| Research Abstract |
I have got following results from the research in 1994 and 1995.
(1) I analyzed the developmental process of peace museums in the fifty years after the last war, from a viewpoint of comparative and historical sociology. Peace museums in Japan have developed through the stages of (a) group experiences (mostly war experiences), (b) preparation, (c) opening, and (d) transform. I analyzed peace museums in Japan from the aspects of its foundation, its developmental stage, change of the contents of its exhibitions, and the number of visitors to it, and got a typology of them. The exhibits of each peace museum are deeply connected with the respective war experience in that area, for example A-bomb air raid, air raid, detention in Siberia and repatriation to Japan, and kamikaze parties. The historical perspective on the last war and the development of peace studies have influenced peace museums in the stage of (d) "transform" in the 1980s and 1990s.
(2) I have found some types of peace museums in the comparative study of peace museums in the world, analysing the materials and booklets of each peace museum. Peace museums abroad have exhibited the materials for passing on of Holocaust and the resistance experience, and realization of positive peace
(3) I surveyed junior high-school students in the cities of Tokyo, Kyoto, Hiroshima, and Naha about their consciousness on peace matters (Feb.and March in 1997). Many junior high-school students who had visited peace museums showed good curiosity about the exhibits of peace museums and they evaluated their role high. What they thought are important to establish peace in society are not only learning about the A-bomb experience in Hiroshima and Nagasaki, but also learning about the matters of bully and environment, and living together with the handicapped, the aged and foreign people in Japan.
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