Grants and residencies

Research

Ideology of Heritage, Museum, Cultural Politics, and Construction of National Identity in Finland and Japan

Application summary

The new permanent exhibition at the National Museum of Finland, "Otherland," reexamines what it means to be Finnish while critical debates continue among linguists, historians, and other scholars. The National Ainu Museum in Japan carries the burden of telling the nation's history of cultural genocide and forced assimilation, while many Ainu people are still haunted by the stigma of its dark past and discriminatory views held against them. ICOM voted for the new museum definition at the ICOM-Prague 2022 in August after the long debates evoked at the ICOM-Kyoto 2019. As the museums changes and broadens their functions to engage the needs of society, the museum definition requires constant evaluations and changes. This is an ongoing research project, "Ideology of Heritage, Museum, Cultural Politics, and Construction of National Identity in Finland and Japan", to pursue how the museum could contribute to achieving a culturally and socially sustainable society for all of us to co-exist. Through the extraordinary time in the past two years, my research has expanded into a broader philosophical and theoretical approach to studying the museums and their decolonising discourses through understanding the current world system as Ramón Grosfoguel (2011) described it, a 'Capitalist/Patriarchal Western-centric/Christian-centric Modern/Colonial World-System'. Museums inherently reflect this structure, but many institutions are trying to move away from it, seeking more just practices. Rather than placing any limitations or restrictions, I broadened my research twofold; comparative studies of the national museums in Finland and Japan as a case study, and decolonising museums, universities and knowledge as theoretical arguments and experiments. This is a transdisciplinary article-based project; four articles for the doctoral thesis study the national museums between Finland and Japan and three to four articles written on decolonising discourses outside my doctoral thesis.

The Kone Foundation grant significantly shaped the course of my PhD research and professional growth between 2021 and 2024. While my thesis is still ongoing, the grant allowed me to go far beyond writing and fieldwork. I presented at 10 international conferences (including one plenary), gave guest lectures at four universities (USA, Belgium, Sweden, Finland), and published one single-authored and seven co-authored peer-reviewed articles in English and Japanese. These collaborations expanded my international networks and led to long-term projects.

One of my key projects was documenting Hanami practices in Finland for the Wiki-inventory for Living Heritage (Finnish Heritage Agency), which emerged from fieldwork and became both a thesis case study and a public initiative. It reflects how cultural heritage travels and transforms, bridging my academic work and my experience as an immigrant. This dual engagement—as researcher and practitioner—would not have been possible without the freedom this grant offered.

I also moderated the “Decolonizing Museums” podcast, fostering public discussion on decoloniality in heritage institutions. This role helped me shape accessible, inclusive dialogues between artists, scholars, and museum professionals.

The grant enabled me to develop a deeper, more critical and comparative thesis and fostered a public and international scholarly presence. I am grateful for the support that allowed me to contribute both academically and socially to the field of heritage and museology.

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