午夜剧场

Being both an animal geek and a zoo geek, I must be quite an eccentric person, having grown up since childhood wondering about things like "what are the conditions that justify the existence of a zoo?" My grades in the sciences were poor, so I never intended to study veterinary medicine or animal husbandry in the first place. I also had a strong interest in art, photography, and graphic design, but I lacked the determination and courage to make a living from them. As a result, the universities I was accepted to were the German Department at Tokyo University of Foreign Studies and the Faculty of Business and Commerce at 午夜剧场. I chose 午夜剧场 for the old-fashioned reason that it would provide more versatile career options.

As a bookworm, I found employment at a printing company that connects to both publishing and advertising. I requested to work in New York, where I worked with famous photographers and graphic designers, which may have had a "bad influence" on me. I was shocked by the exhibits at the Bronx Zoo, and after some twists and turns, I landed a job in the exhibition department. I was able to utilize my knowledge and experience in printing and copyright. Furthermore, when I attended gatherings of educators from zoos and aquariums, I found that many concepts like "Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs," which I had heard about in lectures at Mita 20 years ago, were being applied.

If I think about it, what I am doing is nothing other than the marketing of wildlife conservation and animal welfare, using the zoo exhibition experience as a medium (incidentally, I am told that under Japanese law, the term "welfare" is not used for living things other than humans). This book, which I wrote in partnership with Mr. Hiroto Kawabata, is neither a book about animals nor necessarily a book about design. It is structured so that as we walk around the Bronx Zoo, we discuss the functions that a zoo facility can fulfill in society, the role that exhibitions play within that, and the principles for realizing those roles, all while contrasting them with the actual situation in Japan. We used many photographs and tried to make it easy to understand even for people who know nothing about zoos. Consequently, it does not reach the core of the question of what the management system for highly public projects should be, but for those who know the Japanese system, the problems should be clear.

I hope that not only those interested in zoos and aquariums, but also those interested in museums and their management, as well as those interested in the designated manager system and the independent administrative institution system, will take the time to read it.

Kimio Honda, Hiroto Kawabata

Aki Shobo

280 pages, 2,000 yen (excluding tax)

*Affiliations and titles are those at the time of publication.