ブックタイトルConservation and Restoration of Western Paper

概要

Conservation and Restoration of Western Paper

Application of Traditional Japanese Painting and Mounting Techniques toModern and Contemporary Paper Materials in JapanAtsushi Ogasawara (Presenter) / Kazuhiko Ikeda (Author)Chief Conservator / DirectorShugo Co., Ltd.1. IntroductionIt has been 30 years since the awareness ofthe deterioration of acidic paper becamea social concern in the 1980s Japan. Japanwas already several decades behind westerncountries but since then, libraries andarchives holding numerous paper objectshave responded to the problem with variouspreservation measures against deterioratingacidic paper materials. A standard approachto deacidification treatments seems to haveestablished.However, despite all the years, deacidificationtreatments are still very much uniformand do not meet the object’s value, quality,and deterioration level. Conservationtreatments are not dealt in depth mainlydue to the number of items that mustbe treated. Especially in deacidificationtreatments, there seems to be a uniform ideaof“western paper = acidic paper”and“acidicpaper = must-be-deacidified”under whichthe deacidification treatment is consideredstandard practice. Acidic paper items areoften severely degraded and the damagecould be irreversible if care is delayed.However, it is important to note that thedeacidification treatment itself could bedrastic at times and may even lead to adverseeffects.How to care for modern and contemporarypaper items, especially when faced withconservation and deacidification requires aflexible and diverse approach according tothe value, quality and damage. This paperpresents a case study which focuses on thevalue of the objects by taking a conservationapproach through the application oftraditional conservation techniques. 12. Characteristics of Modern PaperObjects and Designation asCultural PropertyThe 1996 amendment to the Law forthe Protection of Cultural Propertiesin Japan had an aim to protect moderncultural properties 2 . The following year,the Kobunroku (government documentsand records), 4,146 volumes and 1,301items, were designated as ImportantCultural Property. 3 This was followed bythe designation of numerous modern paperdocuments. Local governments followedsuit leading to the increase of prefecturaland municipal designations. Objectsdesignated as cultural properties date fromthe early Meiji period to the early Showa20s (1868-1940). One property may includemore than one item, and may even haveup to 10 thousand items. Among them arethe Gyoseibunsho-gun (government papers)containing numerous paper types, writingmaterials and configuration; or the Kindaikyokasho kankei shiryo (modern textbooks32