Metropolitan Museum of Photography 26 The Van Gogh Exhibit 27 Shintoism Shintoism 28 Visiting a Shinto Shrine (Jinja) 28 The link between Shintoism, Emperor Worship and the Yasukuni Shrine 29 Sakura 29 My visit to the Yasukuni Shrine 30 Kokeshi 32 The Geisha 33 The Silkworm 34 Ikebana 37 The Japanese Tea Ceremony 38 The Japanese art of tea 40 More on the Japanese Tea Ceremony 42 The Japanese cat 42 Mandukya 44 Homelessness in Japan 45 The Japanese moon 48 The Ginger Tree: A review of the screenplay 49 Japanese Ghosts 50 Gaijin Teachers 51 3 Hamamatsu 52 Ueno 56 Ueno Park 56 My visit to Ueno Park (My first time) 57 Ueno Revisited (My second time) 58 Ueno Toshogu Shrine 61 Hiroshima 61 A personal journey into the atomic bombing of Hiroshima 61 No more Hiroshimas! 62 the girl who folded paper cranes 67 Takao 68 Jimbocho 69 Shadows of the West 70 Walking Along the Sumida River 70 Asakusa 73 Nagano Prefecture 74 Doing the tourist thing in Komagane, Nagano 74 A flock of birds in Komagane 76 Kisangani Re-visited! 77 Rice Fields 80 Moments in K. 81 Travels along the JR Iida line - Part One 82 My Farewell 87 Buddhism 87 The Moon 87 Gassho 88 Namu-Amida Butsu 89 Perfections (Paramitas) 89 Japanese Buddhist Deities 90 Dukkha 91 Jizo figure 92 Jizo figures – Postscript 93 4 Nichiren Daishonin 95 The Buddha described ways to deal with negative thoughts 96 Sitting Zazen 97 Zuigakuin 99 Mt.
    [Show full text]
  • 06. Menegazzo.Pdf
    Contemporary Japan Challenges for a World Economic Power in Transition edited by Paolo Calvetti, Marcella Mariotti A New Frontier in Art From Calligraphy to Performance Rossella Menegazzo (Università degli Studi di Milano, Italia) Abstract Over the last few years writing and calligraphic forms have seen a huge revival both in Japan and in East Asia developing as a new form of art. Works and installations using calligraphy, writing or typographic fonts and exploiting the richness of Asian languages have increased to the point where there’s no exhibition or Biennal where art writing is missing. Following the classical pictorial models and formats, where calligraphy and painted images are considered as a unique form of expression, similarly, today calligraphic forms are used, mixed and overlapping with im- ages both in contemporary graphic design and in photographic works. However, we can see also an increase in research through performative acts which recall the instinctive and free gesture of the zenga masters, at the same time adding at the same time to that approach the qualities of new media, technologies and internationalized art trends. The result is a completely new form of art expression originating from a continuous exchange between worldly active and complementary creative movements. Summary 1. The Great Influence of Zen Philosophy and Calligraphic Art on American and Euro- pean Contemporary Artists. – 2. Image and Text Relationship in Classical Japanese Painting. – 2.1. Synchronic Relationship. – 2.2. Diachronic Relationship. – 3. Image and Text Relationship in Con- temporary Japanese Visual Arts. – 3.1. Synchronic Relationship. – 3.2. Diachronic Relationship. – 4. Japanese New Forms of Calligraphy Influenced by Euro-American Performative Art: the Case of the ‘Shodo¯ Girls’.
    [Show full text]
  • The Legacy of Imperialism in Japanese Museums, 1977- 2017
    “Always barbarians?”: the legacy of imperialism in Japanese museums, 1977- 2017. Name: Edwin Pietersma Student number: 1888625 Supervisor: Dr. Ethan Mark Final Draft Thesis of the study Master of Arts (MA) Asian Studies (60 EC), track “History, Arts, and Cultures of Asia.” Date: December 15, 2017 Amount of words: 16.065 Table of Contents Introduction…………………………………………………………………………………....3 1. Museum and research: the state of the field………………………...……………………....8 2. “The separation”: Japanese colonialism regarding the Ainu and Korea……………………13 3. Ancient crafts: the exhibitions at the Tokyo National Museum…………………………...24 4. A new museum with old items and representation: the National Museum of Ethnology…32 Conclusion…………………………………………………………………………………....39 Bibliography……………………………………………………………………………….....41 Image: the 19th-century depiction of an Ainu chief, hanging in the Tokyo National Museum. Taken by the author in the summer of 2017. 2 Introduction This thesis examines the interrelation between the Japanese museum system and the establishment of an imperial discourse at the end of the nineteenth and beginning of the twentieth century. The aim is to show that the Japanese museum system inherited this history of imperialism and that a colonial legacy is present. However, that does not mean this is a static process but that in more recent years, we can see changes in the representation of former and current colonial subjects, providing opportunities to challenge the narrative of imperialism. The relation between imperialism and Japanese museology goes back to the foundation of the first museum in Japan, currently known as the Tokyo National Museum (TNM). Opened by the national government in 1872 and placed under the supervision of the Imperial Household Agency, this museum was responsible for all issues related to the cultural policy of the Japanese government.
    [Show full text]
  • 1 Present Status of Museums in Japan
    Present Status of Museums in Japan 1 Present Status of Museums in Japan Definition and Classification of Museums in Japan The Museum Act stipulates that museums are “organizations with the purpose of collecting and preserving (including nurturing) materials related to history, the arts, folk customs, industry, natural science, etc., exhibiting them, providing them for use by the general public on the basis of educational considerations, conducting necessary work in order to contribute to education, research, recreation, etc., and in addition undertaking surveys and research relating to these materials.” Museums in Japan can be classified in various ways, such as by type of museum, by founder, and by legal status. By type of museum, broadly speaking, there are general museums (museums with both humanities and natural science sections), history museums (including archaeology, folklore, etc.), art museums, science museums (including science halls and planetariums), zoos, botanical gardens, aquariums, and so on. According to the FY 2005 Social Education Survey of the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science, and Technology (MEXT), there are a total of 5,614 museums in Japan. By type of museum, the breakdown is 3,200 history museums, the highest number, followed, in order, by 1,087 art museums and 474 science museums. Edo-Tokyo Museum 1 Present Status of Museums in Japan Founders and Operators of Museums By founder, museums in Japan can be classified as having been established by the state (national), independent administrative institutions, local governments (prefectures, municipalities, etc.), general incorporated associations or general incorporated foundations, private entities and others. According to the FY 2005 Social Education Survey, there are 129 museums established by the state, 68 by independent administrative institutions, 4,023 by local governments, 603 by general incorporated associations or general incorporated foundations, and 791 by private entities and others.
    [Show full text]
  • 5 Collection of Fundamental Documentation of the History of Japanese Sculpture of the Kamakura Period: Inscribed Pieces: Volume Seven
    158 1 LIST – – JAPANESE INTEREST H ANSHAN TANG B OOKS LTD Unit 3, Ashburton Centre 276 Cortis Road London SW 15 3 AY UK Tel (020) 8788 4464 Fax (020) 8780 1565 Int’l (+44 20) [email protected] www.hanshan.com 5 COLLECTION OF FUNDAMENTAL DOCUMENTATION OF THE HISTORY OF JAPANESE SCULPTURE OF THE KAMAKURA PERIOD: INSCRIBED PIECES: VOLUME SEVEN. Nihon Chokokushi Kiso Shiryo Shusei: Kamakura Jidai: 7. Tokyo, 2009. 4, 184; 17, 2, 225 pp. 3 colour and 222 pp. b/w plates. B/w text illustrations. 2 vols. 30x21 cm. Cloth. £600.00 Volume Seven of a series of 8 examining all known inscribed examples of Kamakura period Japanese Buddhist sculpture. This volume examines a further 31 sculptures (listed as sculptures 197-228) from various Japanese collections and temples and which are exten - sively discussed in this volume with detailed black-and-white photography showing the sculptures from all angles and with many close-up shots. This seventh volume is in two parts — one volume of text and one of plates. Text in Japanese. An important study ref - erence. Other volumes in the series are available. 6 COLLECTION OF FUNDAMENTAL DOCUMENTATION OF THE HISTORY OF JAPANESE SCULPTURE OF THE KAMAKURA PERIOD: INSCRIBED PIECES: VOLUME EIGHT. Nihon Chokokushi Kiso Shiryo Shusei: Kamakura Jidai: 8. Tokyo, 2010. 5, 190; 17, 182; 77, 8, 66, 26 pp. text plus a total of 1 colour and c. 250 pp. b/w plates. B/w text illustrations. 30x21 cm. Cloth. £650.00 The eighth and final volume in a series examining all known inscribed examples of Kamakura period Japanese Buddhist sculpture.
    [Show full text]
  • Facing Modern Times the Revival of Japanese Lacquer Art 1890-1950
    Facing modern times : the revival of Japanese Lacquer Art 1890-1950 Dees, J. Citation Dees, J. (2007, March 15). Facing modern times : the revival of Japanese Lacquer Art 1890-1950. Retrieved from https://hdl.handle.net/1887/11458 Version: Not Applicable (or Unknown) Licence agreement concerning inclusion of doctoral thesis in the License: Institutional Repository of the University of Leiden Downloaded from: https://hdl.handle.net/1887/11458 Note: To cite this publication please use the final published version (if applicable). file:///O|/Keur/proefschriften/2007/03/Dees_J/Jan+Dees+BW+compleet-1.txt Facing Modern Times The Revival of Japanese Lacquer Art 1890-1950 ISBN: 978-90-8559-277-8 Optima Grafische Communicatie, Rotterdam Copyright © Jan Dees, Rotterdam, The Netherlands 2007 All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form, or by any means, electronic or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the author. Facing Modern Times The Revival of Japanese Lacquer Art 1890-1950 Proefschrift ter verkrijging van de graad van Doctor aan de Universiteit Leiden, op gezag van de Rector Magnificus prof.mr. P.F.van der Heijden, volgens besluit van het College voor Promoties te verdedigen op donderdag 15 maart 2007 klokke 13.45 uur door Jan Dees geboren te Oostburg in 1946 Promotiecommissie Promotor Prof. dr. W. R. van Gulik Referent Dr. M. Kopplin (Museum für Lackkunst, Münster) Overige leden Prof. dr. C. J. M. Zijlmans Prof. dr. C. Jörg Prof. dr. T. M. Eliëns This publication was financially supported by the Heinz Kaempfer Fund.
    [Show full text]
  • Toward a “Nation-State of Culture”: Public Art Museums and Japan's
    Toward a “Nation-state of Culture”: Public Art Museums and Japan’s National Identity and Image in the 1980s Yanni Li Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Prerequisite for Honors in East Asian Studies Wellesley College under the advisement of Professor Katharine H.S. Moon Spring 2020 © 2020 Yanni Li Abstract In this work, I examine the case of Japan and how the Japanese state utilized public art museums in the 1980s and early 1990s to shift their national image to that of a “nation-state of culture” (bunka kokka). Museums, especially public ones, are politically implicated institutions. Contrary to their appearance of permanence and insulation, museums are reflective of larger political, economic, and social changes in a society. Drawing upon the theories of Carol Duncan, Pierre Bourdieu, and Tony Bennett, this thesis examines art museums as institutions that facilitate identity and image-formation. Essentially, there are two related types of formations at questions here—the first is how nation-states use museums to shape their national identity and international image, and the second is how individuals form their own social and cultural identity through encounters with the museum. This thesis lies at the intersection of politics, sociology, cultural studies, and museum studies. In this work, I offer a way to unpack and understand the socio-cultural phenomenon of the “museum boom” in Japan in the last three decades of the twentieth century by placing it in the context of the international political implications of museums and framing it as a continuity of Japan’s national identity and image construction efforts since the Meiji era.
    [Show full text]
  • Visions of the Future at the Japanese Museum of Emerging Science and Innovation
    Visions of the Future at the Japanese Museum of Emerging Science and Innovation Submitted for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Material Culture Michael Shea, BA (Hons) 1st September 2015 Department of Anthropology University College London Gower Street, London WC1E 6BT 91, 437 Words I, Michael Shea, confirm that the work presented in this thesis is my own. Where information has been derived from other sources, I confirm that this has been indicated in the thesis. Signed: Date: _______________ 01/09/2015 MICHAEL SHEA 2 Abstract The purpose of this research is to critically assess how the future is conceived and presented in a contemporary Japanese science museum, based on ethnography conducted at the Miraikan National Institute of Emerging Science and Innovation in Odaiba, Tokyo. As a museum of the future the devices that Miraikan houses are often framed in terms of their potential uses. This means that the display strategies employed depend on utilizing conceptions of the future. By critically engaging with the visions of the future that are presented in the museum this research elucidates some of these underlying influences traceable to social and environmental concerns, and considers which among these are particular to the Japanese context, drawing on participant observation with volunteers and staff as well as academic literature concerning museum curatorship in Japan and elsewhere. The primary concern of this resesarch is the shifting relationship between technology and human labour, in which there is growing tendency to anthropomorphize machines set against the increasing mechanization of human behavior various contexts. This research seeks to demonstrate how the visions of the future on display at Miraikan can be seen as attempts to replace missing kinship relationships, or to reclaim ‘lost bodies’ in various ways.
    [Show full text]