Mori Ogai (1862-1922), one of the foremost literary figures of modern Japan, spent his final years serving as director-general of the Imperial Household Museums—the collective term for the museums administered by the Imperial Household Ministry.

He was also head of the Bureau of Books and Charts, the ministry office chiefly responsible for compiling the imperial genealogy and preserving imperial edicts and rescripts.

For half of each week, he commuted to the Tokyo Imperial Household Museum, on the site of what is now the Tokyo National Museum. By the time he took office, the institution had reportedly fallen into such neglect that it was derided as a “high-class storeroom.”

Setting aside the serialized works he had been writing, Ogai devoted himself to his duties. He reorganized displays that had previously been arranged by category—swords, Buddhist statues and the like—into chronological exhibitions. 

He launched a research bulletin and made it possible for scholars to view the treasures of the Shosoin, the eighth-century treasure repository on the grounds of Todaiji temple in Nara.

It is fair to say that he paid balanced attention not only to exhibitions but also to research and preservation, both essential functions of a museum.

Now, a little more than a century later, are we about to see government policy on support for national museums reshaped by a “cost-performance first” mentality in which profitability is everything?

The Agency for Cultural Affairs has decided that among the nation’s national museums and art museums, any institution unable to cover at least 40 percent of its exhibition costs on its own may become subject to reorganization.

It has also indicated that within 10 years these institutions should no longer rely on state funding at all.

Such a policy could drive museums to focus desperately on crowd-drawing exhibitions while pushing other responsibilities to the margins.

Surely culture possesses a value that cannot be measured by financial statements alone.

Cries of distress are already rising from the field. The financial difficulties facing museums have been evident for some time. Not long ago, for example, the National Museum of Nature and Science appealed for donations as it struggled even to pay its utility bills.

What impoverished politics this is: a government that praises Japan’s culture as magnificent and its technology as superb, yet is so miserly in supporting them.

Ogai left behind a short poem inspired by a visit to the Shosoin: “Before my eyes/ Guarding the imperial storehouse/ Pass those with heart, and those without.”

For the sake of generations to come, I hope that this country will remain one that truly cares about preserving and passing on its cultural and scholarly heritage.

—The Asahi Shimbun, March 9

Vox Populi, Vox Dei is a popular daily column that takes up a wide range of topics, including culture, arts and social trends and developments. Written by veteran Asahi Shimbun writers, the column provides useful perspectives on and insights into contemporary Japan and its culture.

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