Ancient Artifacts, Modern Gaming: Making Connections at Tokyo National Museum

[Text and photos by student Charlie Eiland]

Seeing different objects from another period of time — especially in foreign country —  is always a treat but with the Tokyo National Museum it was very different from those found in the West.  

To my surprise, one of the first exhibits that I entered had a very well-known Dogū statue, one unique of its kind.  For some backstory of why I know of this artifact, I played Animal Crossing New Horizons during the pandemic and one of the treasures was this figurine.  I did not know prior to the museum, that this earthenware figurine was held at the National Museum’s collection.  

In addition, to my amazement, this being was smaller than I expected, I always thought it was large.  I found it quite amusing at first examination, its googly-eyes are very alien (in my perspective) and its leaning on the block is very cute.  I made me ask: “What was this thing was used for?” and “What was the inspiration for this work of art?”.  I later learned that they were used for prayer by Neolithic gatherers and were used for fertility problems.  I am very glad to have caught this small piece as it was very meaningful to have seen it in-person, as I first came of its knowledge from a video games favorite that helped me through COVID. 

Another part to the Museum was the upstairs of the same building, which housed displays of scrolls, weapons and what caught my eye the most Samurai gear and Kimonos of all sorts. 
Another special game that I played during the Pandemic was Ghost of Tsushima, a story about a Samurai who protects mainland Japan from the Mongolians.  It is a story about honor, ethics and the natural surroundings of Japan at that time.  This Samurai helmet looks exactly like one of the outfits that can be unlocked later on in the game.   

Although a replica of an actual helmet, when I laid my gaze on this beautiful helmet, I wanted to know more about the lives of Samurai and what kind of people they, what their lives were, what troubles did they have and what the horror of combat was like.  In typical media, I think it is a stereotype that Samurai were always strict with their ways, but I am sure that is not true for every case, such as the rare female Samurai and Samurai who had to make difficult moral decisions. 
Seeing this work of art, made me want to replay the video game and its counterpart Ghost of Yoteī, to relive the amazing Samurai storyline.  

I had never realized how deeply Japanese gaming culture has impacted my perception of Japanese history.  I always thought that anime and pop culture were the main reasons why I clung to Japanese things, but after this trip, it gave me a new sense of understanding of the beginnings of what made Japan, Japan.