Abstract
This paper explores how Japanese museum design challenges Western museological frameworks through a cross-cultural lens grounded in arts administration. Focusing on four research sites—the 21st Century Museum of Contemporary Art, Kyoto National Museum, National Museum of Western Art, and Sekigahara Memorial Museum—this project analyzes how aesthetic restraint, minimal signage, and spatial awareness create conditions for deeper visitor engagement and critical thinking. The research is interpretive in nature and draws from on-site observations, design analysis, and visitor experience studies to examine how traditional Japanese values such as ma (negative space), wabi-sabi (the beauty of imperfection), and omotenashi (hospitality) shape institutional taste and exhibition design. The guiding framework is hōdō-hōdō, or “just enough,” a principle that values moderation and trust in the viewer’s ability to derive personal meaning. Findings suggest that Japanese museums foster prolonged visitor engagement and autonomy, with national attendance rates outpacing those of the United States. These insights prompt a reevaluation of arts administration practices, suggesting that institutions may benefit from reducing didactic instruction, limiting screen-based engagement, and re-centering the sensory, emotional, and contemplative aspects of exhibition design. This research has broader implications for how museums around the world might train educators, design spaces, and assess success, not solely through metrics like attendance, but through the quality of experience and depth of individual connection.
Presenters
Jacqueline MuthStudent, Master's of Arts Administration, University of Michigan, Michigan, United States
Details
Presentation Type
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session
Theme
KEYWORDS
Museum Pedagogy, Visitor Learning, Interpretive Strategies, Cross-Cultural Education, Informal Learning
