The 18th Public Lecture Held by the Department of Intangible Cultural Heritage “Cultural Properties Restoration and Conventional Silk Manufacturing – Inheriting the Techniques of the Silk Textile Manufacturing Research Institute”
On Friday, December 6, 2024, the 18th Public Lecture was held at the Tokyo National Research Institute for Cultural Properties (TOBUNKEN), in the basement seminar room and lobby. From 2015 to 2018, TOBUNKEN had conducted surveys on silk manufacturing techniques of Mr. SHIMURA Akira (certified individual practitioner of “conventional silk manufacturing” a selected conservation technique) and Ms. AKIMOTO Shigeko of the Silk Textile Manufacturing Research Institute of Katsuyama Co. Ltd (hereafter, Silk Textile Manufacturing Research Institute) located in Iijima Town, Nagano Prefecture. These techniques are used for the production of textile restoration materials. Based on the surveys, we published a research report, “Manufacturing Techniques of Silk Textile Research Report on Transmission of Intangible Cultural Heritage (Traditional Craftsmanship)” and an associated DVD (TOBUNKEN Publication Repository) (hereafter “Manufacturing Techniques of Silk Textile Research Report”) in 2021. This public lecture featured those techniques and served to introduce the surveys and documentation project conducted by TOBUNKEN and to share the situation of the textile restoration techniques and restoration material manufacturing techniques with a wider audience.
At the public lecture, Ms. KIKUCHI Riyo, Senior Researcher of the Department of Intangible Cultural Heritage, explained the purpose of this lecture event, Ms. TAHIRA Namiko, Senior Specialist of the Agency for Cultural Affairs, and Dr. BANNO Yutaka, Director of the Komagatake Silk Museum and Professor Emeritus of Kyushu University, delivered lectures respectively titled “Conservation Techniques for Cultural Properties: Conventional Silk Manufacturing” and “Conservation of Silkworm Eggs in Japan.” After the lectures, time was allocated for the audience to view a lobby exhibition, which displayed cocoons of various types of silkworms borrowed from Dr. Banno, five kimono costumes made of silk textiles manufactured at the Silk Textile Manufacturing Research Institute using different reeling techniques and woven patterns, and drawstring pouches made from the same textiles as the exhibited Kimono costumes.
After a break, a video titled “Widespread Adoption Phase Manufacturing Techniques of Silk Textile Research Report” was screened, Ms. AKIMOTO reported on “the Current Situation and Inheritance of Silk Textile Manufacturing Techniques,” and Ms. YODA Naomi from Shokakudo Co., Ltd. and Ms. AKIMOTO joined in a discussion titled “Textile Restoration and Requests for Restoration Materials through the Actual Cases.”
This public lecture gave us a good opportunity to think about the importance of inheriting the current techniques by featuring intangible techniques associated with tangible cultural properties. Our department will continue to publish the research results on intangible techniques and hold opportunities to discuss the challenge.