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The Mission of the Meiji University Museum |
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Based on the University's founding philosophy of “Rights, Liberty, Independence
and Self-Government”, The Meiji University Museum aims to publicly exhibit the
achievements of its academic pursuits and to also serve as an
institution of learning.
The Museum is divided into three departments, each having a distinct origin.
The Commodity Department, the successor to the “Commodities Museum”
considers lifestyles through commodities; and the Criminal Materials Department,
follows in the footsteps of its predecessor “Museum of Criminology”
and contemplates law and human rights. The Archaeology Department, formerly the
“Archaeological Museum”, is concerned with humankind’s past and diversity.
In this 21st century, we are embroiled in a myriad of problems.
We hope some hint to overcoming them can be found in this museum. |
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“Commodity Department” -A Wealth of Traditional Designs- |
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face of surging machine-manufactured products, themselves a creation of these times
of high economic growth, the former Commodities Museum sensed an impending danger
of the demise to conventional handicrafts, and began to collect and display traditional
handicrafts (traditional artefacts). Products, such as lacquer ware, dyed textiles and
ceramic ware, are artefacts of our predecessors’ lives, and it may be said that they
are part of a Japanese culture with which we have daily contact. The exhibition
introduces manufacturing processes and design types, from the raw materials, parts,
manufacturing techniques and partially processed items, to completed goods. The exhibits
clearly show the big picture of Japan’s traditional artifacts, proud of a wealth of
design representations incomparable to anything else in this world. |
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“Criminal Materials Department” -Law and People, Crime and Punishment- |
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Based on the founding ethos of “Rights, Liberty”, this exhibition is of crime-related materials.
In the “Japan's crime and punishment” exhibition, there is a chronological
display of a variety of historical laws.
In the “Culprits of the Edo’s Period”, “Torture and Tribunal”, “Execution and Correction”
and “A Wealth of Criminal History” exhibitions, there are real artifacts that recount a
history of suppressed human rights, including the devices used to catch criminals of Edo,
and tools of torture and execution from Japan and other countries. In particular the
guillotine and the Iron Maiden of Nuremberg are exhibits unique in Japan.
Through this type of criminological history, it is hoped visitors will be able exposed
to the world of crime and punishment, and gain a deeper appreciation of human dignity. |
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“Archaeology Department” -Humankind and History- |
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Archaeology is the study of looking at humankind's past and recreating the transitions of lifestyle and culture. It is for this reason that archaeologists dig for relics and collect the ingredients to restore the past. Since the inauguration of the Archaeology major in the School of Arts and Letters, Meiji University has conducted research and surveys on relics from the Paleolithic era to the Kofun (tumulus) period. As part of these efforts, at present there are exhibits from archaeological finds of four designated important cultural assets from the Iwajuku site in Gunma Prefecture, the Sunagawa site in Saitama Prefecture, Natsujima shell mounds in Kanagawa Prefecture and the Izuruhara site in Tochigi Prefecture.
For over fifty years, the Archaeological Department has compiled, documented and publicly exhibited the achievements of these kinds of research and surveys. The exhibition can perhaps be described as important materials that have stimulated Japan's post-war archaeology. |
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