Introduction

Session 1: The "Annual Rings" of Objects

This session focuses on the traces of events that adhere to an object in the process of its temporal movement. To a certain extent, all objects move on a temporal axis by the very nature of their existence. The record of an object's existence, or its own history of valuation, becomes adhered to it like an annual ring of a tree. At times the totality of this layered history gains significance, or, depending on the time and place, a section of it becomes of particular importance. In the case of the Chinese Imperial Collection, for example, because of the layered value history of the individual objects, the ownership of the collection also signifies the "possession" of the "past." In the context of Japanese tea ceremony, the value of objects originally produced for everyday use shifts and they become art objects or cultural properties; interestingly, at the same time, even "cultural properties" can be handled and used in actual ceremonies. Furthermore, the obliteration of the Buddhas at Bamiyan is an example of an interruption of temporal movement. This session questions the meaning of such "layered value history" that is embedded in objects as they move through time.

Session 2: The "Travel Diaries" of Objects

"Moving objects" immediately conjures up the notion of movement through physical space. Objects leave their original locations and move about the world through the process of sales/purchase, conveyance, and plunder. How does such movement of objects differ from human travel? What kind of perspective can we gain from following the traces of these objects? For example, Ido type ceramics, which were miscellaneous everyday ware in Korea, became extremely valued as tea ceremony ware once they crossed the sea to Japan. Through a careful reading of various documents and travel records of these objects, the objects should begin to "speak" their experiences at various locations. This session focuses on objects that moved about, becoming richly layered with diverse valuations and transactions in the process.

Session 3: The Dynamics of Interaction between Objects and People

This session examines the social functions of objects with a particular focus on "context."      It goes without saying that an object's context changes when the object moves in time and space. However, there are also cases when a significant "movement" takes place although the object itself stays in its original location. Such examples include the Seiryôji style Sakyamuni that came to be transmitted all over Japan through copies, and the enthusiastic European reception of Imari ware, which were originally substitutes for Jingdezhen porcelains. Such issues involving the problem of the original and the copy, as well as issues regarding the reevaluation of historical architecture or monuments will be considered here.      Certainly, such phenomena are made possible because we acknowledge a value in the object itself, and it goes without saying that such values are generated through the interactions between the object and that which surrounds it. A few case studies will be discussed in this session as an exploration of an object's nature which facilitates its movement.