Muse No. 40
Japanese Citizens Network of Museums for Peace
Newsletter: December 2019
The Editorial Office: Daisuke Miyahara at Peace Aichi
2-820 Yomogidai, Meitoku, Nagoya City, Aichi 465-0091
Tel/Fax: 052-602-4222
http://www.peace-aichi.com/
Editor: Kazuyo Yamane & Ikuro Anzai
Translator: Atsuko Akamatsu, Emi Karimata, & Mihoko Yamamoto
Illustrator: Erico Tosaki & Pegge Patten

The 10th International Conference ofMuseums for Peace
INMP General Coordinator: Ikuro Anzai,

will be hosted by INMP and cohosted by Hiroshima City,
Ritsumeikan University, Kyoto University of Art and

There are numerous museums for peace around the

Design, Kyoto Seika University, and Ikenobou College.

world. International Network of Museums for Peace

The conference will be supported by the Association of(INMP) is a network to promote the development of their

Japanese Museums for Peace, Kyoto

cooperation. Members of the network have taken turns to

Associations, Japan Art Forum, the Japanese Citizens’

host International Conference of Museums for Peace

Network of Museums for Peace.

UNESCO

basically once every three years since its establishment in1992. It was also held in Japan in 1998 and 2008. The(2) The main theme of 10th International Conference ofcommemorative

Museums for Peace is “The Role of Museums for Peace

10thin Conveying Memories for the Generations to Come.”

The

International Conference of Museums for

Peace will be held again in Japan in September 2020.
The outline of the conference was reported in thenational conference of the Japanese Citizens’ Network ofMuseums for Peace as below. I hope those concernedwith museums of peace in Japan will participate in theconference actively, make presentations about theireveryday activities, and interact with staff of museums
for peace from around the world.
(1)10th International Conference of Museums for Peace

erico
1

Registration for the conference started in November 2019.

committee is Prof. Shin-ichi Agou, the Director of Kyoto

Online application forms for paper sessions, poster

Museum for World Peace, Ritsumeikan University. The

sessions, panel sessions, and workshops (the deadline issecretary general of the committee is Ikuro Anzai. The

30 April, 2020), reservation of hotels (the deadline is 20

budget for the conference consists of registration fee,

August) are available on the official website of INMP andburden charge on projects organized by cohosts, subsidies,

INMP page on Facebook.

and donation. Registration fee for all the programs is

INMP has contracted a travel agency, Japan Travel

38,000 yen. Early Bird (Discounted) Registration fee is

Bureau Corporation (JTB), for INMP 2020 registration

35,000 yen by 30 April, 2020. Registration fee for theand accommodation procedures. Participants can make aconference for one day is 3000 yen.

reservation for their accommodation on JTB’s AMARYS

conference for one day and a dinner party is 7,000 yen.

system on the Internet. There is a link to the system on

Participants can choose the type of registration on

the official website and Facebook page of INMP (theAMARYS system when they register on the system.

The fee for thedeadline is 20 August, 2020)
Official website: https://sites.google.com/view/inmpmuseums-for-peace
FACEBOOK:
https://www.facebook.com/museumsforpeace/
AMARYS system: https://amarys-jtb.jp/inmpkyoto/
Here is the brief schedule.

18th National Conference of the Japanese
Citizens’ Network of Museums for Peace● 16 September at Ritsumeikan University, Kyoto:
Opening program, Keynote Speech, Japanese culture
presentation, Panel discussions by peace museum

Daisuke Miyahara, Secretary General of the Japanesecurators on the conference theme,

Citizens’ Network of Museums for Peaceand symposium.

● 17 September at Ritsumeikan University, Kyoto:
18th National Exchange Meeting of Japanese Citizens’

Presentation of papers, symposia, panel discussions,workshops, art performance, etc.

Network of Museums for Peace was held at the National●18 September at Kyoto International Manga Museum:

Women’s Education Center, Arashiyama Town, Saitama

Excursion, visit and discussion on special exhibition

Prefecture for 2 days on 26 and 27 October, 2019.

“Heiwa-Boke Manga Exhibition” (“Heiwa-Boke” means

Chukiren (Association of Returnees from China) Peace“an insensitive mindset to peace issues caused by

Museum in Kawagoe City, Saitama Prefecture hosted theapparent sustained peace.” “Manga” means comics.)

meeting this year.

●19 September at Ritsumeikan University, Kyoto:programs for interaction.

The same type of programs as the 2nd day

The 2-day meeting was full of

The number of participants was 46, including 13 staff

Closing program for Kyoto program

members from the host museum. In the program of the● 20 September at the Hiroshima Peace Memorial

report on each museum, each presenter made theMuseum, Hiroshima: Tour to the A-bomb Dome, Visit topresentation for 25 minutes. 11 presenters talked on the

Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park, Welcome ceremony by

1st day of the meeting and in the morning on the 2nd day.

Hiroshima City Mayor, Visit to the Hiroshima Peace

Each presentation was followed by question and answer

Memorial Museum, Lecture by an A-bomb survivor,

session.

Discussions by participants; Farewell Party

They reported their exhibitions and other activities(4) The organizing committee of the international

they held after the meeting held last year.

conference is in charge of organizing plans for theSome presenters reported that the number of survivors

conference and managing it. The chairperson of theof war who give lectures on their testimonies is2

decreasing because of the survivors aging.

Conference of Museums for Peace and we decided to

It was also reported that volunteers play important

support it as the network.

roles in supporting a private museum and that staff of

In relation to the conference, we also decided tomuseum consider better ways of cooperation for the

combine 19th National Exchange Meeting of Japanesevolunteers so that they can work actively for the museum.

Citizens’ Network of Museums for Peace with the

The shutdown of Exhibition of Non-Freedom ofInternational Conference of Museums for Peace next year.

Expression at the Aichi Triennale 2019 and the

We are going to attend a special exhibition, “Heiwa-Bokeintervention by administration were reported andManga Exhibition” at Kyoto International Manga

discussed.

Museum, one of the programs of 10th InternationalthPlans for 10 International Conference of Museums

Conference of Museums for Peace, which will be held infor Peace which will be held in September next year were

Kyoto and Hiroshima from 16 to 20 September, 2020,

reported by Prof. Ikuro Anzai.

and we are going to hold a party in the evening.

Maruki Gallery of the Hiroshima Panels made a

As for the annual meeting in 2021, we asked thepresentation of “A Tiny Voice,” Mr. Arthur Binard’s new

Memorial Museum for “Agricultural Emigrants topublication of picture cards for a picture story show

Machuria,” Achi Village, Shimoina County, Nagano

including pictures from Maruki’s Hiroshima Panels.

Prefecture, to host it.

The chief director of the museum, Prof. Takayuki Kodera
performed the picture story show.
The dinner party was held at the cafeteria of the
National Women’s Education Center. Participants
enjoyed interaction with the other participants at the party.
On the 2nd day, Mr. Kouzou Nagata, a former producerof NHK, Japan Broadcasting Corporation and a professorof Musashi University, gave a memorial lecture under thetitle, “How We Should Hand Down Memory on War andMaruki Gallery for the Hiroshima Panels
Credit: Yutaka Maruyama

Peace.”As a field work, we visited Maruki Gallery of the

At the end of the meeting, all the participants of theHiroshima Panels and Chukiren Peace Museum. When
we visited Maruki Gallery, we listened to Mr. Okamura,meeting

confirmed

ourstatement

againstthea curator of the museum while he guided us around theadministrative intervention and nationalists’ threat

museum. Later, we visited Chukiren Peace Museum andagainst Exhibition of Non-Freedom of Expression,

observed how they exhibit and store materials on “history

We agreed on the raise of the registration fee for theof pardoned war criminals.” A small bus was charteredannual meeting from 500 yen to 1,000 yen, based on thefor the field trip. Mr. Nobuo Serizawa, secretary generalconfirmation we had in the previous meeting. Extra 500of the Chukiren Peace Museum, drove the bus for us.

yen of the fee will be paid for translating “Muse,” thenewsletters of the network.

Thanks to many staff members from the museum, theconference was held without any problems. They

The Chukiren Peace Museum was in charge of all theorganized the conference well and worked for theaccounting of the finance of the meeting for this year andpreparation and management, including making handouts

they offered to pay for the deficit of the meeting.

for the meeting, registration at the reception, arranging

However, the secretariat of the network paid 10,000 yen,accommodation, etc.

about half of the deficit.

Mr. Ikuro Anzai, General Coordinator of the INMP,

I, Daisuke Miyahara, belonging to War and Peacesuggested that the Japanese Citizens’ Network ofMuseum called Peace Aichi, has been working as a

Museums

for

Peace

support10th

secretary general of the network for a long time (, but I

International3

asked the other members to find someone to succeed thefor reference.

work because it is difficult for me to continue the work as
a secretary general since I started working as the Directorof Peace Aichi. We decided to take turns to be in chargeof the position from next year because we couldn’t findanother member who can be the next secretary general.
We will basically exchange information about the
network through mailing list of the members andmanagement committee from now on.
Mr. Yutaka Maruyama wrote his reflection on National
Exchange Meeting of Japanese Citizens’ Network ofMuseums for Peace for the mail magazine published by
Peace Aichi:
http://www.peaceaichi.com/piace_aichi/201911/vol_120-11.pdf
A newspaper article titled Themed Exhibition on(This is in Japanese.)

March 1st Independence Movement on the occasionof its 100th Anniversary

Chukiren Peace Museum: Recent Activities andOur Appreciation

Thoughts on the Relations
between Korea and Japan on 100th
Anniversaryof March 1st Movement

Nobuo Serizawa, the SG of Chukiren Peace Museum

Tamotsu Asakawa:Director of Yamanashi Peace Museum

The annual conference of the Japanese Citizens’ Networkof Museums for Peace was held at National Women's
Education Center in Saitama on 26th and 27th October

Yamanashi Peace Museum holds themed exhibitions

2019 and Chukiren Peace Museum supported it as an

twice a year in order to retrospect history and pursue

organizer this year. We had 46 participants across Japanproblems in the modern society as well as the permanentand members of 14 organizations gave presentations. On

exhibition. The title of the themed exhibition held fromthe second day, Mr. Kozo Nagata, a journalist, gave a

June to December this year is Thoughts on the Relations

keynote speech, and some participants went to Maruki

between Korea and Japan on 100th Anniversary of March

Gallery for Hiroshima Panels and Chukiren Peace

1st Movement.

Museum as a part of fieldwork in the afternoon.

I talked about its outline by explaining some panels forthe exhibition and how we should cope with mass media.
The panels described the Development of March 1st
Movement, Tanzana Ishibashi and Muneyoshi(often
described Soetsu abroad) Yanagi, Two Japanese Who
Faced the Problems in Korean Peninsula Sincerely, andThoughts on Problems Related to Drafted Workers from
Korea. When we think of the huge influence the mass

Participants in front of Chukiren Peace Museum

media has on public opinions of the nation, it will be evenmore important in the future.

Since Chukiren Peace Museum considers itself a

I attached a photo oflibrary or archives, it does not usually exhibit documents

Yamanashi Prefectural version of the Asahi Newspaper4or materials, and it had only simple A4 information guidemade in the meeting was the interim report for theabout the Museum. For the conference participants, we

research.

exhibited some of our collection and we also renewed andI have been involved in the management of The Voices

made a booklet with 26 pages in color in order tofrom the Deep Sea Memorial Museum, an approved

distribute our museum information to all participants in

nonprofit corporation as a curator since its preparation for

the Conference.

building the museum andbecame the director of the

Many scholars visit our museum for their researchmuseum in June, 2019 after Ms. Fusako Watanabe retired

recently and we are grateful for their visits, because it isfrom the work as a director and became a chairperson of

our very vision to apply our valuable and historicalthe board of directors of the nonprofit corporation.

sources for further research.

The Voices from the Deep Sea Memorial Museum madeIn the last 13 years since its establishment, we dopanels on letters written by student war victims and lentappreciate receiving financial support from our members

them to the exhibition, Three Famous Notes and Militaryand people who donate to our museum. Thanks to theirLetterts Written by Soldiers held by Kitakami Peacekind support, we have run the museum with donation only.

Memorial Museum. The museum houses 7000 military

We issue a short newsletter (6 pages), which we believe

letters sent to Mr. Minejirou Takahashi, who worked forit can connect supporters and us, and we will share our

Fujine Elementary School, Fujine Village (Now Kitakami

activities you all through it from now on.

City), Iwate Prefecture. It also houses letters sent by the

NPO Chukiren Peace Museum

war dead collected by Iwate Prefectural Farming Village

Tel & fax: +81-49-236-4711 (Wed, Sat, and Sun)

Culture Conversazione to edit a book, Letters from Fallen(Please contact us in advance as temporary closure may

Farmer Soldiers.

take place.)

Memorial Museum is going to hold a themed exhibition

The Voices from the Deep Seain spring, 2020, to exhibit military letters sent fromstudent war victims and farmer soldiers, which arehoused in the museum and will be borrowed fromInterim Report on Recent Exhibitions
on the Period of War from 1931 to 1945
in Museums for Peace

Kitakami Peace Memorial Museum.

Masahiko Yamabe,
Director of “Wadatsumi no Koe” (The Voices fromthe Deep Sea) Memorial Museum
After talking about my update, I made a presentation
on Recent Exhibitions on the Period of War from 1931 to1945 in Museums for Peace at 18th National Conference

As for the part on exhibitions related to the Period ofof Japanese Citizens’ Network of Museums for Peace

War from 1931 to 1945 which were held in 2015, 70 years

I retired from the work as a board member of theafter the war, my interim report was already published onCenter of the Tokyo Raids and War Damage attached to a

Issue #107 of Study on Politics and Economy inpublic interest corporation, Institution of Politics andDecember, 2016. The research I’m working on now

Economy, in June, 2019. I finished explanation on thefocuses on exhibitions related to the Period of War fromwork to the successor and I keep studying as a chief

1931 to 1945 held by museums for peace from 2016 toresearcher for Institution of Politics and Economy.

I2019. The interim report includes A List of Museums for

was allotted some personal research expense from August

Peace which exhibited materials related to the Period offor 1 year to research on a theme: Recent Exhibitions on

War from 1931 to 1945 and A List of Themed Exhibitions

the Period of War from 1931 to 1945. The presentation I

Related to the Period of War from 1931 to 1945 held at
5

Museums for Peace from 2016 to 2019.

After mySurugadaishita, Kanda because of forced evacuation andpresentation, some participants kindly told me somethat she moved to her relative’s house in front of the placemuseums for peace I missed in the list. Thanks to their

where Ryougoku High School is located now. However,advice, I added them to my list.

she returned to her hometown in March, 1945 and soon

After one‐year period of research, I am going to complete

after the return, she experienced the air raid. It was aand submit the final report to Institution of Politics andmiracle that all of her family members survived in the air

Economy. It will include the content of exhibitions as

raid on 10 March. She experienced another air raid on 25

well as the list of the exhibitions. However, as for

May at her relative’s house at Asagaya. Then she

publishing the report, I have nothing in prospect for now.

evacuated to Fukushima. She wrote her experience for the
first time to publish the book.
We will hold the gallery talk again in March next year.

Sumida Local Culture Museum
Activities after Summer

The pictures on air raid survivors’ experiences are
exhibited from August to March next year.

Seishi Ishibashi, Curator

Women’s Active Museum
on War and Peace （WAM）

Sumida Local Culture Museum held a gallery talk on
air raids from 1 to 3p.m. Saturday, 10 August, The gallery
talk in the museum is a program in which survivors of air

Eriko Ikeda, Honorary Director

raids who painted pictures about their experience or othersurvivors who experienced air raids talked about their

Women’s Active Museum on War and Peace (WAM)

experiences. For this event, they visited the space on theholds 16th Special Exhibition: Listening to Korean

second floor, where pictures painted by survivors are“Comfort Women;” Effort to Take Responsibility for

exhibited.

Japan’s Colonialism from March, 2019 to August 2020.

We invited two survivors of US air raids who did not

Panels of testimonies told by 183 Korean “Comfort

only talk but also wrote books and painted pictures about

Women” are exhibited on the wall of the 1st Exhibition

their experiences. The theme of the talks was theirHall. The 2nd and 3rd Exhibition Halls show the expansion

thoughts through their activities of writing or paintingof government-approved prostitution system, which

about their experiences.

Japanese government introduced to Korean Peninsula

One of the survivors was Ms. Akiko Masaki, who

during the colonial occupation, and the “Comfort Women”

experienced the air raid at the place where Ryougoku

system of the Japanese military and the expansion ofHigh School is located now and recently published a book

Japanese military’s “comfort women.”about her experience. Another speaker was Ms. Keiko
Motohashi, who experienced the air raid in Touyou Town,
published an article about her experience in a book, The
Great Tokyo Air Raid and the War Damages, and donateda picture about her experience to the museum.
Ms. Motohashi told that she was interviewed for thearticle included in the book, and that she was asked forthe interview thanks to the teacher in charge of her child’sclass. Then she told us about her thanks to a boy and a
Statue of a Girl for Peace exhibited in “Exhibition of NonFreedom of Expression and After”
Photo credit: Yuka Okamoto

girl in their teens who lived next door and led theirevacuation to a safer place. She also talked about her
mother who was missing.

These halls also exhibit panels on the division of Korean

Ms. Masaki told that she left her hometown,
6

Peninsula

into

their

2019, Makoto Ueno Woodblock Prints: A Journey towomen’s“The Atomic Bombing of Nagasaki” and a related

struggles to fight for their human rights. By visiting the

program: Lecture I Makoto Ueno, a Woodblock Artist

exhibition, visitors can learn the details of the problems

Who Depicted Japan’s Responsibility for Wartime

on even more worsening relations between Korea andDevastation on Saturday, 9 November, 2019.

Japan and the historical background behind it. After a hit

participants listened to the lecture.

development,Northmilitary

and

South

dictatorship,

Koreas,and13

movie, The Main Battleground of the Comfort Women

Mr. Takashi Tajima, Director of Humanity Museum

Issue was screened in summer this year, WAM was more

Makoto Ueno Woodblock Printing Gallery, Nagano City,

crowded with many visitors from Japan and other

Nagano Prefecture, was invited to give a lecture on how

countries than usual.

he first met Ueno’s works, how the museum was

On our official website, we are carrying out a project

established, and what type of various programs are held

to update and publish the map of “Comfort Stations,”in the museum. He also talked about Makoto Ueno’s

which covers numerous “Comfort Stations” all aroundpersonality and the characteristics of his works from his

Asia, based on testimonies by victim women and former

point of view.

soldiers, public documents, and journals of troops. The
management committee of WAM and committed
volunteer staff have all been working hard on this projectwith historians’ advice. We are going to report the result
on 7 December.
However, while we were busy collecting materials forthe map, a serious problematic incident broke out inAugust: the shutdown of Exhibition of Non-Freedom ofExpression and after, the exhibition at the Aichi Triennale
2019. The incident revealed the characteristic of self-

Mr. Takashi Tajima’s lecture

enclosed Japanese society and rampant historical

Mr. Tajima’s lecture was especially impressive whenrevisionism, which treated issues on “comfort women”

he mentioned that Ueno’s woodblock prints on Japaneseand emperor system as taboos, and the Japanesemilitary’s genocide of Chinese people, which he handed

government’s attitude to avoid admitting assaults in war

them to Liu Xian, an international student from China

as well as the responsibility of the government. WAM(now the prints are missing), were valuable as works tocannot ignore such an incident. We published a protest

depict Japan’s infliction of devastation on other countries

statement on this issue. We got busy participating inin those days of war, and that Ueno’s visit to Nagasaki ingatherings for protest, cooperating for signature

1961 might have changed his style of art works from thecampaigns, and being interviewed by reporters of mass

one representing the world realistically to the one

media. Exhibition of Non-Freedom of Expression andexpressing his feelings in his heart abstractly.

after was reopened for the last one week of the Aichi

In the participants’ reflections on the lecture, there

Triennale 2019, but the problems revealed in this incident

were comments like “I think a lot of people shouldhave not yet solved. We think we need to keep on raising

appreciate Ueno’s works” from a student (20s), “Thequestions on them.

lecture was full of interesting topics” from a teacher (60s),
and “I’ll visit the Humanity Museum for sure and look at
more works created by Ueno” from a participant (80s).

Kyoto Museum for World Peace
Autumn Special Exhibition, 2019

Humanity Museum of Makoto Ueno Woodblock
Printing Gallery holds various events such as screenings

Kazuyo Yamane: Expert advisorof movies, concerts, meetings of a book club, lectures

The peace museum held Autumn Special Exhibition ofas well as exhibitions of Makoto Ueno’s art works. The
7

staff of the museum make efforts every day to make it aintroduces Polish people who contributed to Poland

center of cultural activities for local people. They’d beduring the war. These show how Poland went through the

happy to welcome you if you’d visit the museum.

hardships during the war. It seems to be meaningful(A quote from an article on the official website of Kyoto

content to know the misery of the war.

Museum for World Peace, Ritsumeikan University)

Peace Osaka Special Exhibition“Poland First to Fight:
The Exhibition of The Museum of theSecond World War in Gdansk, Poland”
Utako Komai (curator, Peace Osaka)
80 years ago, on September 1st, 1939, the World War II
broke out when German forces invaded Poland. On
September 17th, Soviet troops invaded it from the east,and Poland became a battlefield. The Museum of theSecond World War in Gdansk, Poland, has beenorganizing exhibitions in several dozen locations aroundthe world, marking the 80th anniversary of the outbreak

Flier on WWII Museumof the World War II. This exhibition is co-sponsored with
Peace Osaka, The Museum of the Second World War, theAlso, in the visitor survey, we can find “I didn't know

Polish Institution in Tokyo, and the Embassy of thewhat happened in Poland”, “I visited to see thisRepublic of Poland.

exhibition”, “I learned about the horrors of war in

The Museum of the Second World War was opened in

Poland”. It has received a relatively high evaluation fromMarch 2017. Gdansk is a gulf city facing the Baltic Sea,

visitors. It turned out that there are many people who arealso the site of the outbreak of the World War II.

interested in the history related to the previous war that

Permanent exhibitions are approximately 5,000 squareoccurred in the world.

meters, making it the largest exhibition in the world

Lastly, I won the 1st Lieutenant Colonel Jan

history museum. The exhibition consists of three blocks

Kowalewski Award, co-sponsored by the Museum of theentitled “Road to War”, “Fear of War” and “Long Shadow

Second World War and Gdansk University of Technology.

of War”, and exhibits Poland’s war experience against the

The project of special exhibition, which I organized about

backdrop of Europe and the world. The museum has an

the Katyn Forest Massacre, was praised for its success in

exhibition about the Soviet Union and Germany, as well

public relations activities in Poland and Japan. The

as Poland, as well as an area that recreates Poland during

ceremony took place on the 28th of September in thethe war, and exhibits about the Holocaust and the atomic

Museum of the Second World War. (Jan Kowalewski

bombing.

(1892–1965) is the patron of the Award, and proved overThe exhibition “Poland First to Fight” in Peace Osakaand over again what a great power the human mind

consists of 14 panels beginning with the situation

possesses in doing good. It is awarded to Polish andsurrounding Poland between two great powers of

foreigners who have made remarkable and innovative

Germany and the Soviet Union. It covers Poland underachievements under his name.)

German and Soviet rule, the fear of Polish citizens, theBased on the above, Peace Osaka will continue to play a

Polish army on the front, underground activities, therole in planning various project related to war, with the

Warsaw Uprising and the Holocaust. Each panel

mission of conveying the memories of war and becoming
8

a base for peace.

The monument of his masterpiece poem “Song of

The awards ceremony on Sep. 28

Jiandao Partisan” was set up in Johsei Park in Kochi City.
His tombstone is located at Heiwa (peace) town in the city.
His birthplace was uncertain for a long time, and last year
Grassroots House Peace Museum conducted a researchon it as one of commemoration events of 80 year

Unveiling Monument of Koh Makimura’s
birthplace: Grassroots House Peace
Museumanniversary of his death. Thanks to kind donation by
many people, we have completed our research and built
the monument which was unveiled on 11th November,

Keisuke Okamura, Vice director

establishment day of our museum.
In December 1936, Makimura was arrested again forProletarian poems by Koh Makimura whose real

the Popular Front Incident. Because of severe torture byname Hodou Yoshida, were evaluated high as leading
proletarian

literaturewithinternational

the Special Higher Police and imprisonment, hesolidarity

suffered much and died of a disease at the age of 26 on

perspective which was quite rare at that time. We

3rd of September 1938.

introduce Koh Makimura as an important writer in the

The monument of Makimura’s birthplace is locatedsouth while Takiji Kobayashi is well known in the north,nearby Kochi station. It only takes you 3 to 4 minutes onanother well-known proletarian writer.

foot. Please stop by when you visit Kochi.

Koh Makimura established a Kochi branch of Japan
Proletarian Writers Union in Kochi prefecture in October
1931. In February 1932, after he wrote antiwar epic
poerty, “Ikeru juka” (alive rifle stand), his antiwar bills
saying “soldiers, recognize the real enemy” was given out
to soldiers in the military barrack (present Kochi
University) by his group who broke into the barrack. In
March, he wrote “Song of Jiandao Partisan”. The poem isabout solidarity with Korean who aimed at Korean
independence from Japanese occupation. However, he
was arrested for violation of the Maintenance of Public
Order Law in April. He did not change his ideas, and he
was sentenced to three years’ imprisonment without
execution. In June 1935, he was released from prison.

9

The museum will hold a series of 7 lectures open to

Oka Masaharu Memorial Nagasaki
Peace Museum

general public: Let’s Study History Again! The First Term

Noboru Sakiyama: Secretary GeneralNovember to May next year.

of Lecture Series on Japanese Modern History, from 16

A lecture by Mr. Masatoshi Uchida, a lawyer, titledCan

We

Supplement

theIncomplete

Himeyuri Peace Museum
Katsumi Maedomari: Curator

Japanese

Constitution by Reconciliation in North East Asia?
Learning from the Experience of Reconciliation of
Hanaoka, Nishimatsu and Mitsubishi Material, was held

On June 23, 2019, thanks to all, the museum reachedits 30th anniversary.

on 6 July, 2019 by the Maintenance and Management
Committee of the Memorial Cenotaph for Chinese

As a part of celebration events of the anniversary, aVictims of Atomic Bombing of Urakami Branch of Prison

screening of documentary films was held for the first timeand The Nagasaki Association to Support Trials onat the Himeyuri Peace Hall in Naha. Two documentary

Chinese People Who Were Forced to Work in Japan. A

films about the Himeyuri Peace Museum (produced bymemorial ceremony was held in front of the Memorial

NHK in 1989 and RBC in 2017) were shown. These films’

Cenotaph in Peace Memorial Park on 7 July.

director and producer also attended the event, and theyOka Masaharu Memorial Nagasaki Peace Museum

added some explanation on their film works. Reflectingthheld an event, The 4 Commemoration for Mr. Masaharu

on the museum’s activities and transmission projects, theOka on 21 July.

speakers remembered memories of the time when the

Early Morning Memorial Ceremony was held formuseum founded in their minds.

Korean Victims of Nagasaki Atomic Bombing on 9

On the other hand, Himeyuri Peace Research Center

August by Nagasaki Association to Protect Humanstarted a traveling exhibition project in Hawaii this year.

Rights of Korean Residents in Japan.

The exhibition will be held in 2021 with a workshop for

12 participants, including 3 university students, visited

younger generations at the same time. As the first step ofSouth Korea on “A Tour to Learn about Korea” organized

thisby Oka Masaharu Memorial Nagasaki Peace Museum inchairperson Nakahodo, the director Futenma and aorder to (1)learn about the conditions of the damages

research assistant Karimata, visited Hawaii in earlyJapan inflicted on Korea during the colonization of Korea

September. They participated in the Okinawan Festival,

by Japan such as the problems of drafted workers andone of the most popular local events, to introduce the

Korean atomic bomb survivors, (2)interact with Korean

museum, and held a lecture event in the Hamilton library

citizens, and (3)learn about problems Korea has now.

at the University of Hawaii. A small exhibition was alsoA

programCommunity;

titledWhich

Community,

CEDAR(Communities

Engaging

project,

themuseum’s

representatives,

the

Whose

held in the library. Thanks to all the people who supported

withthis trip, the team accomplished great achievements in

Difference and Religion) Workshop to Consider History,

this visit.

Memories, Belonging, was held for the first time in
Nagasaki on 17 to 19 August supported by the museum.
The museum held a screening of a video, “Actual
Condition Survey on Nagasaki Korean Victims of Atomic
Bombing” to commemorate the 100,000 visitors to themuseum on 24 August.
The museum held a lecture by Mr. Hou Shuguang,
Director of Nanjing Museum of Site of Lijixiang“Comfort Stations” on 13 October.

Speakers talking about Himeyuri’s documentary films

10On February 29, 2020, the museum will hold a fieldsubsidies on 26 September and Agency for Cultural

trip to war sites related to the Himeyuri Student Corps.

Affairs decided not to pay a promised subsidy to theThis will be open application. In addition, on July 22, theexhibition.

museum’s renovation will be finished and it will be
reopened. As you may notice, this is the biggest event in
the 30th anniversary programs. Museum staff members
have a meeting constantly and prepared for therenovation, even though it is difficult task to find a wayof transmission of the museum’s message to the future
generations farther from the war. Please keep waiting till
the reopening day in the 75th anniversary year since theend of the war.
Credit: Yutaka Maruyama

Tel: 098-997-2100 Fax: 098-997-2102

Article 21 of The Japanese Constitution enacts

HP: http://www.himeyuri.or.jp
FB:“Freedom of assembly and association as well as speech,https://www.facebook.com/HIMEYUIRI.PEACE.MUS

press and all other forms of expression are guaranteed.”EUM/

It also provides “no censorship shall be maintained.”
We have conviction that freedom of speech should beguaranteed to a maximal degree as long as it does not
infringe on the rights of others with violence, threats, or

The Statement on the Interventions by
Administrations and Threats of Violenceby Citizens against Exhibition of
Non-Freedom of Expression

discrimination. Aichi Prefectural Governor Omura stated,“When those who exercise public authority judge
whether the content of exhibitions is appropriate or
inappropriate, it cannot be denied that the judgement is

All the Participants of 18th National Conference ofconsidered censorship mentioned in Article 21 of the“Japanese Citizens’ Network of Museums for Peace”

Constitution.“ Mr. Daisuke Tsuda, Artistic Director of
Aichi Triennale 2019, criticized the political intervention,

A themed exhibition: Exhibition of Non-Freedom ofsaying, “It is rather terrorism against culture and art thanExpression and After in the international art festival,

censorship.” A great number of organizations as well as

Aichi Triennale 2019, was shut down on 3 August, 2019,

the executive committee of the exhibition and the artists

just 3 days after its opening because Hideaki Omura,

who exhibited their art works there released statements orgovernor of Aichi Prefecture, who has the ultimate

expressed opinions on the shutdown of the exhibition one

responsibility for holding the exhibition, decided on theafter another. The organizations include Japan Art Society,shutdown “worrying about safe management” of theJapanese Center of PEN International, “Women, War, andexhibition. The decision was made after Takashi

Human Rights” Society, Japan Visual Journalist

Kawamura,for

Association, Japan Cartoonists Association, Association

discontinuing the exhibition because the exhibition officeInternationale des Critiques d’Art Japan, International

received phone calls to protest against the exhibition,

Committee for Museums and Collections of Modern Art,

some of which seemed to imply terrorism notice andJapan Playwrights Association, Japan Publishers Council,

threats of violence. It is reported that a case of a terrorist’s

Japan YWCA, Consumers Union of Japan, The Japanarson on Kyoto Animation Co., Ltd. on 18 July

Association of Cultural Policy Research, Kyoto Museum

influenced the decision. Yoshihide Suga, Chief Cabinet

for

Secretary, mentioned revision on the decision on stateorganizations to support former “comfort women” who

Mayor

of

Nagoya

City,

asked

11

World

Peace

of

Ritsumeikan

University,

join Japanese Military “Comfort Women“ Problem

Conference is held every three years. ICOM Kyoto 2019

Solving Nationwide Action.

was the 3rd General Conference held in Asia, following

Museums for peace in Japan have been in various

the conference in Seoul in 2004 and in Shanghai in 2010.

difficulties: attacked by people who have different

Women’s Active Museum on War and Peace (WAM) is a

opinions or threatened with bombing notice. The staff

small museum for grassroots movement and is not ahave been exposed to direct violence. We have been

member of ICOM. However, International Association ofordered to make fundamental changes in the content of

Women’s Museums (IAWM), which WAM belongs to,

our exhibitions by politicians who exercise public

has been making efforts so that ICOM can understand theauthority so that the exhibition will accord with their view

significance of existence of women’s museums. Beforeof history. However, we have been making every possible

ICOM Kyoto, I received an email from a museum ineffort to overcome the difficulties and protect “freedom

Turkey, which said, “Decolonization will be discussed inof expression.”

ICOM Kyoto, so you should participate in the conference

The circumstances behind the incident of Aichi

as a representative of WAM and give your opinions there

Triennale 2019 tell us that in order to protect “freedom offor sure.”

expression” guaranteed in the Constitution, we must takemoderate actions as sovereigns to strictly exclude theinterventions by public authorities and not to assist
authorities to oppress and deprive us of freedom as
citizens who enjoy our right of freedom.
We, participants for 18th National Conference of“Japanese Citizens’ Network of Museums for Peace,”
criticize the intervention in “freedom of expression” by
the public authorities and violent attacks, which infringeon human rights, no matter what means they use. We also

Decolonization Was One of the Themes

protest against the refusal of paying state subsidy to Aichi

The program of the conference said that return of

Triennale 2019, and claim that the refusal should be

cultural properties the former colonizing nations brought

revoked immediately.

from the colonies to their home countries will be
27 October, 2019

discussed in the main hall under the title: “Colonization
and Return of Artifacts” I found another discussion on“Voices from the Former Colonies Ruled by The Empire

Report on
International Council of Museums（ICOM）Kyoto

of Japan.” The title seemed to be suitable for the
conference held in Japan, but I couldn’t find any namesof Japanese who have been researching this issue nor

The 25th ICOM General Conference“Decolonization” of Museums is a
Global Issue to Resolve!

Korean researcher’s names. These discussions weregoing to be held on 2 September. I decided to participate
in the conference though the registration fee was as much

Mina Watanabe, Director of Women’s Active
Museum on War and Peace（WAM）

as 10,000 yen for a day.
The session on “Colonization and Return of Artifacts”
was a panel discussion with about 10 panels from Europe,

What Is ICOM?

South America, India, and some other countries.

ICOM Kyoto 2019, the 25th ICOM General

The

Conference was held from 1 to 7 September, 2019. ICOM

discussion was very interesting. The theme was, in short,

was established in 1946. It is an international“Decolonization of Museums.” While the British

organization of museums and museum professionals

Museum has been ridiculed as “The Museum of Stolen

from 141 countries around the world. ICOM General

Artifacts,” Canada, Australia and some other countries
12have been returning art works and artifacts to India.

Rights Museums (FIHRM). ICMEMO is an international

Participants of museums which received such returned

committee of ICOM, which memorial museums on

artifacts said that they should not just receive them but

public crimes committed by states such as Nazis belong

need to “indigenize” them as their own cultural properties

to. The panels were from China, Taiwan, and Japan. In

by learning about their backgrounds. A panelist fromthe session, one presentation written on the program was

Brazil, where they have museums of various indigenous

cancelled. It was “Sites of Japan's Meiji Industrial

cultures, explained their projects, as examples ofRevolution” by a speaker from UNESCO World Heritage“decolonization,” in which indigenous people guideCenter. It seemed that the panels didn’t deepen thevisitors in their museums from the point of view of the

discussion on the responsibility for colonization, so I

owners of the cultural properties instead of translating

asked a question of the host, “Why didn’t any panelists

explanation made by foreign researchers.

from Korea join this discussion to give their opinions on

Another panelist from Germany said that we should

this theme for which the relation between Korea andadmit that plundering cultural properties was a crime.

Japan is worsening right now?” Then the chairperson

During the session of questions and answers, serious

answered immediately, “No one from Korea applied forquestions were asked in the main hall: “The problem isthe panel.” Another speaker from the host organization

not only about cultural properties. Do you thinkanswered, “I wish you had recommended someone.” Itcolonization is over?” and “Over 90% of cultural

should be a fundamental role for hosts to selectheritages of Africa are outside of Africa and we don’t

appropriate speakers in consideration of the theme of theeven have access to them even now. What do you thinkpanel discussion. I wondered why they answered in aabout this situation?”rather hasty manner. After the discussion, newspaper

Ms. Suay Aksoy from Turkey, president of ICOM, pointed
out the importance of the role of civil society and mutual

reporters who had doubts and a Korean student talked tome and we had a discussion for a while.
Revision of the Definition of Museums Were
Postponed
What are museums? ICOM released its definition in
1946, when it was established. The definition has beenrevised 6 times according to the change in the societies.
What is the role for museums in the 21st century to playfor the societies in the recent world where people are notunited? Draft revisions with deeper content had been
proposed: “Museums should be a space for critical
dialogues on the past and the future” and “a space to listen

understandings in the management of museums. Japanese
speakers of greeting speeches in the opening ceremony
were all men, including Imperial Prince Akishinonomiya
and Mayor of Kyoto. It highlighted a characteristic ofJapanese society: “Men take more active part inmanagement.”

to various voices.” However, the adoption of the revision
was postponed. The changes of the definition announced
by ICOM influence Museum Laws in Japan, so we will
watch them.
Quote from WAM Newsletter Vol.43, November, 2019

A joint session titled “How Museums Say the
Unfathomable: Voices from Former Colonial Territories
of Imperial Japan” was hosted by Memorial Museums in
Remembrance of the Victims of Public Crimes(ICMEMO) and the Federation of International Human13

we were able to reach the 40th issue. We believe thatpublishing a newsletter in both the native language(Japanese) and the international language (English)

A New Publication

itself is a challenge that is unprecedented in the world,
Grassroots House Peace Museum 30th Anniversary

but editors sincerely hope to continue issuing “Muse” inCommemorative Publication (Heiwa Shiryokan Kusano

both languages with the readers’ understanding andIye: 30 Shunen Kinenshi in Japanese)

support..

Publisher: Grassroots House Peace Museum
GRH@ma1.seikyhou.ne.jp
Price: 1000 yen“Transcending the Stage”
by Pegge Patten（USA）

Your Articles are welcome!

Edirtos Notes◆ Number of letters: about 500 letters inJapanese◆ Hopefully 1 or 2 photos◆ Due Date: We will accept it at any time
Please send your article to the following
email address.
musejapankyoto@gmail.com

We would like to thank Ms. Atsuko Akamatsu, Ms.
Mihoko Yamamoto and Ms. Emi Karimata to translate
articles into English.
This issue is the 40th to commemorate. “Muse” is theofficial newsletter of the Japanese Citizens’ Network ofMuseums for Peace which has been issued biannually
since its establishment in 1998 for 20 years both inJapanese and English. It was sometimes difficult for
editors to ensure a translation in a timely manner, butwith the help of many excellent volunteer translators,
14