The National Ainu Museum is holding its 11th special displays "The Ainu People and Expositions - 150 Years of Experience," NOMURA Co.,Ltd. handling the lending of materials and displays design and graphic concept design.

NOMURA Co.,Ltd. is lending 55 items from its own exhibition collection for the 11th Special displays of the National Ainu Museum, "The Ainu People and Expositions - 150 Years of Experience" (co-sponsored by the National Ainu Museum and the National Museum of Japanese History; dates: National Ainu Museum June 20 (Sat) - August 23 (Sun), 2026; National Museum of Japanese History October 6 (Tue) - November 29 (Sun), 2026). In addition, Nomura Co., Ltd. is responsible for displays design, graphics, and construction at the National Ainu Museum venue. Nomura Co., Ltd. is also responsible for the cover concept design of the exhibition catalog.


■ displays overview
This exhibition introduces how the Ainu people have been involved with exhibitions for approximately 150 years, from the first exhibition of Ainu materials at the Yushima Seido Exposition in 1872 (Meiji 5) to the Osaka-Kansai Expo in 2025 (Reiwa 7).
While Ainu displays at numerous expositions held in Japan and abroad since the Meiji era are remembered as a sad part of history, the nature of expositions themselves has also changed over time, with some Ainu people actively participating. This exhibition focuses on the "voices" of individuals who have been involved with expositions, carefully unraveling their joys and sorrows, experiences and memories, as well as the circumstances of the time and the discriminatory and superior attitudes and dynamics of those involved, in order to explore what expositions meant to each individual.


■ displays composition
Chapter 1: From the Early Days of Ainu Craft Exhibitions to the World's Fair
Ainu crafts, which attracted attention in Japanese society as products from a different region, were re-established in the context of Hokkaido's "development" and industrial promotion at exhibitions in the early Meiji period.

Chapter 2: The Ainu People's Participation
Against the backdrop of Japan's colonial expansion, the Ainu people became the subject of "human displays," where people's lives themselves were made available for public viewing.

 Chapter 3: An Era of Showcasing Ainu Culture
In the context of postwar society, the changing nature of expositions, the increasing involvement of the Ainu people in these events, and the Ainu culture they express.

Chapter 4: The Ainu People and the Fate of the Expo
Through a space that expresses contemporary Ainu culture, connections between people, interconnected feelings, and the restoration of cultural inheritance are woven.

*The exhibition layout may be subject to change. Also, displays will be changed during the exhibition period.

 

Left: "Biographies of People from Early Modern Ezo," Volume 2, by Matsuura Takeshiro, 1858. Nationally designated Important Cultural Property. Collection of the Matsuura Takeshiro Memorial Museum.
Right: Group photo from the National Anthropology Museum, 1903, collection of the National Ainu Museum.

Left: Collection of Yamatan Nishiki Rikkyo Elementary School (on loan to the National Ainu Museum)
Right: Singing for the future, by Kohei Fujito, 2025, Collection of the Ainu Cultural Foundation.


■ NOMURA Co.,Ltd. Exhibition Materials Collection
NOMURA Co.,Ltd., Ltd., which has handled displays and operation of pavilions at numerous world's fairs, has created a database of over 20,000 items of exhibition-related materials, including official records, pamphlets, posters, admission tickets, and commemorative goods from domestic and international exhibitions held from the Meiji period to the present day.

https://www.nomurakougei.co.jp/expo/