1903年日本於大阪舉行勸業博覽會，該博覽會的展示原本包括中 國、韓國、琉球與臺灣在內等人種。在中國與韓國的抗議之下，撤銷展出。不過，已成為日本殖民地的琉球與臺灣原住民仍被展出。 儘管學術人類館的展出引發許多爭議，該類型的展出卻成為日後日本帝國殖民地展示的典範。學術人類館的設計構想出自有「日本人類學之父」之稱的坪井正五郎之手，他從人類學的考古論據推出日本民族混合論，隨著日本領土的擴大，他的日本民族混合論也成為介入現實政治的論述。雖然日本民族混合論曾經遭到批判，不過，卻逐漸成為主流思潮。1912年日本首次將所屬殖民地產物進行展示的拓殖博覽會，正是坪井正五郎理論的呈現。 學術人類館的展出，對嘗試透過同化追求文明的琉球來說，無異 是一個大的打擊。歷經該事件之後，在文明與同化之間，琉球往同化的方向邁進。

The fifth Industrial Exhibition was held in Osaka, Japan in 1903. As part of this exhibition, “The House of Peoples” was originally organized to include exhibitions on the peoples of China, Korea, Okinawa and Taiwan. However, following protests by China and Korea, the displays related to these two countries were removed. The displays concerning Taiwan’s indigenous peoples and Okinawans remained, as these two areas were colonized by the Japanese at that time. Although the “The House of Peoples” exhibition was controversial, it later became the exemplification of Japanese colonial exhibitions. The design concept of “The House of Peoples” was based on an archeological anthropology theory put forth by Tsuboi Shogoro, considered the father of anthropological studies in Japan. With the expansion of Japan’s territory, Tsuboi Shogoro’s theory concerning the blending of the Japanese nation not only entered political discussion, but also steadily became mainstream thought. The first Colonial Exposition held in Tokyo in 1912 is the best example of the emergence of this theory. The purposes of this paper are to elucidate the image of the Japanese empire among Japanese and how that image was represented through “The House of Peoples” exhibition. In addition, the impact of “The House of Peoples” on colonized Okinawa will be discussed, including the assimilation process that occurred following that exhibition.