National Museum of Nature and Science

A museum that comprehensively covers natural history, science and engineering, and production (technology). The main building is located in Ueno Park, Taito Ward, Tokyo.

In 1872 (Meiji 5), the Ministry of Education Museum was established as a museum under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Education, exhibiting natural history and crafts, and in 1875 it was transferred to the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Home Affairs. The Ministry then established the Museum of Education (the predecessor to the National Museum of Nature and Science) in 1877. At the time, as the name of the museum suggests, the museum mainly exhibited items related to education, including educational tools made in Japan and imported from abroad, physicochemical instruments for science education, and natural history specimens. In 1889, it became an affiliated facility of the Higher Normal School, and in 1914 (Taisho 3), it became independent and became the Tokyo Museum of Education. In 1921, it was renamed Tokyo Museum, and a system was put into place to make it look like the museum was established, but it was completely destroyed and burned down in the Great Kanto Earthquake of 1923. It was finally restored in 1931 (Showa 6), and the facility was established in its current location. The current main building was built at that time, making full use of the earthquake-resistant construction technology of the time. It was at this time that the museum's name was changed to Tokyo Science Museum for the first time, but during World War II not only the facility but also the materials that had been so painstakingly collected were sacrificed.

In 1949, the museum changed its name to the National Museum of Nature and Science, and while expanding its science and engineering facilities, it came to play a central role as a science museum in the country. Since 1957, it has also taken on the role of a natural history research center, which has been improved. Until the establishment of the Polar Research Institute (1972), it also played a central role in Antarctic observation. Currently, there are five research departments and 22 laboratories, including natural history-related departments of zoology, plants, earth science, and anthropology, as well as science and engineering. In addition to the exhibition rooms in the main building in Ueno, there is the Nature Education Institute in Meguro, Tokyo, and the Tsukuba Research Resource Center in the Tsukuba area of ​​Ibaraki Prefecture, where the Tsukuba Experimental Botanical Garden and the Showa Memorial Tsukuba Research Museum are organized. All of these facilities are open to the public. The research department is located in the Shinjuku branch in Tokyo, and the botanical research department is in the Tsukuba area. Historical materials related to natural history, science and engineering, and production (technology) are actively collected, with approximately 3.4 million specimens in the natural history research department and approximately 20,000 materials in the science and engineering research department. The museum also has a collection of more than 60,000 books. Research results are reported in academic research journals published by each research department, and publications for enlightenment and dissemination are also issued.

The exhibition hall in the Ueno Main Building features exhibits related to natural history and science and engineering, designed to provide clues to current issues as well as historical developments. Approximately one million visitors come annually. In April 2001, as part of administrative reform, the museum became an independent administrative institution, the National Museum of Nature and Science.

[Akira Suzumebe]

"The Centennial History of the National Museum of Nature and Science, edited by the National Museum of Nature and Science (1977, Daiichi Hoki Publishing)" ▽ "An Invitation to the Science Museum, edited by the National Council of Science Museums (1980, Tokai University Press)" ▽ "The National Museum of Nature and Science and the Osaka Museum of Natural History, edited by Otsuka Kazuyoshi and Yajima Kunio (1988, Aiueokan)" ▽ "The Story of the National Museum of Nature and Science, edited by the National Museum of Nature and Science (1989, Sae-ra Shobo)" ▽ "Towards an Open Museum, edited by Morosawa Masamichi and edited by the National Museum of Nature and Science (1991, Science Museum Supporters Association)" ▽ "The 120-Year History of the National Museum of Nature and Science in Photographs, edited and published by the National Museum of Nature and Science (1998)" ▽ "Research Activities at the National Museum of Nature and Science, edited and published by the National Museum of Nature and Science" ▽ "An Invitation to the National Museum of Nature and Science, supervised and published by the National Museum of Nature and Science (both 1999)" ▽ “Hiroki Sato, Momoko Honji art and text “National Museum of Nature and Science” (2006, Shiobunsha)”

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

自然史・理工学・生産（技術）を総合的に扱った博物館。東京都台東(たいとう)区上野公園に本館が所在する。

　1872年（明治5）文部省管轄の博物館として、自然史・工芸などを展示する文部省博物館が発足、これは1875年に内務省管轄に移った。そこで文部省は1877年に教育博物館（国立科学博物館の前身）を発足させた。発足時は館名どおりに教育にかかわるものが中心に展示され、国産だけでなく外国から入手した教育用具、理科教育用理化学器械・博物標本などが展示された。1889年に高等師範学校付属施設となり、1914年（大正3）に独立し東京教育博物館となった。1921年東京博物館と改称、その体裁を整える体制に入ったが、1923年の関東大震災で全壊・全焼した。その後1931年（昭和6）にようやく復興し、現在地に施設を整えることとなった。現在の本館はそのときの建築で、当時の耐震構造技術が駆使された建物となっている。館名もこのとき初めて東京科学博物館となったが、第二次世界大戦のため、施設ばかりでなく、苦労して集めた資料までが犠牲になった。

　1949年（昭和24）国立科学博物館と館名が変わり、理工学関係施設などを増設しつつ、全国の科学博物館の中心としての役割を担うこととなった。一方、1957年以降、自然史研究センターの任務を負い、その充実が図られてきた。また、極地研究所創設（1972）までは南極観測に関しても中心的役割を果たした。現在、自然史関係の動物・植物・地学・人類、および理工学の、5研究部、22研究室がある。上野の本館に展示室を設けているほか、東京の目黒に自然教育園、茨城県の筑波(つくば)地区には筑波研究資料センターがあって、筑波実験植物園と昭和記念筑波研究資料館が組織されている。これらの施設は、いずれも一般公開されている。研究部は東京の新宿分館、および植物研究部が筑波地区にある。自然史、理工学、生産（技術）に関する史資料は意欲的に収集されており、自然史研究部門では約340万点に及ぶ標本、理工学研究部門では約2万余点に及ぶ資料がある。所蔵する書籍関係は6万冊余である。研究成果は各研究部門ごとに発行される学術研究雑誌によって報告され、啓蒙(けいもう)・普及のための出版物も発行されている。

　上野本館展示場は、自然史に関する展示をはじめ、理工学に関する展示では歴史的な発達過程とともに、今日的課題にもヒントが得られるようにくふうされている。年間およそ100万人の見学者が訪れている。2001年（平成13）4月、行政改革の一環として独立行政法人国立科学博物館となった。

［雀部　晶］

『国立科学博物館編『国立科学博物館百年史』（1977・第一法規出版）』▽『全国科学博物館協議会編『科学博物館への招待』（1980・東海大学出版会）』▽『大塚和義・矢島国雄編『国立科学博物館・大阪市立自然史博物館』（1988・あいうえお館）』▽『国立科学博物館編『国立科学博物館物語』（1989・さ・え・ら書房）』▽『諸沢正道編著、国立科学博物館編『開かれた博物館をめざして』（1991・科学博物館後援会）』▽『国立科学博物館編・刊『写真で見た国立科学博物館120年の歩み』（1998）』▽『国立科学博物館編・刊『国立科学博物館における研究活動』』▽『国立科学博物館監修・刊『国立科学博物館への招待』（ともに1999）』▽『佐藤広基・本地桃子画・文『国立科学博物館』（2006・汐文社）』

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