How do Aquariums Express ＂the Sea＂? A Case Study in Japan＇s Seto Inland Sea Region

Abstract

This paper identifies how aquariums express information about the natural environment and the relationship between humanity and nature. Museums are considered facilities that construct images of regions, culture, and nature. In other words, museums seem to be one form of media. Some studies that discuss the relationship between museum exhibitions and society have focused on social problems such as discrimination as well as other historical problems. In addition, studies on facilities whose exhibitions handle nature overlap with approaches to the social construction of nature in nature of geographies. However, to the best of the author＇s knowledge, studies focusing on nature exhibitions in zoos or aquariums have been overlooked. While facilities such as zoos or aquariums are needed to play educational and nature conservation roles, in modern Japanese society, they are also expected to be places of entertainment. This complicated situation affects their exhibitions, and therefore, investigating the construction of their content is important. In the light of this background, through a case study of aquariums in the Seto Inland Sea region, this paper discusses how aquariums express ＂the sea＂ based on the discussion of nature＇s social construction and media research on museums. This paper focused on captions near aquariums＇ water tanks as a research method. Specifically, these captions were classified following criteria the author created, and their words and phrases were counted. In addition, the researcher conducted interview surveys with some aquarium staff members. As a result of this study, the following features of captions and interviews were identified: aquariums emphasized natural environment as ＂irreplaceable nature,”including descriptions of rarity, biodiversity, beautiful creatures, or landscapes. Moreover, beautiful creatures and landscapes were central content in their exhibitions. On the other hand, information on environmental issues and culture around coastal areas, such as the relationship between humanity and nature, were not emphasized.