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Paper short abstract

This paper examines the Japanese construction of historical narratives of art and architecture in colonial Manchuria (present-day Northeast China) during the first half of the twentieth century through archaeological findings, historical writings, museum collections, and exhibition practices.

Paper long abstract

This paper examines the construction of historical narratives of art and architecture in colonial Manchuria (present-day Northeast China) during the first half of the twentieth century through archaeological findings, historical writings, museum collections, and exhibition practices.

Alongside Japan’s imperial expansion into Manchuria, Japanese architects, art historians, and archaeologists began to conduct fieldwork in the region, publish their findings, and engage in debates about its historical origins. By analyzing their writings, this paper demonstrates how these scholars—strongly influenced by political agendas—sought to establish a new narrative of the region’s past that framed Manchuria as historically distinct and independent from the rest of China.

This process of historical construction was crystallized in the establishments and operations of the Kwantung Museum (関東都督府博物館) in Port Arthur in 1918 and the National Central Museum of Manchukuo (満洲国国立中央博物館) in Shinkyō in 1940.

Through a comparative analysis of the collections, exhibitions, and research activities of these two institutions, the paper traces the development and transformation of Japanese historical narratives about colonial Manchuria, in particular before and after the foundation of Manchukuo in 1932. Furthermore, the similarities and differences between the two museums—in their collecting priorities and themed exhibitions—reflect the cultural ideologies circulated within the Japanese empire at the time, and reveal the complex power dynamics between Japanese and Chinese residents in colonial Manchuria.