2026 Training Course for Museum Curators in Charge of Conservation (Advanced Course)
The “Training Course for Museum Curators in Charge of Conservation (Advanced Course) in 2026” was held from July 6 to 10. This training course, which has been held annually at the Tokyo National Research Institute for Cultural Properties (TOBUNKEN) since 1984, was reorganized into a “Basic Course” and an “Advanced Course” in 2021, with the aim of enabling curators in charge of conservation at museums to acquire a wide range of knowledge and skills necessary for their work, from basic to advanced.
The “Basic Course,” conducted by the National Center for the Promotion of Cultural Properties, is designed to provide curators in charge of the conservation environment of museums with a wide range of knowledge and skills.
The “Advanced Course” covers not only the conservation environment, but also general conservation of cultural properties, and is conducted by the Center for Conservation Science. In the 2026 Advanced Course, lectures and practical training based on research results in various fields were conducted by the Center for Conservation Science, and lectures on the conservation and restoration of various cultural properties and cultural property rescue were provided by external lecturers.
The themes covered in the Advanced Course in 2026 were as follows:
・Theory of restoration of cultural properties
・Scientific investigation of cultural properties
・Theory and discuss of storage environment
・Introduction and practice of Integrated Pest Management (IPM) for cultural properties
・Types and characteristics of restoration materials
・Deterioration and conservation of outdoor materials
・Protection of heritage of modernization
・Conservation and restoration of various cultural properties
・Disaster prevention in museums
・Conservation and restoration of folk artifacts
・Preservation of large volumes of documents, and countermeasures against deterioration
・Conservation and restoration of works on paper
・Preservation and management of photographs
We received positive feedback from participants, including comments such as: “It may seem basic, but it reminded me of how important preservation of philosophy is. I now want to discuss and establish our library’s/museum’s policy with the whole team.” Another participant noted, “Fortunately, we do not have any materials requiring restoration at the moment. However, this training helped me understand the importance of carefully examining our approach, purpose, and the scope of restoration before actually starting any work.” A third comment highlighted the value of the session, stating, “It was highly meaningful, as I could reconfirm basic knowledge and theories, while also learning about the challenges and practical examples of other institutions.“ These responses show that the training served as an excellent opportunity for participants to rethink preservation and restoration at their own organizations. While the training achieved high satisfaction overall, some participants requested more practical workshops and specific solutions for real-world issues. We plan to incorporate this feedback into next year’s program.