万博学研究会旧「万国博覧会と人間の歴史」研究会Society for Expo-logyformerly the “Expos and Human History” Research Team

　“Expo-logy” is a broad, interdisciplinary, and humanistic endeavour that is made possible by taking up expos as a research subject. Expos began in the mid-nineteenth century and continue today. They are the world’s largest official events. By researching in detail their various aspects—including the long, complicated processes that straddle them—the paths taken by humans in this world come into stark relief. Realizing just how important and fascinating this perspective can be, members of our research society have adopted it in their on-going joint research projects.

　Our research group began in the fall of 2010 when six scholars—from Japan, China, South Korea, and Australia—went to Shanghai, where an expo was being held. They carried out interview research and got together to study and discuss their findings. Subsequently, the group continued its work while welcoming new members, and in 2020—ten years after its founding—we published an edited volume consisting of thirty-two articles and columns. Its English title is Expo-logy: Expos as a Method of Grasping the World (Banpakugaku: Bankoku hakurankai to iu, sekai o hāku suru hōhō; pub. Shibunkaku Shuppan). In this way, we’ve come to express and develop our shared angle of research using the term “expo-logy.”
　With the publication of this volume, we have also revised the long-standing name of our group, the “'Expos and Human History' Research Team,” to the “Society for Expo-logy.”

　Expos can serve as material for research in all kinds of fields, and scholars are engaged in research on them in countries around the world. Particularly in Japan, there is a large body of research on the subject, which had its beginnings in the comprehensive expo research launched by Yoshida Mitsukuni’s team at Kyoto University’s Institute for Research in Humanities. This happened against the backdrop of Expo 1970 Osaka.
　While learning and drawing from such existing research, we have emphasized the following four points as we strive to make our new expo research meaningful in the twenty-first century.

• Researching expos by focusing on all humans involved. Expo-related discussions have often been limited to a country-based framework.
• Bringing fields of vision into expo research that emphasize comparisons of, as well as the connections between, countries. Research on expos has often been carried out by focusing on an individual country, such as the hosting or participating one. Also, reconsidering the history of expos in terms of the international institutions that support expos themselves.
• Reconsidering the path of expos as part of a connected history spanning from the nineteenth century to the present. Expo history has often been divided into “pre-1945” and “post-1945” periods.
• While bringing in as members not only “researchers” in a narrow sense but also professionals and researchers from government and the private sector involved with expos on the ground, aiming for research outcomes that are meaningful for people in all of these positions.

　We invite a number of observers to participate with members in study meetings that are normally held once every 2–3 months so that they can all take part in a friendly, active, and stimulating mutual exchange of ideas.
　As we continued these activities, in the autumn of 2018, it was decided that Japan would host Expo 2025 Osaka Kansai. This is creating a rare historical opportunity for those engaging in expo research in the country—now an expo hotspot, so to speak. We hope that this momentum will elicit even wider interest in expos and our “expo-logy.” At the same time, even in the midst of the excitement in this upcoming period, we will continue to be a source of in-depth, meaningful discussions on the topic.

December 2020
Sano Mayuko
Representative, Society for Expo-logy

Miyuki Aoki-Girardelli

(Lecturer, Faculty of Architecture, Istanbul Technical University)

Ariga Nobumichi

(Associate Professor, Graduate School of Language and Society, Hitotsubashi University)

Hasegawa Kaori

(Associate Professor, Department of Architecture, Faculty of Fine Arts, Tokyo University of the Arts)

Hashizume Shinya

(Distinguished Professor, Organization for Research Promotion, Osaka Metropolitan University)

Ichikawa Fumihiko

(Senior Fellow, School of Advanced Studies in Social Sciences, France)

Iida Yutaka

(Professor, College of Social Sciences, Ritsumeikan University)

Inoue Satsuki

(Professor Emeritus, Aichi University of the Arts)

Inoue Shoichi

(Director-General, International Research Center for Japanese Studies)

Ishikawa Atsuko

(Former Chief, Osaka Administrative Section, Nomura Co., Ltd.)

Iwata Yasushi

(Director-General, Management Strategy Office, Japan Association for the 2025 World Exposition)

Kanda Koji

(Professor, College of Letters, Ritsumeikan University)

Kimishima Ayako

(Lecturer, Faculty of Representational Studies Department of Arts, Wako University)

Kishida Kyohei

(Exhibition Designer, Nomura Co., Ltd.)

Kutsuna Takahiko

(Curator and Head of the Division of History of Science and Technology, National Museum of Nature and Science, Japan)

Makihara Izuru

(Professor, Research Center for Advanced Science and Technology, The University of Tokyo)

Mashiyama Kazushige

(Curator and Director of Cultural Properties Protection, Board of Education of Chuo City, Tokyo)

Masuda Itsuki

(Visiting Researcher, Institute for Christian Studies, Meijigakuin University)

Mori Seiichiro

(Exhibition Designer, Nomura Co., Ltd.)

Muto Yukari

(Senior Curator, Namikawa Cloisonné Museum of Kyoto)

Nakamaki Hirochika

(Professor Emeritus, National Museum of Ethnology, Japan)

Sano Mayuko

(Professor, Graduate School of Education, Kyoto University)

Saotome Kenji

(Associate Professor, Faculty of International Liberal Arts, Osaka International University)

Sawada Yuji

(Representative, UG Work LLC.)

Sekine Hitoshi

(Curator, Shibusawa Memorial Museum)

Shigyo Akihiko

(President, LLC Houensha)

Shimizu Akira

(Former Director, Information Center, Development Headquarters, Nomura Co., Ltd.)

Shimizu Hiroyuki

(Professor, Department of Psychology, Kobe Gakuin University)

Shirayama Mari

(Historian of Photography/ Former Manager, Research Department, Japan Camera Industry Institute)

Teramoto Noriko

(Associate Professor, Faculty of Humanities, Seikei University)

Tsuji Yasutaka

(Assistant Professor, Faculty of Art and Design, The University of Tsukuba)

Ukai Atsuko

(Associate Professor, Faculty of Language Studies, Teikyo University)