A Practical Attempt to Create a Museum as a Forum: The Exhibition Spaces of the National Ainu Museum

The National Ainu Museum (NAM), a core facility of “Upopoy” or National Ainu Museum and Park, opened in Shiraoi, Hokkaido on 21 July 2020. From the time of the establishment of the Preparatory Office for the museum, we considered whether it would be possible to create a museum as a forum. Since its opening, NAM has received various criticisms and been subject to a variety of opinions. The main criticisms include the lack of exhibits concerning the “negative history” of the Ainu, and the subjectivity of the museum. There were also many slanderous and discriminatory remarks against Upopoy and NAM on Social Networking Services (SNS). To address this issue, NAM has set up a “Frequently Asked Questions” section on its website. The museum has also made active attempts to transmit information and opinions concerning its exhibits. The information presented here is information that cannot be covered by the exhibits alone. It can be divided into two points. The first concerns the history and culture of the Ainu people, and the second concerns the characteristics of the museum and the history of its establishment. This article mainly discusses the second. Behind these active attempts lies the special nature of NAM compared to other museums. It can be argued that some of the exhibits in the museum are misunderstood because the special nature of the National Ainu Museum has not been fully communicated. Therefore, in order for the museum to become a “museum as a forum”, it is necessary to show such peculiarities in the exhibition space in order to share its nature with visitors. Based on the contents of the “Frequently Asked Questions” section, the author, as a representative of the museum, posited two themes for discussion: the history of the opening of NAM and the nature of NAM. NAM made several efforts to help visitors understand the nature and philosophy behind the establishment of the museum. Furthermore, in addition to the permanent exhibition, an entrance lobby exhibition called “National Ainu Museum 2020” was held on the first floor of the museum. This exhibition introduced the history of the establishment of NAM and the history of Lake Poroto, where the museum is located. Through the “National Ainu Museum 2020” exhibition, we were able to show the historical process leading up to the establishment of the museum. However, due to the limited exhibition space available, there was little room for detailed commentary about the exhibition. Therefore, the connection between historical events could only be understood from the chronological table provided. Another issue is that the exhibition was only about history, so it does not display the nature and characteristics of the museum, which is still a challenge for NAM that lies ahead of us