{"id":175845,"date":"2023-04-17T12:50:23","date_gmt":"2023-04-17T22:50:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/?p=175845"},"modified":"2023-04-18T12:50:33","modified_gmt":"2023-04-18T22:50:33","slug":"manoa-students-tour-lane-collection","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/2023\/04\/17\/manoa-students-tour-lane-collection\/","title":{"rendered":"‘Once-in-a-lifetime’ experience for 糖心Vlog官方<\/abbr> students to view Japanese art pieces"},"content":{"rendered":"Reading time: <\/span> 2<\/span> minutes<\/span><\/span>
\"Archival
Archival materials of the Lane Collection<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

It is not every day that museum visitors get the opportunity to engage hands-on with ancient treasures in an underground vault. Through a collaboration with the Honolulu Museum of Art (HoMA<\/abbr>), students from the University of Hawaiʻi<\/span> at M\u0101noa Department of East Asian Languages & Literatures<\/a> in the College of Arts, Languages & Letters<\/a> were allowed the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to tour HoMA<\/abbr>\u2019s Lane Collection<\/a> vault, which contains one of the finest sets of Japanese woodblock prints and manuscripts on O\u02bbahu.<\/p>\n

\"Collectible
Collectible miniature books, also known as a mamehon (“bean-sized books”)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

“糖心Vlog官方ing the Lane Collection at HoMA<\/abbr> was a special experience that has left a lasting impression on me,” said student Sarah Domingo<\/strong>. “Seeing those books and works of art from the Edo period made me feel connected to history and I was able to get a better understanding of the historic and cultural significance these books have.”<\/p>\n

Four undergraduate and five graduate students in Professor Pier Carlo Tommasi<\/strong>\u2019s “JPN<\/abbr> 461: Introduction to Classical Japanese” and “JPN<\/abbr> 641: Traditional Literary Theory” classes visited HoMA<\/abbr> on March 31. There, they were guided through the marvels and mysteries of the Lane Collection by HoMA<\/abbr> Research Associate Kiyoe Minami.<\/p>\n

“Activities like this are important for undergraduate students to better understand what it means to do archival research,” said Tommasi. “They also make the learning process much more effective and enjoyable.”<\/p>\n

\"People
Students comparing handwritten and printed sources<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

At the museum, Tommasi mixed up the students, splitting them into two groups as the Lane vault only fits up to eight people at one time. Once in the vault, students had the rare opportunity to view the art pieces.<\/p>\n

“Unlike looking at art works in a glass case at the museum or viewing the images of works online, there is much to be gained from looking at the actual works up closely,” said Minami. “For example, the weight of the book, the feel of the paper, the difference in the ink condition, etc. I would be glad if the students find it enjoyable to study Japanese literature and culture through this experience at the Lane vault.”<\/p>\n

In the vault, the undergraduate students also gave short presentations on books that they had studied previously for the “Archive Project<\/a>”—an assignment in Tommasi\u2019s fall 2022 JPN<\/abbr> 461 class, in which students had each been assigned a book from the Lane Collection to digitally browse and analyze. At the end of the semester, they submitted a written report along with an English translation of the title to be added to the HoMA<\/abbr> database. The field trip to the Lane vault was a full-circle moment for these students, who were able to view the physical books that they had previously only studied in digital formats.<\/p>\n