International Course on Conservation of Japanese Paper 2017
The International Course on Conservation of Japanese Paper was run from August 28th to September 15th, 2017. This course has been jointly organised by the Tokyo National Research Institute for Cultural Properties (TNRICP) and the International Centre for the Study of Preservation and Restoration of Cultural Property (ICCROM) since 1992. It is aimed at contributing to the protection of cultural property outside Japan by disseminating the knowledge and techniques of conservation and restoration of paper cultural property in Japan to participants from around the world. This year, 10 specialists in conservation from 9 countries (Argentina, Australia, China, Czech Republic, Greece, Israel, Latvia, the Philippines and the USA) were selected as participants among 79 applications from 38 countries.
The course was composed of lectures, practical sessions and excursions. The lectures covered protection systems of both tangible and intangible cultural property in Japan, basic insights into Japanese paper, traditional conservation materials and tools. The practical sessions were led by instructors from a certified group holding the Selected Conservation Techniques on “Restoration Techniques of Mounting.” The participants gained experience of restoration work of paper cultural property from cleaning it to mounting it to a handscroll. Japanese-style bookbinding, and handling of folding screens and hanging scrolls were also included in the sessions. The excursion to the cities of Nagoya, Mino, and Kyoto, arranged in the middle of the course, offered an opportunity to see folding screens and sliding doors in historic buildings, the Japanese papermaking (Honminoshi) which is designated as an Important Intangible Cultural Property of Japan, a traditional restoration studio, and so forth. On the last day, the present situation and issues with a focus on paper cultural property in each country such as conservation materials and environmental control were discussed.
The participants could acquire a deeper understanding not only on conservation materials and tools used in Japan but also conservation approaches and techniques using Japanese paper throughout this course. We hope that the knowledge and techniques they gained in the course will be applied to conservation and restoration of cultural property overseas.