National Museum of Ethnology (Japan)

The National Museum of Ethnology (国立民族学博物館, Kokuritsu Minzoku-gaku Hakubutsukan), also known as the Minpaku (民博), is the largest ethnographic museum in Japan.^[1] It is Japan's largest research institute in the academic disciplines of humanities and social sciences. It is located within the Expo Commemoration Park, which is on the former grounds of Expo '70, in Suita, Osaka Prefecture.

National Museum of Ethnology

国立民族学博物館
National Museum of Ethnology
Established	1977 (1977)
Location	Suita, Osaka
Coordinates	34°48′46.30″N 135°31′46.86″E
Founder	Umesao Tadao
Director	Kenji Yoshida
Public transit access	Bampaku-kinen-kōen Station (Osaka Monorail)
Website	www.minpaku.ac.jp/en

History

The museum was established in 1974 and opened to the public in 1977. Its first director was Umesao Tadao (1920–2010),^[2] who served as the museum's director from 1974 to 1993.^[3]

Collection and exhibitions

The museum's founding collection is known as the Attic Collection. Created by Keizo Shibusawa, the collection is an early 20th-century ethnological collection of mainly Japanese materials, including some early finds of Jōmon archaeological artifacts (in the Morse Collection). Further collections were brought together for the opening in 1977 and collecting activities have continued since.

The main focus of collection has been film, still images, sound recordings, and objects representing diverse aspects of everyday life, from farming to food, urban life, folk crafts, and religion. Permanent galleries for all large regions of the world display only part of the full collection. The galleries are ordered by geographical region and have a decentralized layout.^[2]

The museum hosts two special exhibitions yearly in spring and autumn, with each lasting three months. It also hosts smaller temporary exhibitions on special themes.

Research and education

The museum has a staff of approximately 70 researchers, and actively supports visits by scholars around Japan and abroad.^[4] The museum library is one of the largest academic, multiple-language reference libraries in Japan, with books and journals in Japanese, English, Chinese, Spanish, French, and various other languages. The library is linked to a national network of public university libraries.^[5]

The museum offers PhD courses in association with Japan's Inter-University of Advanced Graduate Studies (Sōkendai), an inter-institutional organization that provides administration for students placed in public research institutes and laboratories all over Japan.^[6]

The National Museum of Ethnology is also a founding member of the National Institutes for Humanities [ja] (NIHU), Japan.

Publications

Research journals and series published by the National Museum of Ethnology include:^[7]

Journals

• Bulletin of the National Museum of Ethnology (国立民族学博物館研究報告)
• TRAJECTORIA^[8]

Series

• Senri Ethnological Studies (SES)
• Senri Ethnological Reports (SER)

Magazines and newsletters

• Minpaku Monthly (月刊みんぱく)^[9]
• Minpaku Tsushin (民博通信)
• Minpaku Anthropology Newsletter

References

1. Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005). "Museums" in Japan Encyclopedia, pp. 671-673.
2. "Denying empire: the national museum of ethnology in Japan". Politika. Retrieved 2024-12-19.
3. "Professors Emeriti". 国立民族学博物館. Retrieved 2024-12-19.
4. "Research Organization and Staff". 国立民族学博物館. Retrieved 2024-12-19.
5. "図書室とは". 国立民族学博物館 (in Japanese). Retrieved 2024-12-19.
6. "The Graduate University for Advanced Studies, SOKENDAI". 国立民族学博物館. Retrieved 2024-12-19.
7. "Minpaku serials and monographs". 国立民族学博物館. 2024-11-29. Retrieved 2024-12-19.
8. "TRAJECTORIA". TRAJECTORIA (in Japanese). Retrieved 2024-12-19.
9. "月刊みんぱく・コラム". 国立民族学博物館 (in Japanese). Retrieved 2024-12-19.

External links

• National Museum of Ethnology website