John Ferry Senior Learning & Access CuratorGlasgow MuseumsCulture & Sport Glasgow

Research supportedby Daiwa Anglo-Japanese Foundation

Report on period of research in Japan, 28 July 2008 – 12 August 2008

1. Project background, Summary, Potential Benefits

2. Overview of Glasgow Museums & Learning & Access

3. Glasgow-Japan exchange 1878

4. National Museum of Ethnology, Osaka

5. Tokyo National Museum

6. Potential reciprocal developments

7. 2009 Glasgow Museums / Japan-UK 150 events

8. Further information on Museums visited

9. Bibliography

10.Contacts Japan-UK / Scotland

Appendix. Photographic information

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1 . Project Background

Our contact with Tokyo National Museum had come from research instigated by TNM on museums’ educational developments worldwide. We had expressed interest in this research and received positive feedback from our fellow professionals within Tokyo National Museum towards the possibility of joint research and sharing of knowledge and expertise.

Previous Projects

Having studied previous Daiwa Foundation funded research projects we are unaware of any previous research that has specifically involved Glasgow Museums’ in recent years.

Decision to undertake project

This was a new project and comes from J. Ferry’s professional interest in Japanese culture. Glasgow Museums Learning & Access department is an award winning department which seeks to continue to develop excellence in the field of museums’ learning and access. Daiwa Anglo-Japanese Foundation funding offered the opportunity to share knowledge and expertise within the field of learning and access, with further professional interests to develop possible exchanges, exhibitions, and projects.

Importance of project

Glasgow Museums’ has a unique Japanese collection (Significance of Collections status 2008 –

http://www.glasgowmuseums.com/about.cfm?secID=30&itemid=42

The majority of our Japanese collection was gifted by the Japanese government in 1878. This remarkable collection of 1150 objects includes architectural pieces, wood, lacquer ware, musical instruments, ceramics, metalwork, textiles, costume and paper samples.

This project also offered an opportunity to promote awareness of this collection to our Japanese colleagues, to learn of possible new interpretation methods and joint research opportunities towards future exchanges, projects and exhibitions.

Glasgow Museums

Glasgow Museums is programmed and managed by Culture and Sport Glasgow on behalf of Glasgow City Council.

Culture and Sport Glasgow is registered in Scotland No SC313851, registered office at 20 Trongate, Glasgow G1 5ES. Culture and Sport Glasgow is a company limited by guarantee, registered as a charity (No SCO37844) with the Office of the Scottish Charity Regulator.

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Project Summary

This research is being developed towards the following objectives:

To enhance the knowledge of the researcher John Ferry, on Japanese access & learning development within the National Museum of Ethnology, Osaka & Tokyo National Museum. We had received confirmation from Tokyo National Museum that they would be prepared to act as ‘host’ for the purposes of this research. We welcomed the opportunity to offer an exchange of current Glasgow Museums’ developments in the area of access & learning.

To develop possible reciprocal cultural opportunities for professional development between Glasgow Museums’ & Tokyo National Museum; Glasgow Museums’ Japanese collection being of particular interest for reciprocal developments.

To research the work of Osaka Museum of Ethnology, specifically within the field of visual impairment. Recent exhibition: ‘Touch & Grow Rich’, March 9 th – September 26th 2006, Chief Organiser – Professor Kojiro Hirose. During 2007/08 John Ferry had curated an exhibition for Glasgow Museums’ called ‘Lives in Motion’ which explored the subject of Transport & Disability. He was interested in furthering his research in the area of disability, specifically within the area of visual impairment.

Schedule of activities were attached to original application as supplementary material.

Funding from the Foundation made an enormous impact on the success of this project. It would be unlikely that the project would have gone ahead within the current schedule if it were unsuccessful in this funding application phase. This is mainly due to the fact that Glasgow Museums’ senior management had agreed with John Ferry that the current year would be preferable for this period of research due to future managerial commitments.

Project Benefits

- Outcomes of your project

John Ferry gave lectures within Tokyo National Museum specifically on Glasgow Museums’ work in the field of Learning & Access as well as a general overview on Glasgow Museums’ city-wide service of 14 museums’ within the broader framework of our company Culture & Sport Glasgow.

It had already been proposed and agreed in principal that John Ferry would give internal presentations to Tokyo National Museum colleagues, as well as presentations within Tokyo National Museum public lectures programme.

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- Disseminated of outcomes

John Ferry would produce a 5000-word report on his experiences within this period of research. The outcomes of this project will be disseminated within Glasgow Museums & Tokyo National Museum colleagues, Scottish Museums Council, University of Leicester Research Centre for Museums’ & Galleries, Daiwa Anglo-Japanese Foundation. We are interested in further advice on dissemination for this material from the Daiwa Foundation.

- How will project further UK-Japan understanding?

It is our hope that this experience will enrich the researcher’s knowledge of Japanese practices within the field of learning & access in Japan. Furthermore we anticipate the development of a deeper understanding of our Japanese collections by exploring possible joint research and exchange opportunities.

The researcher also wishes to broaden his knowledge within the area of disability and visual impairment and believes the proposed study and meeting within Osaka Museum of Ethnology will afford this opportunity.

- What future joint ventures with your Project Partners do you hope will emerge from your current project?

It is our belief that this project offers genuine potential for reciprocal cultural opportunities for professional development between Glasgow & Tokyo/Japan, as well as possibilities for joint projects and exhibition exchange.

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2. Outline of Glasgow Museums Structure

Glasgow Museums, Largest civic museum service in the UK Staff: 333 Annual Budget: £13 Million Objects in the collection 1.4 million Annual Visits: 4 million

Collections Services

Responsible for preserving and making accessible the city’s collection and related information

Collections Services current position

65% of collection inventoried and in quality storage Significance of Collection assessed (“Recognised” as nationally

important) Digital Access strategy in place (Collections Navigator – due to go

public in 2009) C100 loans a year to museums all over the world GMRC II due to open Spring 09 (involving decant of 800,000 objects

from Museum of Transport stores) Accreditation maintained

Collections Services Key Aims

Replacement for Maryhill Stores (lease expires 2011) Enhanced Digital Access to collections (phase II of Navigator) Improved, targeted marketing Enhanced web presence/communication Improving design quality of displays and exhibitions Increase proportion of collection researched, conserved and published Exhibitions based on our own collection Collaborations with universities Securing funding for research and conservation

Visitor Services

Visitor Services Key Priorities

Welcoming local and tourist visitors Maintaining/raising Visit Scotland star rating Maintenance/renewal of displays Enhancing quality of customer service Understanding more about audiences to support access, targeted

marketing. Responsible for all aspects of the quality of visitors’ experiences.

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Learning and Access

Responsible for ensuring that all museum communications (exhibitions, interpretation, collecting policy, publications, events and activities) support formal and informal learning, and direct delivery of formal and informal learning programmes. Learning & Access team

Learning & Access Manager 2 Senior L&A Curators Open Museum Manager 5 L&A Curators 2 OM curators 1 Learning Supervisor GOMA Social Inclusion Co-ordinator Volunteer & Placement Co-ordinator 26 Learning Assistants 3.5 Outreach Assistants Total: 43.5 + Hunter Gallery 4.5 staff (funded by Hunter Foundation) + Museum Education Officer (funded by Ed Services)

Learning and Access Services: present position

145,000 facilitated educational visits a year, Holiday and family programmes at weekends and throughout the year in all museums

Major events and activities (eg Show Scotland, Big Draw, Parade of Wheels)

Targeted community/adult participation projects and programmes Coordinate over 350 volunteers annually Continuing Professional Development training for teachers/educators Pilot project for disengaged pupils P7 to S4

Learning and Access: Key priorities

Delivering a formal schools programme of consistent quality, ensuring learning and progression.

Delivering informal learning programme for families, young people and adults

Improving online learning resources Understanding more about audiences to support access, participation,

representation, targeted marketing.

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3. Glasgow-Japan exchange 1878

Research on Glasgow’s 1878 gift from the Japanese government was started many years ago by Tess Gower, the first anthropologist appointed to curate the museum’s non-European collections (1976-1986). In 1987 Professor Suzuki, from the Department of Architecture at Tokyo University, spent a week looking through the whole collection, providing additional translations and detailed notes.

* Attached photocopied document: Art for Industry. The Glasgow-Japan Exchange of 1878. Antonia Lovelace.

Glasgow Museums - Significance of Collections information: World Art: Japan and Korea

Japanese and Korean arts have been developed over thousands of years through the integration of philosophical, religious beliefs and world leading technological advances in lacquer ware, woodblock printing, celadon glazing and musical instruments.

Collection Size

Japan: 2,080 items, including: paper (Ukioye woodblock prints, chiyo-gami, gamishi, tusama gami papers and postcards (575), lacquer ware (140), pottery - stoneware, porcelain, earthenware, tea ceremony wares, vases (150), musical instruments (12), metalware - copper, iron, bronze, steel, silver (110), textiles, cotton, silk - embroidered, painted, clothing (200), wood (40), plaster masks (3), ivory (11), cloisonné (2), stone arrowheads (4), hair piece for Helmet (3), shell painted (1), parasol (5), stone (8), furniture (2).

Korea: 40 items, including: pottery (17), clothing - shoes, jacket, robes, purse (12), metal ware - coins, brass (10), paper fan (1).

Collection Description

The majority of the Japanese collection was gifted by the Japanese government in 1878. This remarkable collection of 1150 objects included architectural pieces, wood, lacquer ware, musical instruments, ceramics, metalwork, textiles, costume and paper samples. The rest of the collection was largely collected by British people working in Japan and includes textiles, parasols and costume. There is also small group of thirty spectacular Ukiyoe woodblock prints.

The small Korean collection consists mainly of ceramics, clothing and coins. A rare Koryo dynasty celadon bowl is the highlight of this collection. There are also twelve domestic ceramic containers from about 1900 and a number of items of clothing including a Korean woman's national dress and children's shoes presented by the Korean Minister of Construction, in 1953.

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Collection Significance

The Japanese collection has great artistic and cultural significance. The core of the collection is the remarkable gift by the Japanese government. Thirty-one cases containing 1150 items arrived in Glasgow In November 1878 as part of an exchange that promoted cultural understanding and awareness between Glasgow and Japan. At this time Glasgow was playing an influential role in the industrialization of Japan. This unique gift represents a large cross-section of contemporary Japanese decorative arts in the 1870s. It has been well documented and researched and formed the basis of an exhibition and publication in 1991.

This area of the collection demonstrates the processes of transition and innovation that Japanese craft industries were subject to during the later nineteenth century. It contains over 100 ceramic items from 23 different regional prefectures or city districts, and covers a wide range of types of object, technique and style of manufacture. The majority of the pieces are for ordinary domestic use, for cooking, serving food, or drinking tea or sake. Amongst the key pieces in the collection is a pair of tall intricate porcelain sake cups painted on the outside by Zengoro with scenes from the Tales of Gengi; on the inside are 54 waka or short poems written by the calligrapher Chiuji. Originally more than 22 different types of paper and 40 silk fabrics formed part of the Japanese gift, but not all of these survive. There are also over 500 paper samples and 51 examples of the rare and fine gampushi that came from Tokyo and Hiroshima. Though fine, most are quite plain, but a few are marbled and a few polka dotted. Most varied in design are the 94 sheets of brightly coloured woodblock printed chiyo-gami, mainly used for wrapping presents.

The only Japanese object to be acquired before the 1878 gift was a sword presented eight years earlier. Subsequent to this gift the collection was expanded through the donation of items by missionaries, engineers, soldiers, seamen or members of the British Civil Service who had collected them whilst travelling and working in early twentieth century Japan. The types of object donated include textiles, parasols and costume.

The most important addition was Sir William Burrell's gift of 30 superb Ukiyoe woodblock prints. It is possible that they originally formed part of the collection of the artist James Abbot McNeill Whistler (1834-1903). The prints all date from the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries and include works by Kunisada, Utamaro, Kuniyoshi and Hokusai.

The most significant Korean object is a Koryo dynasty celadon bowl with under-glaze red floral patterns dating to the twelfth to thirteenth centuries. Very few examples of this quality of tea bowl have survived. Painting in copper-red under the celadon glaze was a Korean innovation, the copper under-glaze often turned black during firing and this bowl is a fine example of bright copper red stylised Buddhist flower scroll motif called Posanghwa or Precious Visage flowers

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4. National Museum of Ethnology, Osaka

Meeting with Professor Kojiro Hirose. Associate Professor, National Museum of Ethnology, Japan. Friday 01.08.08

Information on National Museum of Ethnology

The National Museum of Ethnology (founded in 1974 and opened to the public in 1977) is a comprehensive Research Museum with around 60 academic researchers specializing in ethnology and related fields. It hosts an extensive collection of artifacts, some 250,000 in total, from all over the world. Of these about 12,000 items are on display in the museum. In addition the museum has a wide range of electronic, audio-visual and printed materials as part of its library holdings. One of the main focuses of the museum has been to provide the general public with accurate and updated information about various societies around the world, in order to facilitate understanding of peoples with different cultural backgrounds living together in the modern world. In Japanese the National Museum of Ethnology is referred to as ‘Minpaku’.

Professor Kojiro Hirose

Kojiro Hirose completed his PhD in Literature at Kyoto University in 2000. His current research interests include the history of new religions in modern Japan, including Oomotokyo and Reiyukai, focusing on the welfare work of each religious society. His on-going fieldwork concerns biwa-hoshi (blind minstrels), itako (blind shaman) and blind religionists or biwa (lute) players in Japan. Additionally, Dr. Hirose is applying an anthropological methodology to his comparative research on international disability culture, with inquiries into the occupation, life-style and history of people with disabilities in the U.S. and other countries. He intends to use this comparative study to help promote a "barrier-free" or "universal design" system for museums. 

Dr. Hirose’s publications include: Touch and Grow Rich: You Can Touch Our Museum! MINPAKU Anthropology Newsletter; Reconsidering Japanese Religious History: the Aum Incident and Blind Culture in Modern Japan in The Journal of the International Institute, University of Michigan; and Judo or Aikido: Propagation Strategies of Tenrikyo in the United States in Progress, Journal of the Tenrikyo Mission New York Center.The Power of Seeing and the Spirit of Seeing: Making Allies of the Various Ways of Appreciating Art.

Professor Hirose has been an invited speaker at such conferences as:

Art Beyond Sight: Multimodal Approaches to Learning, Creativity and Communication, New York, September 28-30, 2007

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The international Art Beyond Sight conference was held in New York at the Metropolitan Museum of Art from September 28 to 30, 2007. There were more than 300 participants including museum personnel who cope with visitor needs on a regular basis, psychologists, neuroscientists and others. A place for visitors to visually appreciate works, which artists have created through full use of their visual sense: such has been the traditional art museum. The common word “viewing” plainly indicates that an art museum is a facility for “seeing” with the eyes. Art Beyond Sight was a challenge to that common-sense idea. It is noteworthy that such an inquiry into new directions in artistic activity, such an attempt to pose alternatives to the vision-priority lifestyle, should occur at the Metropolitan, one of the world’s most extensive art museums.

Professor Hirose: “I gave a presentation there on “The Richness of Touch: The Paradoxical Meanings of Disability in Japanese Culture.” It reported on the contents of the thematic exhibition I directed at the National Museum of Ethnology in Japan in 2006, entitled “Touch And Grow Rich: You Can Touch Our Museum! – The Universal Museum made with Tactile Culture,” and I received many favourable comments from the audience. What should a museum do to provide an enjoyable experience to the visually impaired who are unable to see the displays? Along this line, efforts to make some displays “touchable” are gradually spreading through museums in many places. I emphasized that “touching” should not merely be a special service for the visually impaired, for as the word suggests, it can be a powerful means of art appreciation that goes beyond the sense of sight.

To begin with, what sort of action is “seeing” for human beings? For the purposes of my essay, I define it as the full utilization of the entire body (the five senses) for the inference and comprehension of things. So when, and why, did “seeing” become limited to visual meaning? Pondering, conjoining, cultivating. I am putting those three terms forth as keywords for the rediscovery of “seeing.”

Touch & Grow Rich: You Can Touch Our Museum. National Museum of Ethnology. Thematic Exhibition. March 9 – Sept 26, 2006

The exhibition aimed to offer visitors the experience of ‘touching and feeling’, an exploration that can lead to greater recognition of human potential. People who use 4 out of the five senses can be generally regarded as being disabled. This exhibition explored the fact that blind people use the sense of touch more often that sighted people. In the exhibition visitors could learn about the importance and potential of our sense of touch from examples of writing systems and other materials used by visually impaired people. It was hoped that visitors could learn something new by touching the exhibits and becoming familiar with blind culture, regardless of their eyesight.

The exhibits included: writing systems, raised wooden letters, lacquered wooden letters, needle letters, a textbook with raised letters, origami paper letters, a model of Mount Fuji, a raised map of the ancient capital of Kyoto.

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These objects had previously been used in schools for the blind during the Meiji era, before Braille was invented.

Thoughts on meeting / ongoing enquiry

My meeting with Professor Hirose also gave me the opportunity to discuss joint practices in working with visually impaired people. Professor Hirose’s practice aims at opening up opportunities for visually impaired people to gain access and knowledge of museum objects.

Although this exhibition seems to have been very successful with visual impaired visitors, museum professionals and schools, (at the point of our discussion) there seemed to be very little evidence of educational/organizational change where the Museum of Ethnology collections were concerned. My tour around this collection was extremely enjoyable but there seemed to be very little evidence of further learning opportunities, whether formal or informal, which offered a broader accessibility. A structured and staffed programme does not seem to exist. There was however much evidence of school visits during my time there, with an estimated 100 or so school children visiting the collection during my visit (approx 3 hours).

Although it was a summer holiday period it would seem that schools still organize regular educational activities for children. It was quite common to see children in uniform cycling to school on a daily basis to participate in various events, museums visits being among the many activities being offered.

Notes

*I wondered whether my questions were understood correctly at the time of my visit? I hope to clarify some aspects of my enquiries through e-mail during the months ahead and have been in contact with Prof. Hirose recently for further clarification on some aspects.

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5. Tokyo National Museum

Outline of presentations: Glasgow Museums, Learning & Access

*Presentations available on request

Meetings and museum visits on 4th, 5th, 6th, 7th August

Monday 4 th August.

Meetings with Tokyo National Museum staff, 1000 – 1200.

Content of discussion centred on TNM Education department as well as my presentations in the afternoon and translation of these. Discussions with the following people:

- Midori Suzuki – Curator of Education, Education Programming, Tokyo National Museum- Kobayashi, Maki - Manager, Educational Programming, Tokyo National Museum- Satomi Kito – Senior Manager International Relations, Tokyo National Museum- Inoue Yoichi – Supervisor, Curatorial Planning Department Curator, Tokyo National Museum

1300 – 1630 - Presentations on Glasgow Museums & Learning & Access

Gave two PowerPoint presentations, firstly, an overview on Glasgow Museums. This presentation last approximately 1 hour and seemed to be well received. My second presentation was an overview of our Learning & Access department. This presentation lasted approximately 1 hour 15 minutes. Following these presentation there was a question and answer session of approximately 45 minutes. In both cases the audience for these consisted mainly of Museum Education staff, Curators, Volunteers managers and Volunteers.

Tuesday 5 th August

Visits TNM collections:

Honkan – Japanese Gallery. The original Main Gallery (designed by British Architect Josiah Conder) was severely damaged in the Great Kanto Earthquake of 1923. In contrast with the original building’s more Western style, the design of the present Honkan by Watanabe Jin is the eastern

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‘emperor’s crown style’. Construction began in 1932 and the building was opened in 1938.

The displays provide a general view of Japanese art. It contains 24 exhibition rooms on two floors; ‘Highlights of Japanese Art’, chronological exhibition from 10000 B.C to the late 19th century on the second floor, and exhibitions of each type of art such as ceramics, sculpture and swords. Thematic exhibitions and the donations gallery are on the first floor.

Tokyokan – Asian Gallery. It was opened in 1968, designed by Taniguchi Yoshiro. The exhibition rooms are arranged in a spiral ascending from the first floor along the mezzanines to the third floor. 10 exhibition rooms on two floors are dedicated to art and antiquities of Asia, including those from China, the Korean peninsula, Southeast Asia, India, the Middle East and Egypt.

Heiseikan – Special Exhibition Gallery. Built to commemorate the Crown Prince’s wedding in 1993, serves primarily as the space for special exhibitions. For this purpose there are four special exhibition galleries on the second floor, as well as the Japanese Archaeological Gallery on the first floor.

Visited exhibition:

Dueling Geniuses - The Greatest Highlights of Japanese ArtistsCelebrating the 120th Anniversary of KOKKA and the 130th Anniversary of The Asahi Shimbun. Tuesday, July 8 - Sunday, August 17, 2008

Wednesday 6 th August, 1030 - 1300

Attended schools workshop in Tokyo National Museum.

As previously mentioned, it is customary for schools to arrange activities for the pupils’ during the summer holiday period. It was during one of these visits that I was given permission to view a museum education workshop and also participate.

This session explored the TNM’s collection of hand lacquer-painted shells. Children were accompanied to the museum to be given a talk by the education curator on these objects. They were then asked to spend approximately 30 minutes of so, sketching these objects, the aim being that these sketches would be used to create their own contemporary hand painted shells. The final session involved pupils making their own lacquer hand-painted shells on various Japanese themes, which were provided in hand out material.

A final discussion with participants then took place with each pupil relating their thoughts on the process of lacquer painting and their chosen images/motifs.

*Photographs attached within appendix 1.

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Visits to:

- Shitamachi Museum. Social history museum, Ueno Park.

This small two-floor museum preserves some of the flavor of the area's life in the Taisho Era (roughly the 1910s and 1920s) with actual shop interiors, furniture, tools, implements, amusements, posters etc from that time.

- The Royal Ueno Museum, Ueno Park.

Thursday 7 th August

Visits to:

- Research & Information Centre

The Research & Information Centre was established in 1984 mainly for scholarly use. It deals with various documents related to archaeological objects, fine art, applied arts, and historic materials for the whole of Asia and the Middle East, with a special emphasis on Japan’s legacy.

- The Gallery of Horyuji Treasures

The building was designed by Yoshio Taniguchi and has been furnished with the latest in conservation technology. The reference room on the second floor houses the latest digital archive which allows visitors to view the entire collection on Horyuji Treasures on computer with explanations in Japanese, Chinese, Korean, English and French. - Tokyo Metropolitan Art Museum, Ueno Park

In total there are six galleries. The "Museum Gallery" is reserved for special exhibitions. The other five are hired out to various art groups.

Friday 8 th August

Visits to:

- The National Art Centre, Tokyo.

The National Art Center, Tokyo is the national government's fifth art institutionto be organized under the umbrella of the Independent Administrative Institution National Museum of Art, after The National Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo, The National Museum of Modern Art, Kyoto, The National Museum of Western Art, and The National Museum of Art, Osaka National Art Center is a unique and innovative art exhibition facility: Instead of maintaining a permanent collection, it makes the most of a total of 14,000 square meters of exhibition space, the largest in Japan, and focuses on serving as a venue for various art exhibitions. The Centre also promotes outreach activities through its educational programs, and the Art Library serves to collect and

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disseminate information related to art.

Functions / Exhibitions

Artist associations with a national membership base are given opportunities to hold their annual exhibitions.

The Centre’s curatorial staff generates special exhibitions that highlight the latest trends in art both in Japan and abroad.

The Centre serves as a venue for exhibitions co-organized with mass media companies and other art institutions.

Collecting and disseminating information the Centre lays emphasis on collecting information in the following areas and makes it accessible to the public:

- Information about art exhibitions held within Japan.- A comprehensive collection of post-WWII Japanese exhibition catalogs.- Various materials related to modern and contemporary Japanese art.

Education and Outreach

The Center serves as a site of participation, interaction, and creativity.

Lectures, symposia, and gallery talks related to exhibitions are organised, through artists' talks and workshops, the Centre provides diverse audiences with opportunities to appreciate and discuss works of art.

Internships and volunteer programmes provide opportunities for hands-on activities at the Centre.

- Tokyo, Asakusa Temple

Sensōji, also known as Asakusa Kannon, is Tokyo's largest Buddhist temple and a major attraction for Japanese and foreigners alike.

Up first is the Kaminarimon or "Thunder Gate", featuring a much-photographed giant lantern and statues of guardian gods Raijin (god of thunder) and Fujin (god of wind). First built in 942, the gate has been destroyed numerous times and the current incarnation dates to only 1950. The Nakamise shopping arcade leading up to the temple starts after the gate.

At the end of the arcade is the main gate Hōzōmon, notable for a giant straw sandal (waraji) hung up on one side. This gate too is guarded by ferocious guardian gods.

The perennially busy Kannondō (Kannon Hall) is behind the gate, with a steady stream of worshippers wafting incense over themselves and trooping up the steps to pray and donate. According to legend, the hall was originally

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built in 628 to house a statue of Kannon, the Goddess of Mercy, fished out of the Sumida River by two brothers. To the west is the Gojūnoto (5-Story Pagoda), reputedly containing some of the ashes of the Buddha.

Other information presented by Midori Suzuki to JF.

Exploring Avenues of Museums Education International Symposium, Tokyo National Museum, 2006

During 2006 Tokyo National Museum hosted an international symposium of Museum Education organised by the Independent Administrative Institution, Tokyo National Museum.

The main focus of this symposium was to reconsider the basic concept of museum education. In order to avoid idealistic discussion the symposium introduced practical examples from American and British museums, which have long histories of museum education. Two further examples from Korean & Japanese National Museums were also explored.

Five days of field trips preceded this symposium to give panellists the opportunity to observe and learn the current situation of the four National Museums (Kyoto, Nara, Kyushu and Tokyo)

Outline of speakers and case studies:

Keynote lecture. Envisioning Futures Across Cultures: Museums as Civic & National Centres for Education – David Anderson, Director of Learning & Interpretation, Victoria & Albert Museum.

Case Studies

Change and Solutions. Patterson B. Williams. Deputy Director of Education, Denver Art Museum

The Education Programmes at National Museum of Korea. Souyeon Woo, Education Manager, National Museum of Korea.

What is a Museum? Midori Suzuki, Assistant Curator of Education, Tokyo National Museum.

An Interactive Exhibition for Family Audiences. Yoshi Miki, Senior Curator, Kyusha National Museum

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6. Potential for reciprocal development

Further exchange on Learning & Access development whereby a staff exchange could promote further joint knowledge sharing. This could be extended to other Tokyo based organisations of which there are some interesting examples advocating learning and access within their organisations currently.

Joint research on Glasgow Museums Japanese collections: Interpretation, Conservation, Research, with possible potential towards a major Glasgow Museums exhibition. This would entail a long term commitment from Glasgow Museums, Culture & Sport Glasgow, towards resources which could achieve such an exhibition – as well as support from our potential partners.

Further potential exists to research the field of visual impairment in even greater detail. The Glasgow Museums exhibition ‘Lives in Motion’ (Oct 08 – Nov 09) looked at the issues of transport and disability.

From recent discussions with Glasgow University we are interested in exploring further issues of disability and visual impairment from a Japanese perspective – linking this to a possible series of communication during 2009 ( Japan-UK 150). The may take the form of podcasts, video conference, or more simply a Glasgow – Japan social networking forum exploring disability issues. We have gained much experience in this field through sites such as Flickr & Youtube where we have invited photographic and video commentary from around the world.

Further potential is being developed currently with Glasgow University – Glasgow Museums, towards a joint research project on the possibilities of uses of ‘Haptic’ technological interfaces, with specific uses as tools to engage with visual impaired audiences. Further research within the area of visual impairment (possible inclusion of haptic research with Glas Univ – Tokyo Univ? during Japan-UK 150?)

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7. 2009 Japan-UK 150 Events & Partnerships

Since returning from Japan I have been involved in representing Culture & Sport Glasgow, Glasgow Museums for 2008 – 2009 Japan-UK 150. This has entailed attending meetings in the Consular General of Japan, Edinburgh, and has involved many partners coordinating events throughout Scotland,

As a result of this work Glasgow Museums are currently considering and developing events and exhibitions during 2009. This work involves a partnership with the Hunterian Museum, Glasgow University.

Furthermore, Glasgow Museums have received a proposal from the Consulate General of Japan, Edinburgh, on behalf of The Japan Foundation London Office, of a POP Culture exhibition. Details below:

Japanese Pop Culture Travelling Exhibition. March 2010

Japanese contemporary art (drawing and paintings) influenced by Japanese pop culture.

Following on from the very successful show entitled “Painting for Joy: New Japanese Painting in 1990’s”, this newly evolved travelling exhibition will focus on Japanese modern art since 2000. The aim of the exhibition is to enhance cultural exchange between Scotland and Japan and to increase understanding of modern Japanese culture and art in Glasgow. This is a loan-in exhibition organised by the Japan Foundation featuring art from Japan.

Glasgow Museums. KelvingroveThe Floating World: Japanese PrintsCurator, Hugh Stevenson. 01.10.09. – for 6 months

Glasgow Museums collections include a fascinating selection of coloured woodblock prints by artists from the Ukiyo -e popular school of painting. Ukiyo-e is translated as ‘pictures of the floating world’. These charming prints reflect the changing fashions and transient pleasures of city life.

Drawing on the Japanese Prints Collection, we will choose around 7 examples of pictures in which Beauty is the key theme, as this links to other Kelvingrove displays in the Expression Court on the theme of ‘What is Beauty?’ Known as the Surimono prints, they include Japanese greetings cards, such as: Beauty in from of the mirror, Beauty after the bath, Beauty in an interior.

Target Audience: Family audience with children over 8, Schools groups.

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8. Visits to further sites in Japan

Nara National Museum

The Nara National Museum is located in Nara, which was the capital of Japan from 710 to 784. Katayama Tōkuma (1854-1917) designed the original building, which is a representative Western-style building of the Meiji period and has been designated an Important Cultural Property in Japan. Junzō Yoshimura (1908-1997) designed a supplemental building in 1973.

The museum is noted for its collection of Buddhist art, including images, sculpture, and altar articles. The museum houses and displays works of art belonging to temples and shrines in the Nara area. Properties kept in the Shōsōin art repository are exhibited each year in the autumn.

In the museum's collection are a 12th-century Hell scroll (地獄草紙), the late 11th or 12th-century mandala Jôdo mandara-zu, and the 9th-century seated sculpture of the Buddha Yakushi.

Nara - Kasauga Shrine

The Kasuga Shrine is a Shinto shrine in the city of Nara, in Nara Prefecture, Japan. Established in 768 A.D. and rebuilt several times over the centuries, it is the shrine of the Fujiwara family. The interior is famous for its many bronze lanterns, as well as the many stone lanterns that lead up the shrine.

The architectural style Taisha-zukuri takes its name from the Kasuga Shrine.

Kasuga Shrine, and the Kasugayama Primeval Forest near the shrine, are registered as a UNESCO World Heritage Site as part of the "Historic Monuments of Ancient Nara"

Nara - Todaiji Temple

This Buddhist temple in Nara is the largest wooden building in the world. It houses Japan's largest Buddha statue. Tōdai-ji, the Eastern Great Temple, houses a giant statue of the Buddha Vairocana (Jp. Dainichi), known in Japanese simply as the Daibutsu ("great Buddha"). The temple also serves as the Japanese headquarters of the Kegon school of Buddhism.

Kyoto

Sanjusangendo, in eastern Kyoto, is a temple affiliated with the Tendai sect of Japanese Buddhism. Sanjusangendo is the popular name, meaning "Hall with 33 Bays." The temple's official name is Rengeo-in.

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History

Sanjusangendo was founded in 1164 by order of the retired emperor Goshirakawa. The original temple was destroyed by fire in 1249; the present structure dates from its rebuilding in 1266.

The Kannon statues that fill the temple were carved in the 12th and 13 th

centuries by Tankei, a famous sculptor of the Kamakura Period. The central Kannon image dates from 1254.

At 120m (394 feet) in length, Sanjusangendo is Japan's longest wooden building. Simple and austere on the outside, the main attraction of Sanjusangendo is the inside, which is filled with 1,001 statues of Kannon, all beautifully carved from Japanese cypress.

The temple centers on a six-foot-tall statue of Kannon, the Buddhist goddess of mercy. She has 11 faces and 1000 arms and has been designated a National Treasure. The central Kannon is flanked by 1,000 more life-sized Kannons, who are covered in gold leaf and stand side-by-side several rows deep. These statues have 40 arms, each of which are said to have the power to save 25 worlds.

Sanjusan means "33," which is the number of spaces between the pillars that support the long, narrow hall. This number was chosen for a reason: Kannon can assume 33 different shapes on her missions of mercy. So, because there are 1,001 statues of Kannon in the hall, 33,033 shapes are possible. People come to Sanjusangendo to look for the likeness of a loved one among the many statues.

In the corridor behind the Kannons are statues of 28 Japanese deities who protect the Buddhist universe. They represent Kannon's disciples and embody various virtues. Finally, there are two traditional Buddhist temple guardians: Raijin, the god of thunder, and Fujin, the god of wind.

Sanjusangendo is also known for the Toshiya (archery contest) that takes place behind the temple each January. Traditionally, the contest is a ritual exercise intended to show young participants that an adult's life requires patience and self-control.

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10. Bibliography

Professor Kojiro Hirose

For more on the contents of the “Touch And Grow Rich: You Can Touch Our Museum!” exhibition and actual programs in various places to create a universal museum (a museum anybody can enjoy), see the book, Daremo ga tanoshimeru unibaasaru myuuzhiamu—“Tsukuru” to “hiraku” no genba kara [The universal museum that anyone can enjoy – From worksites of “making” and “opening”], published by Dokusho Kobo in 2007.

On the history and circumstances of blind minstrels and shamanesses, see Shougaisha no shuukyou minzokugaku [Religious folklore of the disabled], published by Akashi Shoten in 1997.

This essay appeared in Japanese in the exhibition catalogue Toukimichi ten – hatenaki shojin no doutei (Exhibition of the Long Way), published by Seikatsu no Tomo Co., 2008.

The Power of Seeing and the Spirit of Seeing: Making Allies of the Various Ways of Appreciating Art, 2006

Tactile Culture in Japan, 2008

Glasgow Museums. Significance of Collections

Checkland, Olive (1989), Britain's Encounter with Meiji Japan, 1868-1912, Palgrave McMillan, London.

Glasgow Museums (forthcoming 2007) Out of this World: World Cultures and Glasgow Museums, Glasgow Museums.

Lovelace, A. (1991) Art for Industry, The Glasgow Japan Exchange of 1878, Glasgow Museums.

Irvine, G. (2004) A Guide to Japanese Art Collections in the UK, The Japan Society.

Tokyo National Museum

World Report: Exploring Avenues of Museum Education – for families, schools and communities. International Symposium, Tokyo National Museum, February 4th 2006.

Tokyo’s Art Worldtokyo ◆ SeaTTle, May 4th, 2008 —

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Having been almost entirely forgotten about for more than a decade, the Tokyo art scene is now gathering steam as one of Asia’s most innovative sources of creativity. Art Space Tokyo is the first book of its kind to capture with both a critical and broad sweeping eye the current state of art in Tokyo. Art Space Tokyo introduces readers to twelve of the city’s most distinctive and exciting galleries and museums through a compilation of interviews with the directors and curators of each of these spaces. Readers are given rare insight into why these spaces exist, how they became what they are and where they’re heading. Furthermore, through other interviews with the directors of auction houses, art fairs, collectors and media figures, as well as six essays by art specialists, Art Space Tokyo delves into the complexity of Tokyo’s resurgent contemporary art scene. Inside you’ll find a warehouse built in 1868 that has survived a major earthquake and firebombing, a beautifully maintained early 20th century Japanese estate-turned-museum, a renovated public bathhouse from the 1950s, a couple of sleek new examples of post-modern architecture and an anime-inspired castle in the woods. Each space is unique in both its style and the position it occupies in the Tokyo art world.

Publisher - Chin Music Press.

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10. Contacts. Japan/UK 150

Japan-UK 150 Sub-Committee Meeting27 th August 2008

Consulate General of Japan

Ms Morven Chisholm, International Relations Officer, Royal Society of Edinburgh

Mr Robert Dunn, Consular Liaison Officer, Scottish Government

Dr Peter Easy, Senior Vice-Principal, Napier University

Mr John Ferry, Senior Education and Access Curator, Culture and Sport Glasgow

Mr Leonard Forman, Special Advisor, Office of External Affairs, University ofAberdeen

Mr Noboru Fujishima, Director, Japan Local Government Centre London

Mr Chris Gallacher, Project Delivery Manager, British Council

Mr Kozo Hoshino, Chairman, Victor Murphy Memorial Trust

Mr Paul Hynd, Business Development Manager, Carnegie College

Mrs Anne Malcolm, Chairwoman, Glover Foundation

Ms Rebecca McPherson, Project Administrator, Homecoming Scotland 2009

Ms Mami Mizutori, Minister and Director, JICC, Embassy of Japan

Professor Stuart Picken, Chairman, Japan Society of Scotland

Mr Takeya Sato, Assistant Director, Japan Local Government Centre London

Professor Elaine Shemilt, Professor of Fine Art, Duncan of Jordanstone School ofArt and Design, University of Dundee

Mr Alistair Simpson, President of National Bonsai Collection of Scotland andMembership Secretary of the Scottish Bonsai Association

Professor Peter Smart, Education Consultant, Robert Gordon University

Mr Michael Smith, Edinburgh Go Club

Ms Joanna Stuart, Cultural/Information Assistant, Consulate General of Japan

Mr Kenichi Suganuma, Consul General of Japan

Mr Yushin Toda, Business Development Manager (Japan), University of Glasgow

Mr Mark Wilber, International Liaison Manager, University of Strathclyde

Mr Hideaki Yokohama, Consul, Consulate General of Japan

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Appendix. Photographic information

1. Lectures with Tokyo National Museum

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2. Schools education workshop, Tokyo National Museum

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Shitamachi Museum, Ueno Park, Tokyo

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Tokyo National Museum

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Tokyo National Museum

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The Gallery of Horyuji Treasures, Tokyo National Museum

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The National Art Centre, Roppongi, Tokyo

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Nara

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Nara - Todaiji Temple

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Buddhist Priest anoints the sacred Deer of Nara.

John Ferry, Glasgow Museums, November 2008

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