Research Support
SPIRITS

Museum collections tell you about history of animal and human exchange in East Asia

Project Gist

Museum science and Asian network studying museum specimens interdisciplinary

Keywords

Asian exchange history, university museum, specimen, interdisciplinary science, international collaboration

Background and Purpose

This project focused on the interdisciplinary study on the history of exchange occurred in East Asia with international collaboration of university museums. With constructing the multilateral network of international collaboration based on specimens deposited in top universities from the countries of Japan, Korea, China, Taiwan, Vietnam, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, Philippines, India, United Kingdom, and the United States of America, we focused on reconstruction of the history of Asian exchange crossing the disciplines of cultural, natural, and technological histories.

Project Achievements

The history of Asian exchange has been originally explored beyond disciplines with the international collaboration research. In several areas historically related to the maritime transportation ports, we have surveyed the historical materials, archeological materials, animal specimens, plant specimens, and architectures. In order to the exploring the novel values of the museum specimens, and to establishing the international network, as well as developing PM young leaders, international symposia were organized for the topic on the Egyptian archeological materialsin the first year in Kyoto, and for the topic focusing on the formation of multilateral network of university museums in Asian countries in the second year in Hanoi. These symposia have led to the new international collaboration research.

Future Prospects

In the future, we plan to continue to make stronger international netwiork of university museums in Asian countries and to challenge the development PM leaders from young talents in the field of museum science. We try to develop new project to promote the practical human exchange between Japan and Asian countries as both of inbound and outbound.

Figure

International Symposium “Interactions of Human, Culture and Nature Explored with University Museum Collections” (Oct. 2016, Hanoi)

Principal Investigator

IWASAKI Naoko

・IWASAKI Naoko
・The Kyoto University Museum
・The university museum is exciting. Because many of the collections are unknown materials waiting to be studied, where large and small discoveries are made every day. Another beauty of the university museum is to be free. Many people gather there, analyze the materials with a flexible idea, and talk with each other. I hope to share the pleasure of learning from materials with as many people as possible.
http://www.museum.kyoto-u.ac.jp/