Suiheisha 100th Anniversary Project Suiheisha Museum displays Renewal

This museum conveys the history of the Suiheisha, which was a key player in the Buraku Liberation Movement, which aimed to establish peace and human rights. The latest renovation marks the 100th anniversary of the founding of the Zenkoku Suiheisha, a major milestone since March 3, 1922.
In recent years, there has been an increasing tendency to emphasize human rights, such as the enactment of the "Human Rights Protection Measures Promotion Act" and the "New Ainu Law," as well as the redefinition of museums by the SDGs and the International Council of Museums (ICOM). The Suiheisha Declaration, which was read out at the founding meeting of the National Suiheisha, read, "Let there be passion in the human world, and let there be light in humanity." This was the first human rights declaration in Japan, and also the first in the world issued by a discriminated minority.
When we talk about human rights, the significance of the existence of the Suiheisha Museum, a hub for disseminating human rights information established in the birthplace of the Suiheisha, is extremely great.

The renewal focused on the Suiheisha Declaration, which became the fundamental spirit of the movement. We also collected famous quotes from famous people, people we know, artworks, and publicly submitted works, bringing inspiration and persuasiveness through the power of words. At the same time, it is also characterized by its high updateability, allowing the words of ordinary people to be added at any time. In addition, we incorporated the sentiment of "accepting each other's differences" that values diversity into displays.


[Social issues/customer issues/requests]
At the beginning of the project, Director Komai said the following:
"It is difficult to eliminate buraku discrimination, which is invisible and difficult to see. Therefore, we want to overcome discrimination by focusing on human rights awareness, from the perspective that 'human rights awareness > discrimination awareness.' This is true both at the individual level and at the societal level."
"We are all the same human beings, but we have differences. And that's why I want people to feel that it's fun and interesting. I want to affirm our differences."
The Chairman also made the following request:
"I want the history of the Suiheisha's activities to be conveyed to children and passed on to future generations."


【solution】
The carpeting on the floor is laid out in a spatial manner to evoke the image of a drop of water spreading out like ripples, and is a rhetorical concept design for displays that shows how the Suiheisha Movement, which began in Kashiwara, Gose City, Nara Prefecture, spread throughout the country.
The prologue displays is an introductory video that shows various races and gives a sense of diversity, and then a horizontal line that evokes the Suiheisha extends from the video to the graphics. To attract children's interest, speech bubbles are used to make it easy for them to notice, and manga and picture books displays and explanations are given through animation. In addition, an information line has been introduced that dramatically simplifies updating information, and a "why-where quiz" that allows children to learn in a playful way.
The exhibition will conclude with an epilogue displays that brings together words of wisdom about human rights.
We scattered these ideas throughout the project to resolve the issues.


【customer's voice】
Since the museum opened in 1998, they have been in charge of producing displays, including special exhibitions, and have always provided thorough support. This made sharing the renewal concept and other matters go smoothly.
Even when it came to the topic of human rights, which can seem a little difficult to communicate, they made full use of their accumulated knowledge and achievements, providing accurate advice from a broad perspective and fully realizing the message that the museum wanted to convey to its visitors.
We feel that the content of displays has been dramatically improved thanks to your company's involvement.


<Our project members>
[Sales/Project Management] Hiroko Yamase, Tetsuya Kurita
[Planning] Takeshi Kami, Fumihiro Nakano, Yuka Sueda
[concept design] Koki Mizuno
[Production and construction] Yoshikazu Kimura, Satoko Hasegawa / CIC: Masaru Oishi