平和資料館展示品相繼更新

A few weeks ago the NHK News on-line reported the following:

平和資料館 展示の見直し相次ぐ

7月25日 22時57分

戦争や平和をテーマにした全国の資料館で、最近、展示内容の見直しが相次いで進められていることが、ＮＨＫが行ったアンケート調査で分かりました。
その理由について、多くは「内容を分かりやすくするため」としていますが、専門家は「見直し方によっては、戦争の実像が伝わらなくなるおそれもある」と指摘しています。

戦後７０年を来年に控えて、ＮＨＫは、戦争や平和をテーマにした全国の公立や私立の主な資料館５２か所を対象にアンケート調査を行い、８７％に当たる４５か所から回答を得ました。
それによりますと、この５年以内に、資料や写真の入れ替えや、説明文の変更など、展示の見直しを行っている施設は２０か所と、全体の４４％に上りました。
その理由としては、「内容を分かりやすくするため」が最も多く１２か所、「今の時代に合わせるため」が４か所、「データや情報を新しくするため」が２か所などとなっています。
中には、展示している年表のうち、太平洋戦争中の項目を大幅に減らしたところや、空襲の記録など日本国内の被害の展示を増やす一方で、国外での旧日本軍の戦闘などに関する展示を減らした資料館もあります。
これについて、歴史学者で平和資料館について詳しい埼玉大学の一ノ瀬俊也准教授は「展示を分かりやすくすることは必要だが、そのやり方によっては、戦争の実像が伝わらなくなるおそれもある。戦争を経験した人たちが減っていくなか、戦争とは何なのかを実感として学べる平和資料館の存在は、今後、ますます重要になる」と指摘しています。

(試譯文)

Based on a questionnaire survey performed by the NHK, it was found out that museums in the whole country in these days had successively conducted reviews on the exhibition contents about the theme of war and peace.

As for the reasons, although many were "in order to make the contents intelligible", a specialist had indicated that "there is also a possibility that the transmission of the real war image may ceased, depending on the way to improve the contents".

Next year would be 70 years after the War. The NHK performed a survey on 52 major museums on the theme of war and peace, both public and private in the whole country. It received replies from 45 locations, amounting to 87%.

According to it, the number of institutions that performed exhibition review by replacing data and photographs, and changing explanatory notes etc. within five years was up to 20, being 44% of the total.

As for the reason, as a majority, in 12 locations it was "in order to make the contents intelligible". In four locations it was "in order to match with the present time", and in two it was "in order to up-date data and information" etc.

Among them, in the chronological table currently exhibited, items about the Pacific War were sharply reduced while exhibition on air raid records etc. and on the damages done in Japan were increased. There were museums which reduced the exhibition about the battles fought overseas by Japan's now-defunct Army etc.

On this matter, a historian the Associate Professor Toshiya Ichinose of the Saitama University who knew details about the peace museum indicated that "while it is necessary to make the exhibition more intelligible, depending on the ways of doing it, there is also a possibility that the real image of war may cease to be transmitted. As the number of people who had experienced the war is decreasing, from now on the existence of a peace museum where one can get a feeling of the war would become increasingly important".

I think it is normal for museums to up-date their exhibition contents at regular intervals.