DR. J. Eleazar R. Bersales, head curator of USC (University of San Carlos) Museum (USCM), met with the director and assistant curators of Hiroshima University Museum (HUM) on Saturday, Nov. 17, to explore possible linkage between the two museums.

Dr. Toshihisa Asano, HUM director and HU (Hiroshima University) professor of human geography, welcomed Bersales to the museum, after which a tour was led by Dr. Norio Shimizu, museum curator, assisted by Dr. Nao Ishikawa of the HU School of Letters, who acted as interpreter. Like USCM, HUM does not have its own building but occupies spaces at the HU College of Education with satellite museums spread in different college buildings on campus.

One of these buildings is the Cultural Assets Center, a two-storey edifice adjacent to the museum that, HU archaeologist Dr. Tsugifumi Fujino said, houses artifacts excavated in 32 sites within the university campus dating from the Paleolithic (about 30,000 years ago) to the post-war period. Fujino showed Bersales some of these artifacts at a mini exhibition inside the center.

After the tour, a meeting was held at the HUM curatorial office to determine possible areas of future cooperation between the two museums, with Bersales extending an invitation to the HUM director and curators to visit USCM soon.

Bersales’ visit is timed with the 4th Philippine Studies in Japan Conference, also held at HU, where he presented a paper. The meeting was arranged earlier by USC alumnus Dr. Lawrence Liao, professor of biology and environmental science at HU. Funding for this trip was made possible by a collaborative grant from The Japanese Foundation-Manila.