This paper is based on the results of the joint survey conducted on the Hikone Screen by the Hikone Castle Museum and the National Research Institute for Cultural Properties, Tokyo in 2006-2007. The main purpose of this paper is to consider how the information gained from the "original" work of art can be utilized. This screen had been showing signs of aging in recent years, which necessitated this two-year comprehensive restoration. Our survey was conducted before and after the restoration process. The Hikone Screen is a major example of the early Edo genre painting. In particular, the superb and fine detailed depiction of the human figures and objects in the screens, the impressively rendered ink landscape painting-within-a-painting, and the adroit composition that gives a rich sense of narrative have all been highly praised and frequently discussed.
  The following are two examples of the important discoveries made in this survey. First, in images taken under near infrared light, we discovered underdrawing lines and a total of nine color notations on the garments worn by the 15 figures depicted in the screen. Judging from the calligraphy and its state, it can be determined that the entire six panels were composed by a single hand to convey a completely consistent composition. The detailed instructions given may suggest that more than one painter applied the coloring.
  Next, high resolution digital color images revealed that there are shared details amongst the depictions of the 13 faces in the painting. The size of the adult males and females depicted in the Hikone Screen are either approximately 40 cm tall for standing figures, or approximately 20 cm tall for seated figures. The length from the inner edge of the eye to the outer corner of the eye, in other words the size of the eyes, was less than 1 cm wide. Inside the whites of the eyes, a white dot approximately 0.5 mm each has been applied on each side of the pupil. This characteristic style is shared by all figures in the painting - including the figure in profile and the blind person, and regardless of male or female, young or old. These white dots are barely discernible in a close examination, but change in the angle of the viewpoint reveals the gleam of the pupils rendered with these slight buildups of pigment. This is certainly an intentional expressive effect; but further study is required to determine whether it represents a specific characteristic of this particular artist or it is a matter of the age, workshop or subject of the painting. The results of this survey provide one set of clues to the questions of authorship and style that remain in the as yet little-deciphered world of genre figure paintings.
  Moreover, it has also been said that the Hikone Screen is exceptional within the history of the Edo period genre painting and that there are no other works of its stature. And yet it is hard to imagine that no other works like it existed. Extremely detailed depiction is one of Japanese traditional painting methods. One of the fundamental studies of art history is to be able to carefully observe the details of a work while also grasping its overall image in order to compare it with other works.
  The Hikone Screen has been completely restored at least twice, including this current round of restoration work. Thus changes can be seen from the work's original state and form. That said, however, to examine the painting production process and the state of the painting surface is to press on towards the "original" of the work. Through the collection, organization and accumulation of information on the elements that make up a work of art, we can clarify not only that particular work, but also its position within painting history and the pedigree of its expression, thus developing one element of a cultural properties archive.