Abstract
This research explores how museums serve as platform for community engagement, through a case study on the participation of the Ainu people and the local community at Nibutani, a town in Hokkaido, Japan where majority of the population is of Ainu ancestry. The study employed surveys, interviews, and museum internship at the Nibutani Ainu Culture Museum. The study argues that with the development of Nibutani kotan, it can be considered as an ecomuseum since Ainu-related cultural institutions and natural sites, along with the cultural activities in the area, are introduced and linked together. The unique feature of Nibutani also made this possible since the museums and the local community are compactly situated within the same vicinity. Using the participatory museum approach, it was uncovered that the Nibutani Ainu Culture Museum is involved in different levels of engagement with non-museum stakeholders. Moreover, while there are some forms of collaboration with Ainu and the locals in the exhibition room, the main space where the local community actively participate is through the intangible cultural heritage, in the form of the experiential learning menu offered by the museum to its visitors. A number of issues related to Ainu and local peoples’ participation in museums is discussed.
Presenters
Marrianne UbaldeSenior Museum Researcher, Ethnology Division, National Museum of the Philippines, Philippines
Details
Presentation Type
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session
Theme
2023 Special Focus—Museum Transformations: Pathways to Community Engagement
KEYWORDS
Ainu, Ecomuseum, Japan, Community engagement, Intangible heritage
