The Ministry of Culture's Taiwan Cultural Center in Tokyo and the Okinawa Prefectural Museum and Art Museum are collaborating together for the first time to present a special exhibition called "TAIWAN: Our neighboring island connected to us by the Kuroshio Current" from Sept. 6 through Nov. 4. Additionally, beginning from Oct. 5, the Okinawa museum will also stage an accompanying exhibition on the tattoo cultures of indigenous Okinawan and Taiwanese tribes.
Deputy Minister of Culture Hsiao Tsung-huang (蕭宗煌), who attended the opening ceremony of the exhibition in Japan, mentioned the "Holistic Reenactment Project of the Voyage 30,000 Years Ago" project in his speech. Jointly organized by Taiwan's National Museum of Prehistory and Japan's National Museum of Nature and Science, the reenactment project explores the maritime origins of Japan's prehistoric settlers by retracing historical evidence related to Taiwan and Okinawa.
To deepen understanding of each other's respective history and culture and establish institutionalized cooperation between the two nations, such exchanges shall continue in the dawn of the new Reiwa era. For the opening ceremony, Deputy Minister Hsiao specially wore an Okinawan-style shirt with a traditional Amis backpack, representing the coming together of two cultures. After the speech, he presented the indigenous-style backpack to Okinawa Prefecture Governor Denny Tamaki to reflect the longstanding friendship between Taiwan and Japan.
"TAIWAN: Our neighboring islands connected to us by the Kuroshio Current" begins with an introduction on the residents and history of Taiwan, including a review of its authoritarian past, to help exhibition-goers better understand Taiwan's rapid democratization and transitional process in recent years. Based on historical evidence from Okinawan archives and research, this exhibition aims to portray Taiwan'’s modern, diverse society and the advent of contemporary innovation and creativity in both nations.
Japanese- and English-language information on the Okinawa exhibition is available at okimu.jp/en/.