Special Exhibition “Humans and Boats: Maritime Life in Asia and Oceania”
撮影：門田修
場所：蘭嶼（台湾）
撮影年：1994 年5月
| Exhibition Period | Thursday, September 4, 2025 – Tuesday, December 9, 2025 |
|---|---|
| Location | The Special Exhibition Hall, National Museum of Ethnology |
| Hours | 10:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. (Entry is permitted until 4:30 p.m.) |
| Closed on | Wednesdays |
| Admission Fee |
Adults ¥1,200 (¥810), and college/ university students ¥600 (¥340), senior high school and elementary and junior high school students Free * Visitors can also view the regular exhibits. * Those in brackets ( ) are discount charges for groups of more than 20 people, people of universities and the like* who use this facility as part of their classwork, high school students writing reports, repeat visitors within 3 months after the last visit, and people 65 years old and older (certification required). * University students and the like include students of college, undergraduate, graduate, and vocational school students. * Admission is free for visitors with a disability certificate and also for one accompanying person. * For college students and general visitors: please buy a museum ticket at the ticket windows of the Natural and Cultural Gardens. Ticket holders can pass through the garden at no charge. * For high school students and younger to pass through the Natural and Cultural Gardens (paid area): tell the person at the window of the garden (center, west, or north entrance) that you are going to Minpaku and receive a pass. * When you are going to the Natural and Cultural Gardens (paid area), you should pay the admission fee. |
| Presented by | the National Museum of Ethnology |
Exhibition Overview
The emergence of boats and canoes in human history are said to have begun after the appearance of Homo sapiens. This special exhibition introduces a wide variety of boat collections mainly from the Maritime Asia and Oceania as well as Indian Ocean and Northern Pacific in our museum.
The first-floor exhibition, which focuses on our boat collections, begins with the question: What was the first type of boats that humans built and used? It showcases boats made from diverse buoyant materials such as bark, grass, animal skins, and logs that have continued to be used up to the present day. In addition, the exhibition highlights ancient Japanese boats through haniwa figures and excavated wooden planks, alongside an impressive lineup of vessels designed and used by people who expanded into the North and South Pacific regions.
チチカカ湖のあし舟（ペルー）
牛皮舟（中国）
白樺樹皮のカヌー（カナダ）
カツオ釣り漁のアウトリガー式カヌー（サモア）
インド洋圏のシングルアウトリガー式カヌー（マダガスカル）
島根県のソリコ舟（日本）
This special exhibition also explores how people have lived with boats—how they built and propelled them, how they used them for fishing and trade, and the symbolic role boats have played in the spiritual realm, serving as vessels between this world and the afterlife.
On the second floor, visitors can enjoy interactive exhibits, including a hands-on corner where you can touch and feel tools related to these themes, as well as a VR experience that lets you immerse yourself in a virtual voyage.
ポリネシアのカツオ釣り用疑似餌針（ニュージーランド）
ミクロネシアのカツオ釣り用疑似餌針（マーシャル共和国）
舟の建造に使われる貝の斧（ミクロネシア連邦共和国）
ポリネシアのダブルカヌー模型（西サモア）
木彫の霊舟模型（インドネシア共和国）
カツオ釣り用 擬餌鉤（西サモア）
タコ捕り用 擬餌鉤（西サモア）
釣り仕掛け(トビウオ漁用) (ソロモン諸島)
タコとり用 罠（箱付）（アメリカ合衆国 ハワイ）
Exhibition Layout
Exhibition Layout – 1F
The first-floor exhibition centers on the museum’s extensive collection of boats and canoes, presenting the development of watercraft within the broader context of human history. It highlights the diverse types and uses of boats from maritime Asia and Oceania, accompanied by related materials, video footage, and photographs. The display also features boat-shaped haniwa clay figures and wooden planks used in boats excavated from western Japan.
Sections:
- 1. Boats Inherited from Ancient Times
- 2. Ancient Boats in Japan
- 3. Boats of the North Pacific Region
- 4. Boats of the South Seas
- 5. The World of Japanese Boats
Exhibition Layout – 2F
The second-floor exhibition showcases a wide range of thematic displays related to boats, featuring valuable specimens from the museum’s own collection as well as rare items on loan from partner museums and research institutions. These include tools such as adzes used in boatbuilding, various boat models and paddles, diverse fishing gear used with boats, treasures transported through maritime trade, and spiritual boats believed to journey between this world and the afterlife.
Sections:
- 6. Constructing and Decorating Boats
- 7. The World of Boats in Miniature
- 8. Paddling and Dancing – The Diverse World of Paddles
- 9. Fishing and Boats – Where Function meets Art in Fishing Tools
- 10. Voyages of Exchange – Boats, Gifts, and Treasures
- 11. Boats between Life and Death
2F Interactive Corner
Touch and Explore Boats and Fishing Gear – Universal Exhibition Corner
This section features a hands-on display where visitors can physically touch and explore handcrafted canoe models, paddles, stone adzes, animal hides used in kayak construction, and more. Through this tactile exhibition, the experience aims to offer an inclusive, universal design approach that allows visitors of all ages and abilities to engage with the world of traditional watercraft and tools.
VR Viewing Experience Corner
In this corner, visitors can wear VR headsets to immerse themselves in 360-degree footage filmed from boats in motion, including dugout canoes and sailing vessels. This virtual experience offers a dynamic, first-person perspective of life at sea.
Theater for Related Video Programs
A dedicated theater space will be set up where visitors can sit and watch longer video programs related to the exhibition themes. Around four to five programs are planned, which will be shown in continuous rotation throughout the day.
Related Event
Minpaku Seminar
Boats and Human in Asia and Oceania: A view from Minpaku boat collections
［Date & Time］：Saturday, September 20, 2025, 1:30–3:00
［Venue］：National Museum of Ethnology, Auditorium
［Speaker］：Rintaro Ono (Professor, National Museum of Ethnology)
Minpaku Weekend Salon: A Chat with a Researcher
The Boats and Human History: Migration, Fishing, and Beliefs
［Date & Time］：Sunday, September 14, 2025, 2:30–3:15
［Venue］：National Museum of Ethnology, Main Exhibition Hall (Navi-Space)
［Speaker］：Rintaro Ono (Professor, National Museum of Ethnology)
Ancient Japanese Boats and Their Characteristics: Insights from Boat-shaped Haniwa and Excavated Wooden Materials
［Date & Time］：Sunday, October 5, 2025, 2:30–3:30
［Venue］：National Museum of Ethnology, Main Exhibition Hall (Navi-Space)
［Speakers］：Rintaro Ono (Professor, National Museum of Ethnology)
Chinami Miyahara (Doctoral Candidate, The Graduate University for Advanced Studies, Anthoropological Studies / JSPS Postdoctoral Fellow DC1)
Searching for Treasured Shells and Stones: Oceanic Maritime Trade and Voyaging Canoes
［Date & Time］：Sunday, November 23, 2025 (National Holiday), 2:30–3:15
［Venue］：National Museum of Ethnology, Main Exhibition Hall (Navi-Space)
［Speaker］：Ippei Monma (Project Assistant Professor, National Museum of Ethnology)