I went to the Mie Prefectural Museum (MieMu) topic exhibition “Are there whales!?”

The Mie Prefectural Museum (MieMu) is holding a topical exhibition titled ``Are there whales?''
It was a shame that all of this year's special exhibitions had to be canceled due to the influence of the new coronavirus, but it seems that the event has been decided to be held at short notice.

So let's go see it right away!

This exhibition is entered from the basic exhibition room.
Doors that are usually closed are now open. It's exciting because it feels like the entrance to a secret room.

There is a rather large bone specimen hanging in the back.
This sneak peek production makes it even more interesting.

What you will see as you turn around the entrance is a tapestry with an illustration of a large whale on it.
The actual size allows you to realize the size of the whale.
I would like to see a real sperm whale, just once.

This is a skeletal specimen of a beaked whale. This whale has teeth!
Although the number is small, each one is very large.

And the large bone that was glimpsed from the entrance was that of a "minke whale."
The total length is over 8m!
You will be overwhelmed by its power.
You can also observe it from below, so you can get a feel for its size.

This corner introduces whale boat events in Mie Prefecture.
This year, events in various places have been canceled, so it seems that they were able to display it at this time.
You can get a feel for the atmosphere in the video, so we recommend it as a preparation for when it reopens next year.

Costumes and whale paperbacks used in the Toride Shrine Whale Boat Event, which is registered as a UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage.
The whale's appearance is both scary and charming...

Whale folk crafts from various regions.
For some reason, everyone ends up curled up.
Kujirayama at TadoTaishaShrine was so cute that I wanted to display it in my room.

In a sense, ``Rokujira no Zu'' depicts whales in a realistic way.
How was it possible to draw the whole body in an era when there were no photographs, let alone underwater cameras? wonder···

Ancient documents depict whale fishing.
You can feel the power of a fisherman confronting a blowing whale in the midst of rough waves.
Nowadays, it would be unthinkable to confront whales in such a small boat (lol)

This is the newest of the exhibit materials.
It's actually the bones of a humpback whale that washed ashore in Kihoku-KihokuTown in November last year.
Since it is a large whale, the recovery work was done in several parts.

Just the lower jaw is this big. His beard is also big.
I'm looking forward to seeing the entire skeletal specimen on display.

A skeletal specimen of a finless porpoise.
It has a distinctive round head, but its bones are surprisingly sharp.

The whales that live along the coast of Mie Prefecture, such as the Kumano Sea, are introduced.
There are so many types.
By the way, there was also news that dolphins appeared at the beach in Owase.

There are small whale skeleton specimens lined up.
Each one has its own characteristics, and it's fun to look at them while imagining what they would look like when they were alive.

Research results from Mie University's Cetacean Research Center are also introduced.
It seems that research is being conducted jointly with museums.

As expected, there are no living whales, but just looking at the skeleton was surprising at its size.
We also learned that there has been a deep connection with whales since ancient times, and that stories are passed down through local events and other events.
Although it was a topic exhibition, there were many large exhibits and it was very interesting to see.
Since it was summer vacation, there were many families with their children.
Please take precautions against infection when going out.

[Exhibition details]
Topic exhibition “Are there whales?”
In this topic exhibition, in order to provide a deeper understanding and familiarity with whales, which are introduced in the basic exhibition, we will comprehensively present about 60 materials, not only as living creatures, but also on cultural and historical aspects. Let me introduce you.
Due to the national state of emergency declared due to the outbreak of the new coronavirus infection, advance preparation work has become difficult, and all special exhibitions scheduled to be held this year have been cancelled.However, exhibitions will be held using the special exhibition room adjacent to the basic exhibition room. By expanding the area, we also aim to make it safer for visitors to view the exhibits.

〇Event period
From Saturday, August 1, 2020 to Sunday, November 29, 2020
*Closed every Monday (or the next day if Monday is a holiday)

〇Hours: 9:00 to 17:00
*Admission is until 30 minutes before closing.

〇Venue
Mie Prefectural Museum (MieMu) 3rd floor special exhibition room (3060 isshinden TsuCity)

〇Admission fee
You can view it with the basic exhibition admission fee.
General 520 yen, student 310 yen, free for high school students and under

Homepage: https://www.bunka.pref.mie.lg.jp/MieMu/
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