The is one of the major museums in
Japan.
[ Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005)]
"Museums"
in ''Japan Encyclopedia'', pp. 671-673. It is Japan's largest research institute in the academic disciplines of humanities and social sciences, which was established in 1974 and opened to the public in 1977. It is built on the former grounds of
Expo '70
The or Expo 70 was a world's fair held in Suita, Osaka Prefecture, Japan between March 15 and September 13, 1970. Its theme was "Progress and Harmony for Mankind." In Japanese, Expo '70 is often referred to as . It was the first world's fair ...
in
Suita, Osaka. The founding collection is known as the Attic Collection, and is an early 20th-century
ethnological
Ethnology (from the grc-gre, ἔθνος, meaning 'nation') is an academic field that compares and analyzes the characteristics of different peoples and the relationships between them (compare cultural, social, or sociocultural anthropology). ...
collection of mainly Japanese materials, including some early finds of
Jōmon archaeological artifacts (in the Morse Collection). Further collections were brought together for the opening in 1977 and collecting activities have continued since.
The main focus of collection has been film, still images, sound recordings, and objects representing diverse aspects of everyday life, from farming to food, urban life, folk crafts, and religion. Permanent galleries for all large regions of the world display only part of the full collection.
Two special exhibitions of approximately three months duration are presented in Spring and Autumn each year, and there are numerous smaller temporary exhibitions on special themes.
The museum has a staff of approximately 70 researchers, and actively supports visits by scholars around Japan and abroad. The museum library is one of the largest academic, multiple-language reference libraries in Japan, with books and journal in Japanese, English, Chinese, Spanish, and other languages. The library is linked to a national network of public university libraries.
The Museum offers PhD courses in association with Japan's Inter-University of Advanced Graduate Studies (
Sōkendai), an inter-institutional organization that provides administration for students placed in public research institutes and laboratories all over Japan.
The National Museum of Ethnology is also a founding member of the National Institutes for Humanities (NIHU), Japan.
References
External links
National Museum of Ethnology website
{{Authority control
National museums of Japan
Ethnographic museums in Asia
Museums in Osaka Prefecture
Archaeological museums in Japan
Suita
Museums established in 1977
1977 establishments in Japan