Better Know a Museum, Part Four!

Well, we've already messed up the order that Kelsey had intended us to write these. But, I think we're all in a similar state of chaotic preparation for our impending journey. Four days!


(Edo-Tokyo museum)

In this installment, I will be introducing you to Edo-Tokyo museum, located in the heart of--you guessed it!--Tokyo. As primarily a history museum tracing the development of just the city of Edo/Tokyo, we have determined that it will serve as a sort of "control" for the purposes of our study. We readily admit that it is probably impossible to construct any sort of museum (anywhere really) without any sort of bias, but the particular bias on display in the Edo-Tokyo museum is of a different sort, mainly an over-emphasis on the importance of the city in Japan's history and a curious lack of mention of any dates past 1964 (which happens to coincide with Tokyo's 1964 Summer Olympics).

As stated on the museum's website, the Edo-Tokyo museum was founded in 1993 "as the place, where visitors come to learn more about Tokyo’s history and culture , and which also serves as a projection onto the city and the living of the future." So, this museum sets itself up as a purveyor of Tokyo culture. Again, to quote the website, because I would basically write the same thing myself: "In the Permanent Exhibition area, there can be found original and replicated exhibits, as well as large-scale models, faithful representations of their originals, which have been reproduced after painstaking investigations and research. Besides, special exhibitions and lectures are regularly held, and there are also the Audio-Visual Hall, the Audio Visual Library, a library and other facilities that make this a particular museum where visitors can learn while having fun at the same time."


(the beautiful lounge area)

This museum has an interesting structure. One enters the museum through an escalator that goes directly to the top floor, and travels downstairs two floors, all the while tracing the history that links the founding of the ancient city of Edo to the technological prominence of modern-day Tokyo. While on our Interim trip in January 2008, Kelsey, Amanda, and I all spend a few hours in this museum, and we saw all of the general exhibition that was offered at the time. Aside from the general collection, which includes a life-sized kabuki theater and several interactive dioramas, the museum also features a library replete with 140,000 volumes, a large audio-visual theater, multiple shops and restaurants, a "lounge area," a place designated specifically for poster presentations (like the Crossroads back at St. Olaf!), and extensive museum archives. We look forward to exploring this museum FOUR DAYS FROM NOW!!