午夜剧场

My grandfather, Seiichi Morishita, collected an overwhelming quality and quantity of ancient Latin American art and is hailed as one of the four Japanese people who connected Japan with the ancient Andes. I grew up in close contact with my grandfather's collection.

At university, I belonged to the Latin American Studies Group (at the time). In the summer of my second year, I stayed in Central America and Mexico for an extended period as a member of a mission organized by the Juku, where I interacted with local students and visited ancient ruins in various countries. This later became the catalyst for my study abroad at the National Autonomous University of Mexico.

At the University of Mexico, I studied history and ethnology. Visiting ancient ruins throughout Mexico on my days off, and above all, making the acquaintance of Japanese archaeologists who were there at the time, remains a great asset to me today. After graduating from the Juku, I took over the family business. In my mid-50s, I became the full-time Chairman and Director of the current BIZEN Latin American Art Museum, which my grandfather left behind, and I continue in this role today.

I have visited many museums both in Japan and abroad since I was young, but from a business perspective, I found many restrictions and inconveniences that seemed questionable. For example, photography is strictly prohibited in exhibition halls, you must not speak even if you are moved, there are no smartphone charging corners, and while monitors are stationed everywhere, there are no staff members to answer questions or provide explanations about the exhibits.

At our museum, we have removed these nonsensical restrictions, and I, as the director, personally conduct guided tours at scheduled times (including playing ancient flutes and allowing visitors to hold real artifacts). Of course, we do not station rude monitors who only watch and warn visitors. As a result of these efforts, our Google review rating is 4.4 stars, and we receive many wonderful comments from visitors.

Having achieved highly-rated service, our museum's next priority is public relations. We are currently recruiting, organizing, and managing a unique supporter membership that currently stands at 3,000 and is growing daily. Our advertisements, which do not look like typical museum ads and feature the catchphrase "The Rather Dangerous BIZEN Latin American Art Museum" with high-impact designs, are frequently featured in mass media and on social media.

Finally, from January 29 to February 14, 2025, we will hold "The Rich History of Chocolate Exhibition" at Ginza Mitsukoshi. I will be on-site during this period to provide guides and talk shows. Please come and visit, and feel free to say hello.

*Affiliations and titles are as of the time of publication.