The 59th Public Lecture: Look at Form, Read Form
Every autumn, the Department of Art Research, Archives and Information Systems of the Tokyo National Research Institute for Cultural Properties (TOBUNKEN) organizes a “Public Lecture” to present the results of our researchers to the general public. The 59th Public Lecture, “Look at Form, Read Form” was held in the TOBUNKEN seminar room on November 13 and 14, 2025, featuring lectures by four researchers.
On the first day, Ms. TSUKIMURA Kino (Researcher of the Department of Art Research, Archives and Information Systems) presented on the topic of “Considering ‘Inscriptions’,” focused on inscriptions as important clues in art history research, in which she proposed a new research methodology for re-examining Japanese sword inscriptions from the perspectives of character shape and frequency of occurrence by character type. Also, Ms. FUJIOKA Naomi (Curator, Shimane Art Museum) presented her work in a lecture titled “The Paintings of the Monk-Painter Fugai Honko,” in which she examined the work of Fugai Honko, who left numerous paintings in Izumo Province (present-day Shimane Prefecture). Ms. FUJIOKA’s work demonstrated that the influence of woodblock printed books and Ike no Taiga strongly shaped Fugai’s choice of subjects and painting techniques.
On the second day, Ms. FUTAGAMI Yoko (Head of the Cultural Properties Information Section of the Department of Art Research, Archives and Information Systems), in her lecture, “Maki-e Craftsmen Who Went to Thailand: Tsuruhara Zenzaburo and Miki Sakae,” introduced previously unknown aspects of the treatment received by two Japanese maki-e craftsmen who were invited to Thailand in the early 20th century, and their production of lacquerware for the Thai royal family. Additionally, Ms. YAKUSHIJI Kimiko (Visiting Researcher in the Department of Art Research, Archives and Information Systems) presented work in a lecture titled “What Is the ‘Teikan-zu’ (Illustrated Mirror of Emperors)?” in which she examined how the originally Chinese book ‘Teikan Zusetsu’ evolved to become more diverse in Japan, attempting to redefine the concept through the works themselves.
There were 126 participants from the public attending on both days, and we received a positive reaction from the audience: about 90% of the feedback questionnaire responses were “very satisfied” or “relatively satisfied.” Additional comments from the participants further indicated high levels of satisfaction with the lecture content.