ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses the Commodity Exhibition Hall (ShOhin Chinretsukan), operated by the Japanese Ministry of Agriculture and Commerce from 1897 to 1924 as another type of museum established by the Japanese government at the end of the nineteenth century. It was set up to promote export-oriented industrial and artisanal production of various crafts. This chapter also examines the official report submitted by the Western-style sculptor Naganuma Moriyoshi to the Ministry of Agriculture and Commerce on his 1897 overseas mission to Italy and France, where he oversaw the Japanese exhibition at the second Venice Biennale. Naganuma’s report also provides a rare and detailed account of the Commodity Exhibition Hall.
