The Japan Gallery @ The British Museum

While I stood in awe over the tombstones of various famous figures at Westminster Abbey, Mother Nature was wreaking havoc on the northeast coast of Japan, taking thousands of lives and destroying everything in her path. Charles Dickens, Charles Darwin, Sir Isaac Newton, Robert Browning, and Alfred Tennyson. Queen Elizabeth, Bloody Queen Mary, and Mary Queen of Scots. 

After partaking in an unbelievably delicious meal at the Bombay Brasserie with my program mates, I was more than happy to immerse myself in the history buried in the abbey. So many famous and influential people buried in one spot and I had been granted the opportunity to stand in the very same space as them! I was so excited and jittery, my feet were hopping all the way home.  I returned to the flat still full of awe, ready to share my experience with my roommate, Pa Nhia, and family and friends back home via facebook. 

However, as soon as I opened the door to my room, Pa Nhia perched on her bed asked me, "Did you hear about the earthquake and tsunami in Japan?"

It was like a scene from a movie. It seemed utterly unreal. Like a dummy, I shook my head as if to clear it and said, "What?!"

"Did you hear about the earthquake and tsunami in Japan?" Pa Nhia asked me again, with a sense of urgency.

Now my elation about standing over famous dead bodies seemed small in comparison and pretty lame, to be honest. I read the reports and my heart ached with the rise in body counts and general destruction of the earthquake and the tsunami. 

On March 15th, a few days after the earthquake and tsunami hit Japan, I found myself at the Japan gallery in the British Museum. During my first visit, I didn't make it to any of the Asian galleries because the museum is so massive that it gets very tiring after a couple of hours. Without meaning to, I was drawn to the museum map and I knew that I wanted to go to the Japan exhibit. The moment I walked in, I felt a sense of hushed reverence. It was surprisingly full of people and I realized that I was not the only person drawn to this exhibition of Japanese history and culture due to the recent natural disasters.

I found myself studying the artifacts more closely. I realized how fragile we are as human beings, at the complete mercy of the Earth. I also realized how incredible the task of collecting and itemizing objects for museums are because Mother Nature can take away so quickly what takes us mere humans years upon years to create.

From re-creating a traditional Japanese house,

to preserving and displaying a samurai's gear, 

to showcasing various forms of artwork.

                 

 

The preservation aspect of museums matters. Sharing the history and culture of a country and its people, it matters. Even though museums are not safe from mother nature's wrath, their attempt to hold these pieces of world history safe and sound so that they can be shared to the public is admirable.