History of Oceania Collection and Its Objects in Japan ―― Focusing on Museum Collections of the University of Tokyo and Minpaku

Keywords

Oceania Collection , Japanese , History of Collection

Objectives

This research project aims to shed light on the history of the collections of the National Museum of Ethnology (Minpaku) and the University of Tokyo and position Japan’s status in the global history of forming of the Oceania collection . “History” here refers not to what was purchased in an auction or who donated it, but rather to the histories of individual items, i.e., where, how, and why said item was collected. As we explore this, we will also show the changes in collections with the times and attitudes towards collecting with specific examples.
Most of the museum collection of the University of Tokyo was collected from the late 19th century to the early 20th century. Some of the Minpaku collection was collected before World War II but most was collected after Minpaku was established. We will research the history of these collections and compare the differences and similarities in the behaviour between Japanese collectors and collectors of the UK and other colonising countries. In this way, we will discuss the characteristics of the Oceania collection created by Japanese people, with the aim of positioning Japan’s status in the global history of forming the Oceania collection.