Museum Exhibition Guide App "Pocket Curator" Introduced at Yatsushiro Municipal Museum Mirai no Mori Museum

We are pleased to announce today that the service of the free museum guide app "Pocket Curator" (developed by Waseda System Development Co., Ltd., Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo), which allows visitors to enjoy exhibition explanations and more using their smartphones, will commence operation at the Yatsushiro Municipal Museum Mirai no Mori Museum (Yatsushiro City, Kumamoto Prefecture) from April 24, Reiwa 8 (2026). Background of Introduction Yatsushiro City in Kumamoto Prefecture has a history of flourishing as a key transportation hub since ancient times. In recent years, with the increase in cruise ship arrivals at Yatsushiro Port, inbound demand has become active, posing a challenge for the Yatsushiro Municipal Museum Mirai no Mori Museum to provide multilingual support for visitors. Amidst this, the museum will be closed for renovation work starting in the summer of 2024, and preparations for this response will proceed during this period. Reasons for Selecting Pocket Curator As a member institution of the Kumamoto Prefecture Museum Network, which shares and collaborates on cultural properties and museum information within the prefecture, the museum met the conditions for free utilization of Pocket Curator, an ancillary app to the cloud-based collection management system "I.B.MUSEUM SaaS." Furthermore, its adoption by over 200 museums nationwide and its rich track record in delivering highly specialized museum explanations and their translations were highly evaluated, leading to its introduction. Features of Content Delivery Among the materials displayed in the permanent exhibition hall, 10 exhibitions that characterize the museum were selected, and explanatory texts focusing on their overviews are delivered. The texts are kept within 150 characters for easy reading, and their content, which is easy for foreigners unfamiliar with Japanese history and cultural background to understand, has been well received. About Yatsushiro Municipal Museum Mirai no Mori Museum The Yatsushiro Municipal Museum Mirai no Mori Museum, nestled in a lush green environment near the ruins of Yatsushiro Castle, opened in Heisei 3 (1991). It has played a role as a research institution alongside diverse exhibitions related to local history and culture, including Yatsushiro-yaki (Koda-yaki), which boasts over 400 years of history, and Higo Tsuba (sword guards) known for their beautiful patterns and decorations, as well as the Myoken Festival, Yatsushiro Castle, and the Matsui Bunko. After more than 30 years since its opening, in July Reiwa 6 (2024), it closed for 1 year and 10 months for renovation work on air conditioning, lighting, etc. On April 24, Reiwa 8 (2026), it celebrated its grand reopening. Overview of Pocket Curator "Pocket Curator" is a guide app that allows visitors to view and listen to exhibition explanations using their smartphones. A distinctive feature is that one app can be shared and used by multiple museums, so once installed on a smartphone, exhibition guides can be used at service-providing institutions nationwide. The guide content adopts a mechanism where each museum and art museum independently devises and produces it. Depending on the museum, information is delivered in various styles, including not only text screens but also photos, videos, and audio. App homepage: http://welcome.mapps.ne.jp/pocket App Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/pocketcurator/?fref=ts Hokkaido Museum / Historical Village of Hokkaido / Hokkaido Migishi Kotaro Museum of Art / Date History and Culture Museum / Nakajima Lake no Mori Museum / Ainu Culture Exchange Center (Sapporo Pirikakotani) / Toya-Usu UNESCO Global Geopark / Toyako Gurutto Sculpture Park / Irie-Takasago Shell Mounds Historic Site / Irie-Takasago Shell Mounds Museum / Hokkaido Museum of Modern Art / Kitakogane Shell Mounds Historic Site Park / Sapporo Art Park Museum / Sapporo Art Park Open-Air Museum / Shari Town Tsugaru Clan Samurai Cultural Properties / Shiretoko Museum / Hokkaido Kushiro Museum of Art / Toyako Museum of Art / Hachinohe City Buried Cultural Properties Center Korekawa Jomon Museum / Hachinohe City Museum / Nejo Castle Ruins Park / Ichinoseki City Museum / Iwate Prefectural Museum / Hanamaki City Museum / Kitakami City Oni no Yakata / Sendai City Museum / Ishinomaki City Museum / Tohoku History Museum / Warabe no Sato Museum of History and Culture / Chusaku Oyama Museum of Art / Morohashi Museum of Modern Art / Iwaki Earthquake Memorial and Future Museum / Ibaraki Museum of Modern Art / Museum Park Ibaraki Nature Museum / Yokaren Peace Memorial Museum / Tokugawa Museum / Museum of History and Future Exchange / Gunma Prefectural Tsuchiya Bunmei Memorial Literature Museum / Hanno City Museum Kittosu / Toda City Local Museum / Railway Museum (Saitama City) / Mikashima Yoshiko Archives (Tokorozawa City) / Gyoda City Local Museum / Iruma City Museum ALIT / Former Ishikawa-gumi Paper Mill Western-style Building / Former Kurosu Bank / Rekishiterasu (Niiza City History and Folklore Museum) / Mint Museum Saitama / Saitama Prefectural Museum of Modern Art / Saitama City Iwatsuki Doll Museum / Urayasu City Local Museum / Shinjuku Ward Fumiko Hayashi Memorial Museum / Setagaya Ward Jidaibori Park Folk House Garden / Shinjuku Ward Soseki Sanbo Memorial Museum / Showa Women's University Koha Museum / Parthenon Tama Museum / Kunitachi Local Culture Center / National Printing Bureau Banknote and Stamp Museum / Keio University / Shinjuku Ward Shinjuku Historical Museum / Hachioji City Silk