International Course on Conservation of Japanese Paper 2018
The International Course on Conservation of Japanese Paper was run from August 27th to September 14th, 2018. This course has been jointly organized by Tokyo National Research Institute for Cultural Properties (TNRICP) and the International Centre for the Study of the Preservation and Restoration of Cultural Property (ICCROM) since 1992. It is aimed at contributing to the protection of cultural property outside Japan by disseminating the knowledge and techniques of conservation and restoration of paper cultural property in Japan to participants from around the world. This year, 10 specialists in conservation from 10 countries (Argentina, Australia, Bhutan, Canada, Denmark, Fiji, France, Poland, the UK and Zambia) were selected as participants among 80 applications from 38 countries.
The course was composed of lectures, practical sessions and an excursion. The lectures covered protection systems of both tangible and intangible cultural property in Japan, basic insights into Japanese paper, traditional conservation materials and tools. The practical sessions were led by instructors from a certified group holding the Selected Conservation Techniques on “Restoration techniques for mounts.” The participants gained experience of restoration work of paper cultural property from cleaning it to mounting it in a handscroll. Japanese-style bookbinding and handling of folding screens and hanging scrolls were also included in the sessions. The excursion to the cities of Nagoya, Mino and Kyoto, arranged in the middle of the course, offered an opportunity to see folding screens and sliding doors in historic buildings, the Japanese papermaking which is designated as an Important Intangible Cultural Property of Japan (Honminoshi), a traditional restoration studio, and so forth. On the last day, the conservation materials for paper cultural properties and approach to the selection of appropriate materials for paper conservation were discussed.
The participants could gain a deeper understanding of not only conservation materials and tools used in Japan but also conservation approaches and techniques using Japanese paper throughout this course. We hope that the knowledge and techniques they acquired in the course will be applied to conservation and restoration of cultural property overseas.