By Sakurako Nakagawa Yokohama, Oct. 31 (Jiji Press)–The Kanagawa Prefectural Museum of Cultural History in the eastern Japan city of Yokohama, south of Tokyo, attracted some 6,800 visitors, including locals, on its reopening day on Oct. 17, after a 21-month closure for improvements. Located at the center of Yokohama’s Bashamichi, a historic street, the museum houses and exhibits archeological artifacts, “ukiyo-e” traditional woodblock prints, historical materials and artworks related to Kanagawa. The current temporary exhibition will run until December. Thanks to its majestic Western-style exterior, which was completed in 1904 and inherited from former Yokohama Specie Bank’s main branch building, the state-designated important cultural property remained a popular sight even during the closure. The improvement work mainly covered exhibition rooms, adding fixtures such as fine-tunable light-emitting diodes and antireflection film on glass cases. Chief curator Yuta Jinno emphasized that the viewing environment has dramatically improved for visitors, particularly through soft spotlights that show off museum pieces better and antireflection film, both of which make it easier to view the exhibits and take photographs of them. Jinno also noted that captions for each exhibit have been revised, with advice from school teachers included. “Clarity must be the top priority,” he said, emphasizing efforts to ensure that even people with little knowledge of history can enjoy the museum. “I hope many people, including first-time visitors, will ‘discover’ our extensive collections,” he said. Visitors have expressed satisfaction with the results. A public servant in her 20s from Sagamihara, also Kanagawa, visited the museum with a friend. “I’m glad to see exhibits about my hometown’s folk culture,” she said with a smile. “I was able to take good pictures of them because the glass cases didn’t reflect me.” Kiki Sui, 10, came to the museum with her mother. Sui said that she was fascinated by ukiyo-e prints and other historical materials that she had seen in history textbooks. Although she has just started learning history at school, “there was nothing I couldn’t understand in the captions,” she said. “An hour flew by before I knew it.” While the renovation has proved successful, museum officials pointed to major challenges, such as how to preserve the historic building and how to deal with persisting inflation. The renovation work was carefully carried out so as not to damage the building’s historic value. “We’ve been in contact with the Cultural Affairs Agency for years to discuss what could be changed,” Jinno said. The museum is also designated under the cultural property protection law as a facility that can exhibit state-designated important cultural properties without prior approval of the agency. The designation has enabled the museum to display choice items from its collection selected by curators for the ongoing temporary exhibition. While carrying out administrative work needed for the renovation, curators held numerous lectures and educational events across the prefecture to keep the museum in the public eye and maintain relations with other museums and Kanagawa locals, according to Donna Kuwayama, a senior planning and outreach official of the museum. Another issue is the increasingly severe financial environment surrounding museum management due to recent inflation. The museum has had to reduce the size and number of pages of its catalogs due to soaring paper and ink costs. However, the museum hopes not to have to raise the entrance fee. “At a time when admission fees at national museums can exceed 2,000 yen, we believe it’s important to continue collecting and exhibiting items related to Kanagawa while keeping admission prices affordable so the public can visit easily,” Kuwayama said. Before the reopening, more than 100 people were lined up, eager to enter the renovated museum as early as possible. Kuwayama said it was “the proof that many people are interested in history and culture.” Expectations are running high that more people will visit not only Yokohama but also the museum, as the city will host the International Horticultural Expo 2027 next spring. “We are eager to pursue new initiatives, including stronger social media outreach, while continuing to fulfill the museum’s core function of preservation, research and public education,” she said. END [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]
