| ■Tokyo National Research
Institute for Cultural Properties |
■Center for Conservation
Science |
| ■Department of Art Research,
Archives and Information Systems |
■Japan Center for
International Cooperation in Conservation |
| ■Department of Intangible
Cultural Heritage |
|
Lecture on the Cultural Properties Protection Institution in Japan, by Shimizu Shin'ichi, the Director of Japan Center for International Cooperation in Conservation
The National Research Institute for Cultural Properties, Tokyo and the National Institute of Cultural Heritage, China started the program for the fostering of the engineers of conservation and restoration of the cultural properties along the Silk Road in 2006, and the joint program will be complete this year. On August 16, the final mural printing and textile restoration and conservation courses started at the National Institute of Cultural Heritage, China in Beijing. From Shinjang, Gansu, Ningxia, Qinghai, Shanxi, and Henan provinces and autonomous regions located along the Silk Road, fourteen and twelve trainees participating the mural printing and textile courses respectively will attend theory lectures and practical restoration practical training for four months until December 17. Twelve instructors will participate in both courses and some instructors will be invited from Korea. We look forward to getting significant results in the same ways as was possible during the six courses which were executed in the past four years.
Panoramic view of temple with the pagoda and Great Buddha newly built on the back
Workshop
Survey for building conservation
From the end of June to the beginning of July and at the end of August, we conducted a workshop and conservation survey at the Tibetan temple Amarbayasgalant of the Selenge Aimag (province) in northern Mongolia, jointly with the Ministry of Education, Culture and Science in Mongolia.
The theme of this year’s workshop was to build a plan for the conservation management of cultural properties, and we set a target for determining a conservation area for the time being. In this 20th year since religious activities at the Amarbayasgalant temple restarted, new building and maintenance of the temple associated facilities stepped up and, and the historical scenery, a key part of heritage values, is rapidly changing. There is also a concern about the influence on the conservation of the underground remains of old temple buildings. To prevent this, we repeated the field survey and discussion together with the representatives of the prefecture, county and local public. We reached the basic agreement for the policy that a wide area, including the surrounding mountains adored by people and the material production site when the temple was built, is to be designated as a conservation region based on the Laws for Protection of Cultural Properties.
Meanwhile, the temple consisting of many wooden buildings, suffered deterioration and damage because of aging and insufficient maintenance, and thus part of the damaged building could endanger the safety of human lives. In the August mission, therefore, we conducted a basic survey on the conservation status of all buildings, which served concurrently as the training of young Mongolian engineers, in parallel with the above-mentioned workshop. The report on the results of survey carried out with the four trainees, who also participated in the last year’s practical training, will be submitted to the Mongolian Government. We hope that the report will be used for future emergent measures and full-scale restoration planning.
Practical training on measuring the surface temperature of rock using an infrared thermometer (Serven Khaalga site)
Practical training on surface peel of stratum by using past excavation pit (Rashaan Khad site)
As part of an exchange program of Networking Core Centers for International Cooperation on Conservation of Cultural Heritage commissioned by the Agency for Cultural Affairs, we held an on-site workshop on the conservation of the stone monuments and rock paintings, in late August intended for the experts at the Mongolian cultural heritage center, together with the experts at the National Research Institute for Cultural Properties, Nara. At the workshop conducted at Serven Khaalga and Rashaan Khad in the Khentii Aimag (province), following last year, we conducted a series of surveys on the stone material, deterioration state and ambient environment which were necessary to examine the conservation method of stone cultural properties. While we worked with the Mongolian experts, we conveyed the specific procedures to them. Along with the survey, we conducted a practical training on the surface peel of the stratum upon request from the Mongolian experts. It was said that it was the first time such training had taken place in the country. We will continue to conduct conservation treatment experiments and a training on the method for evaluating it in Japan, Mongolia, etc. Going forward we will try to gain a better understanding of target sites while working in cooperation with the domestic and overseas organizations, and investigate more appropriate methods of conservation.
Giving an explanation in the Audio-Visual Documentation Section (July 21)
36 new staff members of National Institutes for Cultural Heritage:
As part of the training sessions for new staff of National Institutes for Cultural Heritage, 17 members visited the National Research Institute for Cultural Properties, Tokyo on July 21 and 19 members visited on July 22. They toured the chemical laboratory of the Center for Conservation Science and Restoration Techniques on the fourth floor, the Library of the Department of Research Programming on the second floor, the X-ray Room of the Center for Conservation Science and Restoration Techniques, and the Audio-Visual Documentation Section of the Department of Intangible Cultural Heritage on the basement floor. Those in charge of each facility provided explanations and answered questions.
Giving an explanation in the Library (July 26)
Ten undergraduate students of Bunka Women’s University, Major in Costume and Fashion History of Program in Fashion Culture and others:
The students visited the Institute on July 26 to learn about the current status of scientific research on art objects and such like. They toured the chemical laboratory of the Center for Conservation Science and Restoration Techniques and the Japan Center for International Cooperation in Conservation on the fourth floor, the Library of the Department of Research Programming on the second floor, and the Audio-Visual Documentation Section of the Department of Intangible Cultural Heritage on the basement floor. Those in charge of each facility provided explanations and answered questions.
Monthly Flowers and Ornamental Plants on a right-hand folding screen, painted by Murakoshi Koei Owned by Adachi-city Folk Museum
Monthly Flowers and Ornamental Plants on a left-hand folding screen, painted by Murakoshi Koei Owned by Adachi-city Folk Museum
The 4th workshop of Department of Research Programming 2010 was held on July 28th. The following were the presenters and the titles of their presentations:
• Emura Tomoko (a researcher at Department of Research Programming)
“Concerning Suzuki Kiitsu’s paintings of flowers and grasses, centering on Flowers and Grasses painted on a small sliding door fusuma owned by the Portland Art Museum”
• Mr. Sanada Takamitsu (curator of Adachi-city Folk Museum)
“Senju and Edo Rimpa”
Emura verified from her works and from the literatures that the expression techniques of the above paintings had been closely related to Kiitsu’s learning about the Korin’s paintings, and also considered the Kiitsu’s patrons who have not been completely unveiled. Mr. Sanada made a presentation on the activities and works of Mr. Murakoshi Kiei and Koei, parent and son, who were Kiitsu’s disciples and whom flourished in Senju, associated with the “Edo Rimpa” exhibition that will be held at the Adachi-city Folk Museum in March 2011. We invited Ms. Tamamushi Toshiko (professor at Musashino Art University) as a commentator and held a research discussion. We will make public the results obtained from this workshop in the form of research papers and exhibitions, pursuing further exchange and promotion of research.
Survey at Joshibi Art Museum
As part of joint research at the Joint Research Center for Fashion and Clothing Culture, we surveyed the textiles at the JAM on July 12, 2010. This joint research started in November 2008, aiming to clarify the relationship between the Mitsui-family descendent short-sleeved (kosode) kimono owned by the Bunka Gakuen Costume Museum and the associated Maruyama-school costume design. We conducted the detailed survey on the short-sleeved kimonos, which were in the possession of the now-defunct Kanebo Ltd. and now owned by JAM, focusing on those similar to the Mitsui-family descendent kosode, including the techniques, design and tailoring. We will advance a close investigation on the findings obtained through the surveys, aiming at the issue of a report in next fiscal year.
Case study
We held the 27th training course during a period of two weeks starting July 12, and participants included 32 curators and the persons in charge of cultural properties administration nationwide. In these training sessions they focused on basic knowledge and technology concerning the conservation environment, deterioration, and restoration of various cultural properties. The course included lectures and practical training on conservation.
A practical museum environment training case study was carried out at the Sodegaura-city Folk Museum. Participants were divided into eight groups, each of which investigated the temperature, humidity, illumination, disaster prevention equipment, and conservation environment of cultural properties outdoors. They presented their results the following day, and questions and answers were provided.
The conservation of materials from the standpoint of natural science will be increasingly emphasized, which can be understood just by seeing that the “theory of museum material conservation” will be a mandatory subject in the curator programs of universities starting 2012. We will closely investigate the curriculum and content of this training course in order to enrich it while taking into consideration various signs of the times.
Exhibiting "Investigation on the cause of deterioration in mural paintings of Takamatsuzuka Tumulus" in lobby
At the present, the panels in the title are being exhibited in the entrance hall on the first floor of the Institute. This exhibition shows the outline of the results obtained by surveying the cause of deterioration in the mural paintings of Takamatsuzuka Tumulus, which were conserved at the local site since they had been found in 1972, from natural scientific and other viewpoints under the “Study team on cause of deterioration in mural paintings of Takamatsuzuka Tumulus” established in July 2008. The deterioration triggered the dismantlement of the mural paintings in 2007. The entire survey results were made public on March 24, 2010, by the Agency for Cultural Affairs, as the “Survey report on the cause of deterioration in mural paintings of Takamatsuzuka Tumulus”. This exhibition uses many illustrations and explains the survey on materials, organisms and conservation environments from the total survey. We hope that many people will visit the exhibition.
General discussions
The 24th Conference on International Cooperation on Conservation titled “Thinking of conservation with a protective shelter” was held on July 8, 2010, with 71 participants. Protective shelter are sometimes used to conserve sites. To understand the advantages and disadvantages of protective shelter, it is necessary to know their state after a certain number of years have passed since they were built. For this reason, we asked three persons to make presentations and then we had general discussions. First, Mr. Anat Bamurunwonsa of the Fine Arts Department of Thailand gave a lecture titled “Protective shelter for a pair of Buddha’s footsteps in the Prachinburi Province.” This was followed by Mr. Irisa Tomoichiro of the Cultural Properties Protection Division, Fukuoka Prefecture, who delivered the lecture “Varied forms and current status of protective shelter in Fukuoka.” Then, Ms. Shin Eun-Jeong of the National Research Institute of Cultural Heritage, Korea, gave a lecture titled “Current status and case study in covering roofs for stone cultural properties in Korea.”The lectures and discussions made us recognize, for site conservation, the need to appropriately decide on specifications of protective shelter, after understanding the conditions such as the ambient environment of sites, and the importance of continuously monitoring the built roofs.
Training on packaging relics of various materials and shapes
Training on transporting a heavy object
The Japan Center for International Cooperation in Conservation continues to cooperate with the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), which is conducting a technical support project for establishing and operating the Conservation Center of the Grand Egyptian Museum.
As part of this project, JICA dispatched four instructors from Nippon Express to Egypt from July 3 to 19, and held training on packing for transport in the Conservation Center. This was the second time this training had been held, following the one-week training for seven invited Egyptian conservation specialists that was conducted in the National Institute for Cultural Properties, Tokyo, last October.
We used as many locally procured materials and educational tools as possible and executed on-the-job training, using the latest equipment transported from Japan, in addition to the equipment installed in the Conservation Center. The objects to be packed in the training ranged from small ones to heavy ones weighing about 200 kg, and we used not only replicas but also real relics. The training included robust packing for transport from an external storage site or museum to the Conservation Center, loading and unloading them to and from a vehicle for transport and simple packing for transport between laboratories within the Center and activities during transport. As in the previous training, we also paid attention to conveying the Japanese mentality of being committed to work with a love of relics, in addition to transferring techniques. We hope that the trainees who learned the packing techniques and the spirit of these training sessions will work carefully and speedily when actually packing items for transport.
We will proceed to offer cooperation in effective capacity development that is suitable for the individual levels of specialists, aiming for full-scale operation of the Center.
Member countries’ chairperson seats at the Meeting of World Heritage Committee
The 34th session of the World Heritage Committee was held from July 26 to August 3 in Brasilia, a city that is commemorating its 50th anniversary this year. (Currently, Japan is an observer, not a committee member.) It was conspicuous in this session that despite the recommendations of the advisory bodies for enquiring about information or putting off nominations in the World Heritage List, many cases were decided to be nominated. Some committee members stated that the professional opinions of advisory bodies should be respected and the reliability of the List should be taken into account. However, we got the impression that many countries had complaints and were dissatisfied with the opacity of advisory bodies and the decrease in nomination recommendation rate. Meanwhile, the conservation state report exposed multiple territorial disputes in lands that contain heritage sites listed as World Heritages.
It can be said that the system related to World Heritage is approaching a turning point regardless of whether the heritages are already listed or newly nominated. We believe Japan has a lot to do toward the 40th anniversary, in two years’ time, of the Convention concerning the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage, such as proposing solutions.
We participated in the 6th Cultural Heritage East Asian Network assembly held in Solo, Indonesia, at the request of the Agency for Cultural Affairs. In the assembly, representatives of ASEAN countries and three countries in East Asia (Japan, China and South Korea) participated and reported on projects developed by ASEAN countries. The Japan Center for International Cooperation in Conservation made a report on the survey on restoration of damaged cultural heritage, conducted in 2009. This was conducted in the framework of the project of Japan Consortium for International Cooperation in Cultural Heritage, and commissioned by the Agency for Cultural Affairs. Responding to our report, the participating countries indicated their hope for actively surveying cultural heritage, and holding workshops and meetings in the future.
From South Korea, the director of the Cultural Heritage Conservation Science Center of National Research Institute of Cultural Heritage participated, and the 7th assembly will be held in South Korea. It is conceivable that the importance of the assembly will further increase in the future to deepen the relationship between ASEAN and East Asian countries.
A meeting of the Institute Survey and Research Division of the Evaluation Committee of an independent administrative institution, the National Institutes for Cultural Heritage, was held at the National Research Institute for Cultural Properties, Tokyo on April 21. In addition, the general assembly of that committee was held at the Tokyo National Museum on June 3. The former is a session in which the Evaluation Committee members comment on the self-evaluation of the activities conducted in fiscal year 2009 by the National Research Institute for Cultural Properties, Tokyo and Nara. And the latter is a session in which feedback is given on the overall activities, including the surveys, research, and finances of the Institutes. A total of 41 activities are targeted for the self-evaluation of the National Research Institute for Cultural Properties, Tokyo. According to this self-evaluation, the Institute judged that the annual plans for fiscal year 2009 were fully achieved for all activities, and sufficient results were shown, so the mid-term plans are being achieved. The Evaluation Committee members gave the following comments about the activities of both the Tokyo and Nara Institutes:
1. Both Institutes have achieved sufficient results in the fundamental research on cultural properties including the research on intangible cultural heritage, and the advanced and developmental research on conservation and restoration, thereby contributing to national administration for cultural properties.
2. The Institutes are energetically involved in international cooperation for the protection of cultural properties in East Asian areas and West Asia. The Institute researchers are requested to make efforts so that the fruits of their activities are widely made known to the people of Japan and partner countries.
3. Individual investigation research projects have produced many excellent results, and they should be made known to people in a way that is easier for the general public to understand and also in an integrally summarized manner.
4. The researchers are requested to actively tackle research transcending sections or genres, research that is collaboratively conducted by both the Tokyo and Nara Institutes, joint research of cultural property institutes and museums, and research making use of the characteristics of independent administrative institutions.
We also received a great number of other opinions. We will use the results of the self-evaluation and opinions of the Evaluation Committee members in planning future activities and improving corporative management.
Mr. Sato Tamotsu and Mizubasho (Skunk Cabbage) Mandala presented on 22nd Chikyukai exhibition (1978)
The Department of Research Programming received a donation of part of the materials owned by Mr. Sato Tamotsu, a Japanese-style painter, who died in 2004, from his wife Ms. Kiyoko. He broke new ground in postwar Japanese-style painting with his series of Mizubasho (Skunk cabbage) Mandala paintings that abstractly express skunk cabbages using bold circular arcs with sumi (Indian ink) lines. The donated materials include art journals and catalogs of the art group Chikyukai he set up with his colleagues in 1957 and various art groups. They have been delivered to the Institute, and we will organize the precious materials of postwar Japanese art so that they can be browsed and utilized.
Listening at the survey on important intangible cultural property at the inheriting hall (Ms. Han Sang Soo, an important intangible cultural property holder in embroidery)
Mr. Hyoki of the Department of Intangible Cultural Heritage visited the Division of Folklore and Folklife of the National Research Institute of Cultural Heritage, Korea from June 28 to July 8. His visit was in the framework of exchange between Japan and Korea on research related to conserving intangible cultural heritage. He received training on how to protect intangible cultural heritage in South Korea. In the past two years, training sessions and surveying had been conducted on the status of archiving the records on intangible cultural heritage in Korea. This year, we investigated the way the Cultural Heritage Administration of Korea is performing intensive data management on the recordings produced by the relevant organizations. We also examined the guidelines on creating standard data of cultural property recording projects. We carried out our investigations by listening to the people involved. We also conducted a survey on the current status and issues of the inheriting instructor system that is a feature of the system for protecting intangible cultural properties in Korea. We listened to the Cultural Heritage Administration of Korea and the holder of intangible cultural property (conservation society of Pilbong peasant music).
Lecture at seminar meeting
Observing many glues
The Technical Standard Section of the Center for Conservation Science and Restoration Techniques held a seminar with the title Glue – (I) at a meeting room of the Institute on June 21 (Monday). There are many kinds of glue materials, and glues are traditional adhesives that have been widely used throughout the ages all over the world including Japan. At present the production of traditional Japanese glue (nikawa) is rare and there are many unclear points regarding its current status, including its physical properties. Against this background, Ms. Hayakawa Noriko, a researcher of the Center, outlined the physical properties of glues as restoration materials. This was followed by a speech given by Ms. Yamamoto Noriko of the Association for Conservation of National Treasures on the subject how to use glues for restoration and conservation from her viewpoint as a restoration engineer. Mr. Seki Izuru, professor of the Tokyo National University of Fine Arts and Music, gave a lecture on the achievements of studies on materials from his standpoint as a painter. Finally, Mr. Morita Tsuneyuki, the professor of the Aichi Prefectural University of Fine Arts and Music, who once interviewed on the production of glues when he was a professor at the National Museum Ethnology, Osaka, gave an explanation on the glue production processes with documents. The lecturers’ speeches were persuasive because they were on subjects that the lecturers had studied throughout their long carriers; we also had an opportunity to observe many types of glue brought to the meeting room by Professor Seki Izuru, making the seminar a great success.
Lecture by Mr. Mabuchi, a visiting researcher
On June 21, we held the training course shown above, intended to transfer the latest knowledge and findings related to the conservation environment to trainees who have completed the seminar course for curators engaged in conservation. First, Mr. Yoshida, a senior researcher of the Institute, introduced the latest technological trends regarding white LEDs, which have recently seen a rapid increase in their popularity, from the viewpoint of preventing global warming. Then, Ms. Nishida Hiroko, the Deputy Director of the Nezu Museum, gave a lecture during which she brought some LEDs into the exhibition room, taking advantage of the construction of the museum. Following the lecture, Mr. Mabuchi Hajime, a visiting researcher of the Center, gave a lecture on the method of conducting microbial surveys in cultural facilities, which is his subject of research, and Ms. Sano, the head of the conservation science section, explained how to examine organic acid emitted from wood. Because the lectures for this training session covered topics that many cultural facilities have deep concerns about, approximately 100 people participated, more than in past years. At annual follow-up training sessions we will meet the needs of curators and provide them with the latest important information.
IPM practical training
The Japan Center for International Cooperation in Conservation has been continuing to cooperate in the technical support project of the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) to establish and operate the Conservation Center in Egypt, an affiliated organization of the Grand Egyptian Museum.
As part of this project, three Japanese conservation specialists were dispatched to the local site from May 14 to 22, and IPM training took place at the Conservation Center. IPM stands for Integrated Pest Management, and it indicates here integrated management for preventing harmful organisms from damaging cultural properties. Before this training, the staff of the Conservation Center had little idea about IPM, but its concept has led to the continuous management activities of Egyptian staff such as their own monitoring after training. On June 14, the opening ceremony of the Conservation Center took place with the attendance of Ms. Susan Mubarak, the first lady of Egypt. There are currently more than 120 Center employees and restoration specialists, and a further increase in this number is being examined. Thousands of relics have already been brought to the Center, and restoration and conservation work has started gradually. We will continuously move forward with effective cooperation in capacity development that is suitable for the various levels of the individual specialists, aiming for full-scale operation of the Center in the future.
Entire view of Goreme National Park
Restored El Nazar Church
In the framework of the Cooperative Project for the Conservation and Restoration of Cultural Heritage in West Asia, from June 19 to 29, the Japan Center for International Cooperation in Conservation conducted a basic survey on the mural paintings of cave churches scattered around Cappadocia, Turkey, for which international conservation and restoration support is planned.
We investigated the conservation status of approximately 20 sites, such as cave churches with mural paintings done from the 9th to the 13th centuries, around the Goreme National Park, Cavusin, Zelve Valley, and Ortahisar area. Together with the local conservation specialists and the international conservation experts invited by UNESCO, we investigated not only the mural paintings but also the rocks and geological conditions of the caves where they were painted, discussed the future monitoring methods, and gave some advice on future conservation and restoration.
