Participation in seminars at Wat Rajapradit
Wat Rajapradit (built in 1864), a first-class royal temple located in the old city of Bangkok, Thailand, uses lacquered doors made in Japan for its worship hall. The Tokyo National Research Institute for Cultural Properties (TOBUNKEN) conducts research on those door components and provides technical support for their restoration. This year marks the 10th anniversary of the start of activities related to the repair of the door components of Wat Rajapradit, and a seminar entitled “Rajapradit Pisitsilp” (meaning “The Wonderful Art of Rajapradit” in Thailand) was held at the temple on March 20, 2023.
The seminar included a round table discussion on the background to the restoration project and one on technical matters and the restoration process.
In addition to experts from the Department of Fine Arts, Thailand Ministry of Culture, which is implementing the restoration project, and a monk from Wat Rajapradit, Japanese participants included FUTAGAMI Yoko (TOBUNKEN) for the former discussion and Mr. YAMASHITA Yoshihiko (lacquer art conservation researcher and expert) for the latter.
On the same day, a ceremony was held to attach several repaired door components to the door frame of the worship hall. There was also a tea ceremony and Japanese food stalls on the temple grounds, a dance performance by a dancer wearing traditional Thailand costume and Japanese kimono, and cosplayers dressed as Touken-ranbu* characters, providing an opportunity to deepen familiarity with Japan. Due to the spread of COVID-19, our research and study in Thailand was suspended for three years, but we would like to once again deepen our research and research exchange regarding cultural properties.
* video game with a Japanese sword motif