Muchinko [Museum + Pachinko] 2022
Museum
Word “museum” comes from Ancient Greek “Μουσεῖον” which meant “seat of Muses” and it was used for philosophical institution or a place for contemplation. The ancient museum used to be a place to share knowledge of philosophy. The purpose of contemporary museums is to introduce culture, significant arts, heritage and so on, to the public and to convey knowledge as an educational institution.
Casino
Casino (Italian: casino) is one of the gambling facilities. It is a place where you use devices such as roulette or slot machines and play games with money. The etymology is "Casa," which refers to a separate palace or mansion, with the reduced mother "-ino." The exact origin of the casino is unknown, however, Ridotto, established in Venice, Italy during the carnival season around the 15th century, is the first casino that people have known.
How can we combine museum + casino?
Floor plan
Cultural Heritage slot
Muchinko's purpose is to make history easier to access through slot machines and alert visitors to looting cultural properties. There are still many Korean looted cultural properties in Japan. The items you saw today are part of it.
Lounge Design
Cultural Heritage modeling
Jade excavated from Gyeong-ju Geumgwan tomb. This jade is a golden relic made in Silla around the 5th century and will be an important data for studying goldsmanship and metal crafts in the Silla period.
Icheon 5th floor stone pagoda. The Icheon stone pagoda is 6.48m high and was built near Incheon Hyanggyo Confucian School in the early 11th century. In 1915, it was taken along with the Gongyang Pagoda of Anheung Temple Site in Icheon, to decorate the exhibition hall held by the Japanese Government-General of Korea at Gyeongbokgung Palace. Three years later, in 1918, a Japanese merchant, Kyichiro Okura, took it out to Japan.
Gilt-bronze Octagonal Sarigi. Korean gilt-bronze saragi made in Unified Silla around the 9th century (800s AD). It is currently in the Tokyo National Museum in Japan and is designated as an important Japanese artwork.
Goryeo celadon (porcelain). Celadon was made in Goryeo around the 8th century. After the Changgyeonggung Palace exhibition in 1909, it was transferred to Japan by Hirobumi Ito. Among them, 103 of the best porcelain or antique works were taken to Japan and dedicated to Emperor Meiji.
Juchil 12 angled. Juchil Twelve Angled is known as the Soban(small dining table) of Empress Myeongseong. On October 8, 1895, Kororo Miura, a former Japanese army, killed Empress Myeongseong and brought a table to Japan. Since the actual figure has not been carried out well after the export, mostly photos of this object were made by guessing.
However, not only Korea but also countries that have been colonised before, have yet to receive the looted cultural properties back. The project is a combination of a casino and a museum, aiming to pursue a historical study of lost cultural heritage from a post-colonial perspective. May cultural treasures from around the world find their way back to their respective countries one day.