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In 1930, the Institute of Art Research, the predecessor of the Tokyo National Research Institute for Cultural Properties (TOBUNKEN), was established in the Kuroda Memorial Hall.
The institute was established with an endowment bequeathed by the painter KURODA Seiki, who died in Taisho 13 (1924) with a message that part of his legacy should be used to encourage art. The Heritage Management Committee adopted the concept of an “art library” proposed by YASHIRO Yukio, a professor of art history at Tokyo Fine Arts School. Based on this concept, the Art Institute was established as an affiliated institute of the Imperial Academy of Fine Arts with the basic philosophy of “collecting and investigating basic research materials related to art history.”
The early members of the Institute, led by YASHIRO, conducted research in Japan and abroad from the preparation period for the opening. They took photographs of works of art, and collected reference materials. Research materials from that time are even more valuable in today’s world, where the environment surrounding cultural properties has changed drastically and works themselves are often in danger of being lost.
With expanding functions, the Institute was renamed the Tokyo National Research Institute of Cultural Properties. In 2000, it moved to the current building and became a semi-governmental organization due to administrative reform the following year.
Despite these changes, collection and investigation of basic research materials related to art has been ongoing by the Cultural Properties Information and Materials Department.
In order to accurately document irreplaceable works of art, we are seeking new technologies and photographic and research methods. Our mission is to continue researching and disseminating its achievements and materials obtained from the research inside and outside Japan, in response to today’s challenges, such as the changing concept of fine arts.
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