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Japanese museum to hold “wonder” exhibit packed with marvelous curiosities from nature

Katy Kelly Nov 6, 2020
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Come to the Kadokawa Culture Museum to witness wonders like this guy’s big, blue face!

Life may be stressful, and the day-to-day grind can be rough, but you know what? The very act of being alive is incredible. Just think about how low the odds for us to even be here, breathing, alive on this planet. Then think about how not only do we exist on this planet, we managed to cultivate rice plants that grow pure sugar. Miraculous!

This sense of wonder for the living world forms the cornerstone of a new exhibit that will take place on the fourth floor of Tokyo’s Kadokawa Culture Museum. The exhibit, “Aramata’s Wonder Trove” is the work of Hiroshi Aramata, a writer, polymath, translator, scholar of natural history, and critic of culture. With all those varied areas of expertise, he’s choosing to showcase many pieces from his own collection to bring the marvels of living beings to the museum’s guests.

▼ Aramata himself filmed an introductory video to the exhibit’s two rooms.

▼ The building’s exterior

The first of the two rooms is the Wonder Chamber, and its focus is “tangible miracles”. The shelves are stocked with enlarged 3-D-printed versions of colorful spiders and insects, folders of real mammoth hair, and animal skulls.

▼ “Wonder resides inside the tiniest things,” Aramata cries as he shows off his collection.

▼ The shelves are packed with promise!

You can also peek through a window to receive a welcome from Aramata himself, in the form of a floating, photo-realistic rendition of his face. The image is projected in a curious manner, too — it appears three-dimensional, with facial features that protrude out from where it’s suspended in space.

▼ Cool.

The other room in the exhibit is the Science Art Room, an ethereal chamber populated with glass installations. Here the spheres of science and art collide, with marine life skeletons, beautiful plants, and even comparisons between natural phenomena like lightning and how plants grow. The room showcases art pieces by numerous artists, including Iori Tomita’s Transparent Specimens, which Aramata describes as “the most beautiful specimen ever made by human hands”.

▼ The Science Art Room

▼ A close-up of Transparent Specimens

The exhibit, along with the new third and fourth floors, will be open to the public from November 6 and will be a permanent fixture at the museum — although certain aspects like Transparent Specimens will be available to view on a limited basis. The museum maintains strict social distancing policies to prevent the spread of Covid-19, and so it’s highly recommended that you reserve a ticket in advance. Check the website for the latest information!

Museum information
Kadokawa Culture Museum / 角川武蔵野ミュージアム
Address: Saitama-ken, Tokorozawa Town, Higashi Tokorozawa Wada 3-31-3 Tokorozawa Sakura Town
埼玉県所沢市東所沢和田３－３１－３　ところざわサクラタウン内
Open 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., last entry at 5:30 p.m. (Sun to Thurs) 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. (Fri to Sat)
Closed every first, third and fifth Tuesday of the month, plus the day after public holidays
Website

Source, images: PR Times
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