INSTITUTe FOR RELIGIOUS STUDIES Museums as Places of Religious and Social Dynamics in Contemporary Japan
The research project examines the role of museums in contemporary Japan from a religious studies perspective. It analyzes the diverse intersections of art, religion, and society in the Japanese museum sector.
Japan has experienced an unprecedented museum boom in recent decades, with over 5,000 museums, including over 1,000 art and cultural museums (Mizushima 2017, p. 120; see also Richard 2019). These institutions are places for viewing art and shape the perception of Japan’s art, history, and culture through their architecture, presentation methods, and accompanying activities.
The project's core focuses on the motivations and objectives of curators and museum operators, the expectations of the audience, and the museums’ presentation and communication strategies (cf. Buggeln, Paine, and Plate 2017, pp. 18–22). Additionally, the project investigates how museums function as spaces for self-location and identity formation and their role in national and international tourism (cf. Foxwell 2019, p. 60).
A particular emphasis is placed on the interaction between museum presentation and audience expectations. Analyzing the museum landscape in Japan reveals that art is perceived not only as an aesthetic experience but also as a means of self-cultivation and social reflection (Kitazawa, Kuresawa, and Mitsuda 2023, p. 45). Urban developments also play a role: museums are increasingly integrated into large-scale urban planning and tourism projects and are intended to function as cultural hubs.
Methodologically, the research project combines ethnographic fieldwork with analyzing museums’ online presence, architectural concepts, and curatorial strategies. A praxeological approach is employed, which considers museums not only as collections of exhibits but as complex social and ritual spaces (Morgan 2017, p. 20).
By addressing these questions, the project contributes to the study of Japan’s museum landscape and provides new insights into the social significance of art in a global context. It also enables a more profound religious studies engagement with the role of museums as places of meaning-making and cultural identity formation. Finally, the study highlights Japan’s position in the global art and museum landscape, demonstrating how the country, through its innovative museums, influences international discourses on art, religion, and society.
References
Buggeln, Gretchen, Crispin Paine, and S. Brent Plate, eds. 2017. Religion in Museums. Global and Multidisciplinary Perspectives. London, New York: Bloomsbury Publishing Plc.
Foxwell, Chelsea. 2019. "Review. The Currency of 'Tradition' in Recent Exhibitions of Contemporary Japanese Art." Journal of Asian Humanities at Kyushu University 4 (3): 57–76. .
Kitazawa, Noriaki, Takemi Kuresawa, and Yuri Mitsuda, eds. 2023. History of Japanese Art after 1945. Institutions, Discourse, Practice. Translated by Tom Kain. Leuven: Leuven University Press.
Mizushima, Eiji. 2017. "Museums, Museology and Curators in Japan." Museologia e Patrimônio 10 (2): 117–33.
Morgan, David. 2017. "Material Analysis and the Study of Religion." In Materiality and the Study of Religion. The Stuff of the Sacred, edited by Tim Hutchings and Joanne McKenzie, 14–32. Abingdon, New York: Routledge.
Richard, Sophie. 2019. The Art Lover’s Guide to Japanese Museums. London: Modern Art Press.