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Committee for Salvaging Cultural Properties and Other Materials
Affected by The 2011 off the Pacific Coast of Tohoku Earthquake and Related Disasters: Outline of the Activities in the Two Years (March 2011-April 2013)

2011
March
11	2011 Earthquake off the Pacific coast of Tōhoku of Magnitude 9.0 with the epicenter off the Sanriku Region occurred at 14:46. Then the tsunami over 10 meters attacked the Pacific Coast area.
29	Request was received from Miyagi Prefecture on salvaging its cultural property
30	The Agency for Cultural Affairs fixed their policy to establish the Committee for Salvaging Cultural Properties Affected by the 2011 Earthquake off the Pacific Coast of Tohoku and Related Disasters.
April
1	Message was delivered by Mr. Kondo Seiichi, Commissioner for Cultural Affairs, Japan titled “Call for your cooperation in saving and recovering cultural properties damaged by the Tohoku-Pacific Ocean Earthquake”
15	First meeting of the Committee for Salvaging Cultural Properties was held. The secretariat of the Committee was settled at the National Research Institute of Cultural Properties, Tokyo (Tobunken) to start the project for salvaging disaster-affected cultural property.
19	Field Office of Miyagi Prefecture was set up at the Sendai City Museum to start the full-fledged salvaging activities in the prefecture
28	Art objects affected by the tsunami were carried out of the Ishinomaki Cultural Centre
May
2	Request was received from Iwate Prefecture on salvaging its cultural property
10	The National Institutes for Cultural Heritage started to dispatch staff (mainly consists of the Tobunken staff) to station on full-time basis at the Field Office of Miyagi Prefecture
10	Workshop for information sharing on the first-aid treatment of the tsunami-affected objects (at Tobunken)
12	Investigation on the post-disaster condition of the art objects stored at the Rikuzentakata City Museum
14	Salvage of the Mouri collection and the folk cultural objects stored at the Ishinomaki Cultural Centre
18	Salvage of the statue of Vaisravana at Watatsumi Shrine (Higashi-matsushima City)
21	Salvage of the folk cultural objects and fossils at the Iwaisaki Promenade Center (Kesennuma City)
27	Salvage of the objects at curatorial office and human fossil bones at the Ishinomaki Cultural Centre
29	Salvage of the agricultural books at the Miyagi Prefecture Agricultural High School (Natori City)
June
1	Salvage of Kake-botoke sculptures (Buddha sculptures placed in shrines on the basis of Honji Suijaku’s theory) at Kumano Nachi Shrine (Natori City, Miyagi Prefecture)
9	Collection of the scattered objects at the storage for the folk cultural objects in Ayukawa, Oshika-cho, Ishinomaki City
14	Vacuum freeze dry treatment of the immersed objects was started at the Nara National Research Institute of Cultural Properties
16	Transfer of the books stored at the Rikuzentakata City Museum
17	Transfer of the archaeological objects at the Ishinomaki Cultural Centre
21	Salvage of the folk cultural objects at the Marine Pal, Wholesale Market Onagawa (Onagawa Town)
22	Salvage of the archaeological objects and folk cultural objects of the storage for the folk cultural objects in Ayukawa, Oshika-cho, Ishinomaki City
29	Salvage of the immersed specimens and other objects at the Oshika Whale Land (Ayukawa, Oshika-cho, Ishinomaki City)
July
5	Salvage of the archaeological objects at Buried cultural properties storage in Higashi matsushima (Nobiru, Higashi matsushima City)
9	Transfer of the art objects at the Rikuzentakata City Museum to start the restoration work at a temporary conservation Laboratory in Morioka City (hereinafter Morioka Laboratory)
11	Received the request from Ibaraki Prefecture on salvaging their cultural property
21	Transfer of the salvaged objects of the Marine Pal Onagawa to the Miyagi Sant Juan Bautista Museum
26	Second meeting of the Committee was held.
27	Received the request from Fukushima Prefecture on salvaging their cultural property
27	Transfer of the collection of the Utatsu Gyoryukan Museum (Utatsu Museum of Ichthyosaurus), Minami-sanriku Town
30	Ended the full-time station of the staff of the National Institutes for Cultural Heritage at the Field Office of Miyagi Prefecture
August
10	Fumigation of the art objects at the Rikuzentakata City Museum
25	Started the first-aid treatment of the collection of the Rikuzentakata City Museum, of which the objects temporarily stored at the former Oide Elementary School
29 and 30	Salvage of the documents of the Rikuzentakata Municipality Office
30	Ended the first-aid treatment of the art works stored in collection of the Rikuzentakata City Museum and the operation at the Morioka Laboratory. The objects were transferred to the Iwate Prefectural Art Museum of Art
September
15	Salvage of the historical objects left at the houses in Hirakata, Kita-ibaraki City, Ibaraki Prefecture
17	Salvation/first aid of dampen cultural properties at Naganuma Storage in Sukagawa (Naganuma, Sukagawa City)
26	Preparation of the temporary storage facility (at the former Oide Elementary School)
October
2	Arrangement of the geological specimens and other objects stored at the Rikuzentakata City Museum was started
5	Preparatory meeting of the Liaison Conference for the Safeguarding of the Disaster Affected Cultural Property in Miyagi Prefecture
10	Salvation depending on building destruction of the damaged materials in Niihari Kyukokan (Chikusei City, Ibaraki Prefecture)
12 and 14	Transfer of the folk cultural objects stored in former Oshika Town (recently part of Ishinomaki City) for first-aid treatment
12	Fumigation of the collection of the Rikuzentakata City Museum
November
15	Salvage of the folk objects stored at Noda Village Library
December
7	Liaison Conference for the Safeguarding of the Disaster Affected Cultural Property in Miyagi Prefecture: first meeting
12	Third meeting of the Committee: Activities in Fukushima and the work plan of the next fiscal year were considered
14	Desalination of the scroll of the ink impression stored at the Rikuzentakata City Museum

2012
January
17	First-aid treatment of the disaster-affected folk cultural objects of Yamada Town, Iwate Prefecture
February
13	Temporal transfer of the archaeological objects stored at the Ishinomaki Cultural Centre for first-aid treatment
21	Carriage of the skeletal specimens out of the Oshika Whale Land
21	First-aid treatment of the tsunami-affected paintings at Ryuzo-in Temple (Kashima City, Ibaraki Prefecture)
March
19	Fourth meeting of the Committee: Prolongation of the activity of the Committee for the following fiscal year was decided.
21	Liaison Conference for the Safeguarding of the Disaster Affected Cultural Property in Miyagi Prefecture: second meeting
April
1	The Museum of Sea and Seashore was integrated into the Rikuzentakata City Museum. Former Oide Elementary School which had been used for a temporary storage facility began functioning as the new Rikuzentakata City Museum after maintenance
24	Meeting with the Fukushima Educational Board on the salvage of the disaster-affected cultural property
May
15	Kick-off meeting of the organization for the safeguarding of the disaster-affected cultural property in Fukushima Prefecture
17 and 18	Inspection of the related facilities of the salvage projects of the cultural property in Iwate Prefecture by the Director General of the Committee
23 and 24	Inspection of the related facilities of the salvage projects of the cultural property in Fukushima Prefecture (Fukushima Cultural Property Center, Shirakawa Branch, former Soma Women’s High School, Minamisoma City Museum)
June
2	Cleaning and environmental investigation of the former Soma Women’s High School and other facilities which are used as temporary shelters
6	Liaison Conference for the Safeguarding of the Disaster Affected Cultural Property in Miyagi Prefecture: third meeting
July
20	Fifth meeting of the Committee: Decision to conduct the salvage of the collections of the museums in the Restricted Areas in Fukushima Prefecture was made
August
1 and 2	Measurement of the radiation dose and packaging of the collections of the museums in the Restricted Area was started
21	Ended the restoration of the disaster-affected oil paintings stored at the Iwate Prefectural Takata High School. The paintings were returned to the owner.
September
5	Transfer of the collections of the museums in the Restricted Areas to the former Soma Women’s High School
6	Assemblage of the disaster-affected cultural property carried into the former Soma Women’s High School was started
26	Liaison Conference for the Safeguarding of the Disaster Affected Cultural Property in Miyagi Prefecture: fourth meeting
October
9	Inspection of the Naraha Town Museum and the Ishikura Storage, assemblage of the objects, mainly the archaeological objects found at Tenjinbara Archaeological Site
8-12	Fumigation of the collections of the museums in the Restricted Areas e at the former Soma Women’s High School
12	Ended the conservation treatment of the bronze sculpture of the Ishinomaki Cultural Center. The objects were returned to the Miyagi Prefectural Art Gallery.
22-24	On-site first-aid treatment of the Buddha statue stored at Yakushi-do pavilion at Io-ji Temple (Higashi-matsushima City)
24	Transfer of the collections of the museums in the Restricted Areas to the former Soma Women’s High School
November
5 and 6	Return of the collection of the Ishinomaki Cultural Centre after the conservation treatment to the Miyagi Museum of Art
7 and 8	Inspection of the disaster-affected objects at Rias Arc Museu of Art (Kesennuma City), Tohoku History Museum (Tagajo City) about their restoration and consideration of the specification of the restoration
13	Sixth Meeting of the Committee: Discussions on the closure of the committee and preparation of the final report were made
21	Salvage of the disaster-affected archaeological objects after the cleaning treatment at the Mukaida Rearranging Room, Sendai City
21	Transfer of the collections of the museums in the Restricted Areas after the measurement of the radiation dose and packaging
27	Preparation of the investigation records and the list of the disaster-affected objects at Temporary Government building of the Ogatsu General Branch Office, Ishinomaki City
28	Ended the restoration of the disaster-affected art objects of Rikuzentakata Municipal Hirota Junior High School. The objects were then returned to the Yorozu Tetsugoro Museum of Art
December
6	First-aid cleaning and drying of the disaster-affected objects at Temporary Government building of the Ogatsu General Branch Office, Ishinomaki City
12	Identification of the planned site of the temporary storage place in line with the dismantlement of the Ishinomaki Cultural Centre

2013
January
23	First Open Forum of the Committee of the Safeguarding of the Disaster Affected Cultural Property (Heiseikan Auditorium, Tokyo National Museum, number of participants: 152)
February
4	Second Open Forum of the Committee of the Safeguarding of the Disaster Affected Cultural Property (Heiseikan Auditorium, Tokyo National Museum, number of participants: 152)
4-9	Transfer of the bronze part of the the Shochuhi memorial at Gokoku Shrine, Miyagi Prefecture
22	Second Open Forum of the Committee of the Safeguarding of the Disaster Affected Cultural Property (Heiseikan Auditorium, Tokyo National Museum, number of participants: 158)
25	Headquarter meeting of the Salvage of the Disaster Affected Cultural Property in Fukushima Prefecture
March
13	Liaison Conference for the Safeguarding of the Disaster Affected Cultural Property in Miyagi Prefecture: fifth meeting
22	Ended the vacuum freeze dry treatment of the immersed objects at the Nara National Research Institute of Cultural Properties. The objects were returned to the former Miyagi Prefectural Archive.
25	Seventh Meeting of the Committee
31	Dissolution of the Committee
April
1	Establishment of the office for the backlog of the Committee for Salvaging Cultural Properties Affected by the 2011 Earthquake off the Pacific Coast of Tohoku and Related Disasters (at Tobunken)

Note:

Some of the organization names were tentatively translated by Tobunken.

©Independent Administrative Institution National Institutes for Cultural Heritage Tokyo National Research Institute for Cultural Properties

Committee for Salvaging Cultural Properties and Other Materials Affected by The 2011 off the Pacific Coast of Tohoku Earthquake and Related Disasters: Outline of the Activities in the Two Years (March 2011-April 2013)

Committee for Salvaging Cultural Properties and Other Materials
Affected by The 2011 off the Pacific Coast of Tohoku Earthquake and Related Disasters: Outline of the Activities in the Two Years (March 2011-April 2013)