A comparative study of professional association in the museum sectors of Britain and Japan

This thesis is the result of an international comparative study of the formation of the professional associations of museum workers in Britain and Japan. Museums associations were part of the infrastructure that contributed to the development of museums, including the professionalisation of museum workers. Comparative study reveals the unique characteristics of each organisation and how its structure, management, objectives and achievements differ as a result. In Britain, the Museums Association was formed at York in 1889. It is the oldest museum association in the world. The Museum Work Promotion Association, the predecessor of the Japanese Association of Museums, was established at Tokyo in 1928. The Association was modelled on preceding foreign museums associations, including the British one. The formative processes of these two associations capture the intentions and scope of these organisations, characteristics which become a legacy for the future. The formation processes of organisations can be described as interactions between diverse actors. The intentions of the individuals who led the associational movements greatly influenced these processes, and the characteristics of the associations that were produced particularly reflected these. The occupational careers of the founding members of each association were directly related to their motivations in supporting the associational movement. By focusing on the differences between the careers of these individuals in Britain and Japan, this thesis explores the features of the historical trajectory of each association. In the conclusion, the thesis elucidates what the differences between these Associations and their histories might mean. The unique history of an association can represent the characteristics of museum history across a country more broadly. Therefore, it can provide an illuminating perspective on the dynamism of museum history.