Koji Kami, Curator,
Nara Prison Museum

The Museum Is Alive. As a Curator, I Want to Share Its Captivating Stories.

To celebrate the 30-day countdown to our grand opening, we are launching a special daily series featuring 30 guests with deep ties to Nara Prison: "The Exquisite Prison and the 30."
Day 17 features Koji Kami, Curator, Nara Prison Museum.

Sports and athletic programs were also active at Nara Juvenile Prison.

When I first saw this architecture, my impression was not one of an authoritative structure, but rather a gentle one, even evoking the word acceptance. I felt the energy and spirit of the Meiji era leaders who wanted Western nations to recognize Japan through treaty revisions. As a curator, researching the era of the juvenile prison revealed a new side of this architecture, such as the extensive educational programs for rehabilitation and the active sports and athletic programs. Reading the prison magazine Aoniyoshi, which contains essays and poems written by the inmates, makes their presence feel very close. I hope to deepen my knowledge and share it so that visitors to the Nara Prison Museum can touch upon the history and the time that passed here, and take something meaningful away with them.

Kami is holding a reproduction of the Prison Rules Illustrated, published in the early Meiji era. It illustrates the Haviland system, which was adopted at Nara Prison.

PROFILE

Koji Kami

Curator, Nara Prison Museum

Koji Kami formerly worked at Nomura Co., Ltd., the company responsible for the exhibition design of the Nara Prison Museum. As a planner, he has worked on numerous exhibitions for historical museums specializing in archaeology, history, and folklore, as well as museums themed around human rights. He was appointed as a curator of the Nara Prison Museum in April 2025. From April onwards, he plans to conduct Spot Guides to introduce archival materials and facility spaces that are not usually open to the public.

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