Investigation of the Hikone Screen
The full-scale restoration of the Hikone Screen (collection of the Hikone Castle Museum), which took two years, was completed and the restored folding screen was exhibited to the public in a special exhibition held to commemorate the 40th anniversary of the construction of the castle. The Institute has held a joint investigation of the Hikone Screen with the Hikone Castle Museum from before the start of the restoration project. After the closing of the exhibition, photographs of the folding screen were taken and the condition of the surface that has been stabilized by restoration was investigated and documented by high-resolution digital images and near infrared images. A report on these results is in the final stage of editing for publication. New findings obtained through this investigation are expected to become valuable material not only for the study of the Hikone Screen but also for the study of the history of Japanese paintings as a whole.