Address:No. 1 Museum Rd., Taitung City 950, Taiwan
The National Museum of Prehistory (NMP) will hold a special exhibition on over 20,000 pieces of Austronesian artifacts donated by the remarkable Japanese anthropologist and Austronesian culture expert, Yoshichika Iwasa, from Aug. 16 to Sept. 30.
Through the 'Love for Austronesian Culture' exhibition, visitors can retrace Iwasa's journeys by following his travel maps, photographs and objects collected from the 50 field work projects he had conducted since 1959.
The exhibition is divided into seven sections - "Emotional ties with Austronesia: Yoshichika Iwasa and his Collections,” "Sailing for the South Pacific Ocean: Mr. Iwasa's Travel Maps,” "Cutting Trees to Make Clothing: Austronesian Languages and the Culture of Barkcloth,” "Ocean of the Islands: Memories of People Who Met in the Pacific,” "Dance and Music: Artistic Presentation in Weapons, Musical Instruments and Accessories,” "In the Name of God: Masks and Stone Sculptures,” and "Austronesian Postages: Postages of the Pacific Islands.”
Tokyo-based scholar Iwasa, who dedicated his entire life to Austronesian research and investigations, donated his personal collections and research documents to the museum in 2008, marking one of the most important cultural donations to Taiwan in recent years. In 2012, Iwasa donated another 4,321 pieces of artifacts and research documents, including natural history and anthropological specimens, to the museum.
Over the past few years, the museum has worked on Austronesian research and artifacts by organizing large-scale exhibitions and publishing related books. To thank the 87-year-old for his generosity, the museumorganized the "Love for Austronesian Culture” exhibition to coincide with the NMP's 11th anniversary.
For more information, please visit the museum's website orFacebook page.
