The Naraha UMUT* Collaborative Museum "A Timeline of the Earth and the Town" opened in April 2023 in Naraha Town, Fukushima Prefecture. The facility is a complete renovation of the Naraha Town History Museum, which closed after the Great East Japan Earthquake in 2011. As part of the earthquake reconstruction project, a partnership between UTokyo and Naraha Town was initiated to provide a storage facility for the UMUT, which was facing a shortage of storage space. At the same time, a newly renovated museum was established for academic specimens from UTokyo and historical materials from Naraha Town. The book documents the process from vision to design and construction. It also documents the results of the collaboration between Naraha Town, UTokyo, and the exhibition company.
 
This project was an experimental research proposal to realize a museum that would contribute to earthquake disaster reconstruction. Based on the research conducted by UTokyo, the project was carried out in collaboration with the public, academic, and private sectors. The book documents the process of “building a museum,” from its inception to completion, as the subject of a research project that examines by the process and results from all angles.
 
This book is a chronological review of the process, and is divided into three major chapters. Chapter I begins with the construction of the Naraha Town History Museum, the museum's predecessor, and describes the background of the project, the vision and purpose of the museum, the content and zoning structure, and other work processes prior to the museum’s design and production. The exhibition established the museum’s direction, which is to take the theme “Crisis and Rebirth” on a timeline of eternity and connect it to the creation of Naraha Town's future.
 
Chapter II describes the museum’s materials and information in the form of an essay by the researchers and curators in charge of the project. The essay includes the origins of the reconstruction assistance, the characteristics of the exhibition structure, an overview of the university-owned materials, the process of creating the town history exhibit, the significance of the facility’s renovation, and the museum’s role in education and exchange.
 
Chapter III summarizes the design and production of the museum’s exhibitions. The main purpose of the exhibition is to showcase materials and convey information. In addition, visual planning enhances the effect of viewing the exhibition. The chapter also describes some of the innovations that make the exhibition’s information easy to understand.
 
This book documents the process of creating a museum from conception to completion and clarifies what it means to “build a museum” and what is necessary to do so. We hope that this book will be used as a reference for future museum projects and exhibitions.
 

(Written by KO Tsuneo, Visiting Professor, MATSUMOTO Fumio, Project Professor and SHIRAISHI Ai, Project Research Associate, The University Museum / 2025)

Table of Contents

Related Info

Website:
Naraha UMUT Collaborative Museum
A Timeline of the Earth and the Town
Opening hours : 9:00-16:30
Closed days : Mondays, national holidays and year-end holidays
Admission : Free of charge
Address : 5-4 Aza-Kanetsukido Oaza-Kitada Naraha-machi Futaba-gun Fukushima prefecture, Japan
https://www.um.u-tokyo.ac.jp/naraha/index_en.html
 
Awards:
42nd Display Industry Award 2023, Encouragement Award  (Nippon Display Federation  2023)
https://www.display.or.jp/awards/archives/3220
 
Kukan Design Award 2023, Longlist – Cultural exchange space  (Japan Design Space Association and Japan Commercial Environmental Design Association  2023)
https://kukan.design/en/award/2023_c08_0198/
 
57th Japan Sign Design Association Award, Selected  (Japan Sign Design Association  2023)
https://www.sign.or.jp/wp/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/57th_SDA_JudgingResults_N3.pdf
 
Related Event:
FUKUSHIMA FUKKO-TRAMSFORMATION  (OSAKA, KANSAI EXPO Exhibition Centre  May 20^th to May 24^th, 2025)
https://www.meti.go.jp/earthquake/fukushima-expo2025/english/
https://www.town.naraha.lg.jp/kanko/highlights/008529.html

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