JUM's modern exterior
我々欧米人の中で、松本市内で一番人気なのは勿論、松本城です。さあ、その次に人気があるのはどこでしょうか？松本の外国人を受けている宿の１つの情報では、「JUM」日本浮世絵博物館だそうです。
今日はインバウンド（海外旅行者の誘客）関係の仲間と松本で会議を行いました。せっかくだったから、JUMでやりました。そうすると、酒井館長が特別に案内して頂きました。どうして浮世絵が欧米人に馴染みやすいか、日本人（及び納豆）のルーツ（驚くぐらいに国際的）、うんと奥深い話を分かりやすく、親切に説明してくれました。
その後、今の展示会（テーマ：広重２の「東京の人気スポット」）のスライドショーを見せて頂きました。説明は酒井さんでした。本人が出来ない場合は録音された案内を聞きながら見るのも可能だそうです。１８６０年代の江戸を当時のポップカルチャー（＝浮世絵）で見ると非常に面白かった。御茶ノ水の水がお茶に使えるぐらいに綺麗だったとは今思うと、笑っちゃう。新宿の滝を見ている旅行者の中で、欧米人も１人いました。（これはダブル吃驚：新宿に滝？そして、欧米人観光客？江戸時代のインバウンド！）
JUMは松本ICから２，３分（歩いて約１０分）です。松本城を見てから、JUMで浮世絵の世界に入るのはお勧めです！
Matsumoto's top attraction is, of course, the castle. But among foreigners, what is the city's #2 most popular spot? According to one innkeeper who caters to guests from abroad, it is JUM, the Japan Ukioye Museum.
Today I met up with some of my fellow Inbound colleagues in Matsumoto. We are working on projects to make Nagano friendlier and more accessible to travelers from abroad. Anyways, since we were meeting in 'Moto, we decided to hold the gathering at JUM. The curator, Sakai-san, graciously offered to give us a talk about the museum. He went into some fascinating subjects about why Westerners fancy ukiyoe, the roots of the Japanese people (as well as natto -- both are surprisingly international), etc.
Then Sakai-san narrated a slide show on the museum's current display, works by Hiroshige from the 1860's on popular spots (of that time) in Tokyo. Ukiyoe was THE pop-culture art of the period, and seeing scenes of Tokyo in ukiyoe prints really brings the era alive. It's amazing to see Ocha-no-mizu in a snow scene, and even more amazing to hear that the river was so clean its water ('mizu') was used for making tea ('ocha'). Another fun scene was of tourists sightseeing at a waterfall in Shinjuku. This scene was surprising for 2 reasons -- first, a natural waterfall in Shinjuku?!?!; second, one of the tourists was obviously a foreigner -- "Inbound" back in the 1860's!
Sakai-san offers his talks in English, Japanese, or an English-Japanese mix. If he isn't available to talk in person, his narration is recorded and can be played back while watching the slide show.
JUM is located about a 10-minute walk from the Matsumoto Interchange, which is accessible by highway bus from downtown Matsumoto. So if/when you visit 'Moto, after seeing the castle, lose yourself in the ukiyoe world at JUM!
Click here for the website for JUMのHPはこちら
