Public Properties: Museums in Imperial Japan (Asia-Pacific: Culture, Politics, and Society)

In the late nineteenth century, Japan's new Meiji government established museums to showcase a national aesthetic heritage. Inspired by Western museums and expositions, these institutions were introduced by government officials hoping to spur industrialization and self-disciplined public behavior, and to cultivate an "imperial public" loyal to the emperor. Japan's network of museums expanded along with its colonies. By the mid-1930s, the Japanese museum system had established or absorbed institutions in Taiwan, Korea, Sakhalin, and Manchuria. Not surprising, colonial subjects' views of Japanese imperialism differed from those promulgated by the Japanese state. Meanwhile, in Japan, philanthropic and commercial museums were expanding, revising, and even questioning the state-sanctioned aesthetic canon. Public Properties describes how museums in Japan and its empire contributed to the reimagining of state and society during the imperial era, despite vigorous disagreements about what was to be displayed, how, and by whom it was to be seen. Contents......Page 8 Illustrations......Page 10 Acknowledgments......Page 12 Introduction......Page 16 Chapter 1. Stating the Public......Page 28 Chapter 2. Imperial Properties......Page 78 Chapter 3. Colonial Properties......Page 110 Chapter 4. The Private Publics of Ōhara, Shibusawa, and Yanagi......Page 142 Chapter 5. Consuming Publics......Page 184 Epilogue......Page 218 Notes......Page 238 Bibliography......Page 294 Index......Page 312 Stating The Public -- Imperial Properties -- Colonial Properties -- The Private Publics Of Ōhara, Shibusawa, And Yanagi -- Consuming Publics. Noriko Aso. Includes Bibliographical References And Index. Public Properties is a historical account of how museums in Japan and its empire contributed to the reimagining of state and society during Japan's imperial era, from 1868 until 1945.