| ■Tokyo National Research
Institute for Cultural Properties |
■Center for Conservation
Science |
| ■Department of Art Research,
Archives and Information Systems |
■Japan Center for
International Cooperation in Conservation |
| ■Department of Intangible
Cultural Heritage |
|
Rikuzentakata City Museum (formerly Oide Elementary School)
Inspecting the water quality in tubs used for desalination of paper documents
Many thousands of cultural properties were severely damaged by the tsunami that occurred following the 2011 Off the Pacific Coast of Tohoku Earthquake. Although six years have passed from the disaster, treatment of the tsunami-damaged cultural properties continues in the disaster-stricken areas. In order to investigate the occurrence of volatile organic compounds, which are harmful to workers’ health, we made a contract with Rikuzentakata City and conducted a survey on the treatment methods for the tsunami-damaged cultural properties and on the working environment in the facility where treatments are conducted.
We visited the treatment facility in the Rikuzentakata City Museum, which is located in a temporarily closed school facility in Iwate Prefecture, for on-site research in August from the 25th to 26th. Damaged folk cultural properties are bathed in water for desalination in the school yard. On the first floor, paper documents are treated for desalination in a teachers’ room and cleaned natural history specimens are classified in a classroom. Treated objects are stored separately according to each type of cultural property in the classrooms on the second floor or a temporary installed storage facility in the gymnasium.
We were able to obtain a lot of valuable data about the air quality in the facility and water quality during treatment, helped by the cooperation of the museum staff. Temperature and humidity in the facility are continuously measured even now. By the end of this fiscal year, we plan to propose improvements after collecting data.
Restoration of the quake-damaged outer wall
Meeting at the Bagan Branch, Department of Archaeology and National Museums, Ministry of Religious Affairs and Culture of Myanmar
From July 6 to 31, 2017, conservation and restoration work was carried out on the outer walls of Me-taw-ya (No. 1205) temple on the Bagan Archaeological Site in Myanmar with the main objective of protecting the murals from rain damage. Based on the results of scientific analysis and physical testing of the various materials composing the temple, which had been conducted since FY2016, we re-assessed the problematic restoration materials and methods currently used. We then worked to restore the places most damaged by last year’s earthquake, and successfully completed our task with consideration given to compatibility between old and new materials.
On the request of the Myanmar Ministry of Religious Affairs and Culture, we also made a presentation at the 10th Expert Meeting on Earthquake Damage to the Bagan Archaeological Site held on July 27, giving a report on our activities to date. This resulted in our work being highly commended for its utility in the context of today’s urgent need for restoration initiatives for the Bagan Site, and we were asked to further intensify our cooperation going forward.
In part to respond to these requests, we plan to continue with our consistent program of conservation and restoration, as well as to communicate repeatedly with local experts in order to construct conservation and restoration policies suited to the Bagan Archaeological Site.
Explanation of Japanese paper
Practical work to understand the structure of a folding screen
These workshops are held annually for the purpose of preservation and utilization of Japanese art objects such as paintings and calligraphic works overseas, and the promotion of understanding of these objects. In this year, the basic course “Japanese Paper and Silk Cultural Properties” was conducted from July 5th to 7th, 2017 and the advanced course “Restoration of Japanese Folding Screens” from the 10th to 14th at the Asian Art Museum, National Museums in Berlin (Museum für Asiatische Kunst, Staatliche Museen zu Berlin) with the support of the Asian Art Museum and Museum of Technology (Deutsches Technikmuseum).
In the basic course, 11 restorers, conservators and students from seven countries participated. This course included lectures on the materials used for the cultural properties, such as adhesives, mineral pigments and paper. Practical works on painting on silk, Chinese ink painting and handling hanging scrolls were also conducted. In the advanced course, instructors from a certificated group holding the Selected Conservation Techniques “restoration techniques for mounts” gave practical works and lectures to nine restorers from six countries. This course aimed to provide a method in which Japanese folding screens are conserved using the traditional technique. The participants could understand the structure and functions of a folding screen by accomplishing processes from the underlying work to the application of the final surface paper.
Discussions were held in both courses actively. In addition to a question and answer session, opinions about restoration and applications of Japanese techniques and materials were exchanged.
Similar projects will be implemented with the aim of contribution of the preservation and utilization of Japan’s tangible and intangible cultural properties overseas by sharing information about conservation materials and techniques in Japan with conservators overseas.
Discussions relating to Japan’s Sacred Island of Okinoshima and Associated Sites in the Munakata Region
Wawel Hill, where the Opening Ceremony for the 41st Session was held
The 41st Session of the World Heritage Committee was convened in Krakow, Poland from July 2 to 12, 2017. Tobunken staff attended the meetings and gathered information on trends relating to the implementation of the World Heritage Convention.
In discussions relating to inscription on the World Heritage List, it was striking that many cases were decided to be inscribed against the recommendations of the Advisory Bodies. Twenty-one sites were newly inscribed during the Session, but only 13 of them, including Japan’s Sacred Island of Okinoshima and Associated Sites in the Munakata Region, were considered worthy of inscription by the Advisory Bodies. Some have pointed out that such reversing of the recommendations of the Advisory Bodies stems from their experts lacking a thorough understanding of the dossiers and additional information submitted by the States Parties. Others caution that the Committee Members, conscious of the various benefits that inscription on the World Heritage List imparts, are prioritizing political agendas over the assessment of experts. During the meetings, the chairperson repeatedly voiced his concerns over the politicization of the Committee discussions, but the direction of the discussions did not change significantly.
The States Parties to the World Heritage Convention have a duty to protect the World Heritage sites in their respective countries. When sites are inscribed on the World Heritage List before sufficient systems are in place for their protection and conservation, or in the absence of appropriate boundary and/or buffer zones of the property, it becomes difficult to fulfill this duty. The politicization of the World Heritage Committee no doubt reflects the high level of interest in World Heritage on the part of the States Parties. However, we felt that it was imperative for each State Party to act on the basis of expert knowledge necessary for the protection of their World Heritage sites, so that this high level of interest does not result in more harm done than good.
Risk assessment
Trench excavation and the ditch revealed (created with SfM)
The Tokyo National Research Institute for Cultural Properties is providing technical support to the Authority for the Protection and Management of Angkor and the Region of Siem Reap (hereafter APSARA) to draft a plan for the conservation and management of Ta Nei Temple. From July 16 to 30, 2017, we carried out an archaeological excavation and risk assessment of the buildings (Figure 1).
Our excavation was mainly to identify remains of the East Approach to the temple, located at its front. We worked with APSARA staff with the cooperation of the Nara National Research Institute for Cultural Properties. When we cleared the underbrush along about 100 meters from the Eastern Gate of the outer enclosure to the East Baray reservoir, we discovered remains of a laterite terrace on the bank of the reservoir, suggesting the high likelihood of this location being the starting point for an approach leading to the Eastern Gate.
We first opened a trench measuring 2 meters east-west and 10 meters north-south about 12 meters east of the Eastern Gate (Figure 2). Our excavations revealed a ditch running east-west 50 cm below the current ground level. The ditch was about 2 meters wide and filled with amounts of fine chips of laterite (1cm-0.5cm in diameter), suggesting the possibility of an approach. In addition, both sides of the ditch were covered with fist-sized sandstone cobbles.
For the purpose of finding the rest of this ditch as well as to verify the initial ground level, we opened a trench measuring 2 meters east-west and 2.5 meters north-south along the Eastern Gate and dug down. This trench revealed a sandstone cobbles covered surface that spread out over the entire surface 50 cm under the current ground level, and we were unable to detect any remains of the ditch.
We are planning another excavation in November to determine further details of the Eastern Approach and to identify the entirety of the newly discovered terrace-like remains.
One of the major charms of Ta Nei Temple is its ancient ruin-like setting, relatively untouched by human hand compared to other Angkor ruins. On the other hand, there is a need to prevent further collapse, in part to ensure the safety of visitors. Therefore, it is urgent for support structures to be installed and updated in a planned, organized manner on the basis of structural risk assessment of the overall temple complex. We decided to create elevation maps using SfM and conduct a risk assessment starting from the major buildings along the central axis. We started with two buildings with which we worked to establish the procedures for such operations. This work is currently being continued by APSARA staff.
To preserve the buildings and surroundings in good condition, as well as to help visitors to the area better understand the significance and value of the site, we wish to intensify our cooperation toward academic elucidation and achievement of effective conservation.
Sketch of by Gaho HASHIMOTO (Source: “Collection of Gaho’s Rough Sketches” edited by Shuho HASHIMOTO)
Gaho HASHIMOTO (1835-1908) is a renowned painter, who tries to innovate the modern Japanese-style painting together with Hogai KANO. Mr. Junichiro TANAKA (Ibara Municipal Denchu Art Museum) gave a presentation titled “Expressions in Figures by Gaho Hashimoto – Over the Possessed by Toyo University,” which has not been referred to so much among his works, at the research meeting held by the Department of Art Research, Archives and Information Systems on June 27.
The , where the four sages of Socrates, Buddha, Confucius and Kant are depicted on a hanging scroll, is now housed at Toyo University, but it is a very rare one among Gaho’s works. This scroll was painted at the request of Enryo INOUE (1858-1919), who is the founder of the University and a philosopher in the Meiji period. The four sages directly reflect Enryo’s perspective of philosophy, regarding them as the greatest philosophers of all ages and countries. This scroll has been used for the Philosophy Hall Ceremony organized at Philosophy Hall (Four Sages Hall) located in Nakano, Tokyo for many years. However, there are still unclear points about the scroll, including when it was painted and its background. We are curious about the sources on which Gaho was based to depict the unprecedented motif of Socrates and Kant in the authentic Japanese-style painting. Anyway, it is true that this is a unique work which implies unexpected interaction between a Japanese-style painter in the Meiji period and philosophers of the world.
On-going optical study of the Ryukyu paintings at Okinawa Prefectural Museum & Art Museum
We conducted an optical study of the Ryukyu paintings at Okinawa Prefectural Museum & Art Museum on June 20-23, 2017. In order to investigate the depiction techniques and coloring materials, high-resolution color imaging and X-ray fluorescence spectrometry were applied for ten paintings held by the Okinawa Prefectural Museums and the Okinawa Churashima Foundation. Ryukyu-koku no zu, an important cultural property, held in Okinawa Prefectural Library was also investigated.
Many of the Ryukyu paintings have disappeared due to the warfare of World War II, and sufficient research has not been performed. We have conducted optical studies of the Ryukyu paintings located inside and outside Okinawa Prefecture since 2008. Optical study of the Ryukyu paintings will continue to be conducted in the future and the results will be published. We believe that the study is of great help in deepening the understanding of the Ryukyu paintings.
Damaged Guangfu Junior High School exhibited in the 921 Earthquake Museum of Taiwan
Projection mapping focused on the fault exposure in the Chelungpu Fault Preservation Park
A fault exposed in a paddy field due to the 2016 Kumamoto Earthquakes attracted much attention, calling for the necessity of its preservation (as a result, it is designated as a natural monument by Mashiki Town today). As a good example of disclosing and utilizing such preserved fault exposure, the Nojima Fault Preservation Museum (where the fault exposed due to the Hyogoken-Nanbu Earthquake, which triggered the Great Hanshin-Awaji Earthquake, is preserved) established in 1998 is well-known in Japan. In 1999, the Jiji Earthquake occurred in Taiwan. We visited a museum constructed following the Nojima Fault Preservation Museum with further development near Taichung, the damage of which was specifically serious. The 921 Earthquake Museum of Taiwan works well as a disaster prevention museum, which shows earthquakes with a focus on the effectiveness of quake resistance and quake-freeness by conserving a damaged junior high school building with a shelter constructed as the exterior walls of the museum for disclosure. On the other hand, the Chelungpu Fault Preservation Park is a scientific museum, where an exposed fault section confirmed during the survey is directly exhibited inside the housing. The museum also shows the mechanism of an earthquake and the history of past quakes. Particularly, by means of project mapping focusing on the fault surface, they visually show the history of complicated strata in sequence, which is difficult to understand from the current plane of stratification. Application of such an approach is expected in various fields also in Japan, including explanations about remains at archeological sites besides the exhibition of the strata.
Reporting the outcomes of the project conducted last year at the Department of Archaeology
Measurement survey for the buildings around Aganchen Temple in Hanumandhoka Palace
Under the above-mentioned project commissioned by the Agency for Cultural Affairs, we continually dispatched personnel to Nepal. This time (from May 29 through June 27), fourteen members visited there, including outside experts and additional assistants budgeted separately.
In the Nepal, we mainly conducted an excavation survey around Shiva Temple in Hanumandhoka Palace in Kathmandu (reported in the following title), a measurement survey and photographic recording for buildings around Aganchen Temple in the Palace, a boring survey to confirm the ground composition and soil bearing capacity around the two temples, and a strength test of brick wall specimens together with technical officials from UNESCO.
In addition, we reported the outcomes of the surveys conducted last year to about 20 technical staff members from the Department of Archaeology in Nepal and UNESCO Office in Kathmandu, and presented our project report to the Director General of the Department. We also organized a cooperation conference with administrative officials with jurisdiction over heritage settlements in the Kathmandu Valley so as to discuss the preservation of such historic settlements in the future and the operation of the conference while distributing reports of the Kick-off meeting held last November to the persons concerned. For your reference, the above reports (Japanese and English versions) are uploaded to our website. Please access the URLs below.
(Project Report for FY 2016:
http://www.tobunken.go.jp/japanese/publication/pdf/Nepal_TNRICP_2017_j.pdf）
(Proceedings of Conference on the Preservation of Historic Settlements in Kathmandu Valley on 30th November 2016 [English version only]:
http://www.tobunken.go.jp/japanese/publication/pdf/Conference_%20Kathmandu_2016.pdf）
Unearthed lower podium
Exchanging opinions on how to record unearthed remains
As part of the above-mentioned project commissioned by the Agency for Cultural Affairs, we conducted an excavation survey around Shiva Temple in Hanumandhoka Palace in Kathmandu from June 2 through 22, 2017. This survey was jointly implemented by the Department of Archaeology in Nepal and the Tokyo National Research Institute for Cultural Properties.
Shiva Temple, which is said to have been constructed in the 17th century, is an about 5 meters square multi-storied tower. However, due to the 2015 Gorkha Earthquake in Nepal, its upper structure completely collapsed with the brick-stacked podium remaining. This survey mainly aimed to confirm the composition and the condition of the podium foundation to support the weight of the upper structure before its restoration.
As a result of the survey, we found that the podium foundation was a large brick-stacked structure approximately 180 cm deep from the current surface, which maintained a stable condition. In addition, we also discovered the lower podium buried in the surrounding ground. Thus, there is a possibility that this Shiva Temple may have undergone more complicated processes than originally expected.
During the excavation survey, Nepalese and Japanese experts also exchanged opinions on the methods of measurement and photographing the remains. We are thinking of sharing more technical information between the two countries while continuing the academic research toward the complete restoration of the collapsed historic structure.
Current state at St. Theodore Church
Presentation of case examples at Gazi University
The Japan Center for International Cooperation in Conservation conducted a field survey from June 12 to 24, 2017. During this survey visit, we also held meetings with Turkish parties concerned in preparation for the “Training course on the first-aid of mural paintings” to be held in the Republic of Turkey in the fall of 2017 or later. The main purposes of this past survey visit were to further improve our understandings of the current state of mural conservation in Turkey and also to determine the sites suitable for the hands-on session that will be a part of the training course. The mural paintings at about 15 locations, including churches in Trabzon on the Black Sea coast and cave churches scattered around the Göreme district in Cappadocia, were surveyed and valuable information was acquired to enrich contents of the training course.
During our visit to the Department of Conservation and Restoration of Cultural Properties, Faculty of Fine Arts, Gazi University, and the Regional Laboratory for Conservation and Restoration in Nevşehir that have provided continuous cooperation in advancing the project forward since last fiscal year, presentations on case examples of the conservation and restoration of murals in Turkey were given and we had meaningful opportunities to exchange views regarding the topics of the program with lecturers who will engaged in the training course.
The first training course is scheduled to be held in October for Turkish specialists who are engaged in conservation of the cultural properties. We will proceed with the preparation of the training course so that it will become a good opportunity to consider and realize further improvement of protecting cultural properties from a new perspective.
How a workshop is being conducted
The Department of Art Research, Archives and Information Systems of the Tokyo National Research Institute for Cultural Properties organized a workshop on May 30, 2017, when Takuyo YASUNAGA (a researcher of the Dept.) gave a presentation on research titled the Historical Position of “Hakubai-zu byobu” by Goshun (housed by the Itsuo Art Museum).
After working as a disciple of Buson YOSA, Goshun (1752-1811) inherited Okyo MARUYAMA’s painting style. Goshun is known as a painter who established a painting school called the Shijyo school. One of his representative paintings, “Hakubai-zu byobu (the folding screen of white plum blossoms)” (an important cultural property) is a fantastical piece of work in which a small earth mound and three white plum trees that spread their branches are drawn on a pair of six-panel folding screens to which a coarse-grained fabric made from pale blue-dyed yarns is applied. These screens are estimated to have been produced between 1787 and early years of the Kansei era (1789-1801) based on a technique called tsuketate he employed in drawing the branches of plum and a style of calligraphy for his signature. They are one of the examples that were created when Goshun changed his painting style from a Buson style to the Okyo counterpart.
As the initial step, YASUNAGA analyzed the expressions and materials of the painting meticulously, thereby shedding light on issues of incorporating an Okyo style in a painting on the subject of plum. He then went on to point out that a Nanpin style based on the learning of Buson’s paintings and an influence of Chinese paintings were identified in its unusual background expression on the fabric made from pale blue-dyed yarns. Furthermore, with respect to the use of a quite special base material that appears to be a cloth made from kudzu, YASUNAGA extrapolated the base material of the work through a comparison with some examples that use such cloth by other artists than Goshun. He also indicated that the use of such cloth was possibly associated with interaction between Goshun and men of letters in Ikeda. After his presentation, he was bombarded by questions about the use of this special base material and lively discussions were conducted on the possibility of its identification.
Mr. Douglas Brooks (left) and Mr. Seiichi NASU (right)
Ukaibune under construction
Ukai, or a fishing method which uses trained cormorants to catch river fish, conducted in the Nagaragawa River in Gifu Prefecture is now famous as a representative tourist attraction of the prefecture. The ukai fishing conducted in the goryoba, or the Imperial Fishing Ground, is called goryo ukai, which has an important role of serving the caught ayu (sweetfish) to the members of the Imperial Family. Moreover, the technique has been designated as an important intangible folk cultural asset of Japan. Thus, ,ukai is historically and culturally significant. One of the essential elements to support the ukai fishing technique is the cormorant fishing boat called ukaibune that is helmed by the usho, the cormorant fishing master. There is a fear, however, that the technique of building ukaibune will not be handed down to the future generations, as at present, there are only two funadaiku, or boat builders, capable of building this type of boat.
Under these circumstances, a project has started, in which Mr. Douglas Brook, a U.S. citizen, researcher of Japanese boats and funadaiku, who has experience in building tarai bune (tub boat) of Sado and sabani (small sail fishing boat) of Okinawa, has become an apprentice to 85-year old Mr. Seiichi NASU, one of the two remaining ukaibune builders, and is working with his master to build an ukaibune. The Gifu Academy of Forest Science and Culture and the Tokyo National Research Institute for Cultural Properties participate in this project, the former providing a place for boat building and the latter producing a video record.
The building of ukaibune began on May 22, 2017 and is scheduled to be completed in about two months. Agility and gracefulness are required in particular of ukaibune when compared to other wooden boats in general, and therefore, sophisticated techniques are required. It is a major target of this project to accurately and completely record the technique to help hand it down to the future generations.
It is somewhat paradoxical that a non-Japanese is learning and mastering this traditional Japanese technique that is on the verge of extinction. We believe, however, that recording the intangible technique by positively taking advantage of this opportunity is one of the roles our institute should play since the conservation of cultural properties is our mission.
Research on the great Torii of Itsukushima Shrine
The Center for Conservation Science has studied restoration materials for cultural properties.
The great Torii of Itsukushima Shrine is located on the coast. Since it is exposed to the wind, the rain and the waves, we have to select restoration materials with high weathering performance, which can also save restoration time.
Based on the above, we studied which fillers and surface-finishing agents were the most suitable for use in the great Torii from 2010 to 2016. After a small pillar of the great Torii was partially restored last year, we researched it on May 25.
We are going to observe the progress and cooperate with conservators for restoration planning.
Installed equipment
We have been conducting a joint project with the Iwate Prefectural Museum to determine the methods to stabilize the paper materials damaged by the tsunami in the City of Rikuzentakata, Iwate. In Iwate Prefecture, many documents and other paper materials were damaged by the tsunami that hit the area in 2011. We have already stabilized approximately 90,000 paper materials, but it is still unclear when we will be able to complete the work of stabilizing all the damaged materials. The joint study conducted up to last fiscal year has enabled us to estimate almost all causes of the odors emitted from the paper materials. In this fiscal year, therefore, we have been working on establishing the methods to eliminate the odors from the stabilized materials, and also on a plan to keep records of the stabilization processes to determine how to improve them and what conditions cause paper materials to develop odors. On May 17, we visited the Iwate Prefectural Museum to discuss plans for this fiscal year as well as to install some equipment, together with our co-investigator, Mr. Hideo AKANUMA, in the conservation and restoration laboratory for tsunami-damaged cultural properties of the Rikuzentakata City Museum, which is located next to the Iwate Prefectural Museum. In this laboratory, we tentatively installed the equipment to monitor water temperature and oxygen concentration levels, and also installed surface temperature/humidity measuring equipment to check the temperature and humidity of the laboratory as well as to identify the transfer of temperature inside it. We plan to conduct joint investigations in June and July, each for a period of approximately one week.
Process of shaping the collected brick samples
Installation of targets for deformation monitoring
The 6.8-magnitude earthquake that struck Chauk on August 24, 2016 caused considerable damage to the Bagan Archaeological Zone in Myanmar, mostly to the brick buildings constructed between the 11th and 13th centuries. The Tokyo National Research Institute for Cultural Properties rushed eight experts from various fields related to the conservation and restoration of historical buildings on two successive missions: the first in September 2016 and the second in October through November of the same year. The missions identified the state of the damage in the cultural heritage and studied its causes and mechanisms. The findings from these missions were published in March 2017 as the Report on the Project “Study on the Earthquake Damage in the Bagan Archaeological Zone, Myanmar.”
In this fiscal year, we are undertaking the above-mentioned technical assistance project (subcontracted by the Nara National Research Institute for Cultural Properties) as part of the “Networking Core Centers for International Cooperation on Conservation of Cultural Heritage Project” commissioned by the Agency for Cultural Affairs, with the aim of providing information and technical advice to help improve the quality of the restoration work currently conducted by local authorities, while continuing to examine the appropriate measures to conserve and restore the damaged cultural heritage buildings. As the first field study for this project, we dispatched a group of three experts to the heritage site from May 17 to 25, 2017, during which the group collected brick samples to use for tests, including for material composition or mechanical strength testing, and also started the monitoring of structural behavior.
By taking into account the types of buildings, year of construction, parts where bricks were used, dimensions of structural members, and other factors, the group collected a total of 24 pieces of damaged structural members as brick samples from the six buildings affected by the earthquake. The collected samples were shaped at the site into a form suitable for tests. In addition, to conduct material testing in Myanmar, they consulted with representatives from the Myanmar Engineering Society (MES) and visited its testing facility.
As for the monitoring of structural behavior, the group installed crack gauges and targets for deformation monitoring on the three buildings (two temples and one pagoda) where typical crack and deformation patterns had been found during the study conducted in the previous fiscal year, and then measured their initial values. By continuously monitoring the progress of damage and deformation, we expect to be able to accumulate data over time that will be useful not only for assessing risk levels, but also for developing maintenance plans for the conservation and restoration of the cultural heritage buildings.
Saudi Arabian experts who are being given an explanation in the Performing Arts Studio
Six Saudi Arabian experts
The party visited the Tokyo National Research Institute for Cultural Properties as it wanted to make an inspection of a variety of institutes that represent Japan. The Head of the Department of Intangible Cultural Heritage gave them an explanation of our work.
A highly detailed color digital image filming of the Painting of “Sahasrabhuja” or “Senju-kannon”
The Department of Art Research, Archives and Information Systems of the Tokyo National Research Institute for Cultural Properties (TNRICP) has continuously conducted joint research with Tokyo National Museum (TNM) on Buddhist paintings in the Heian era housed by the TNM to date. We have taken pictures of a piece of work a year by employing highly detailed digital image technology that the TNRICP has and accumulated data that allow you to identify techniques in details. Starting in this fiscal year, the parties signed a memorandum titled “Joint Research on Buddhist Art through Optical Surveys” to launch a joint research project anew. In the new project, we will employ multiple optical methods ranging from near infrared image to luminescence image, to X-ray fluorescence spectrometry of pigments and X-ray image. These data enable you to identify unexpected techniques that have yet to be noticed visually from various perspectives and researchers of both institutions will jointly look into how they are associated with sophisticated painterly expressions represented by Buddhist paintings in the Heian era. On April 27th, 2017, we performed a color split filming of the whole picture of the national treasures: the Painting of “Mahamayuri” or “Kujaku-myo-o” and the Painting of “Sahasrabhuja” or “Senju-kannon.” The image data obtained thereby will be shared with researchers of the TNM and both parties will study its significance in an art historic sense and make preparations for making it pubic down the road.
A scene of the venue of the Japan World Exposition (Osaka, 1970)
“Oishii seikatsu” (delicious life) is an advertising catchphrase hammered out by Seibu Department Store in 1982. While a high-speed growth era in which people sought material affluence was brought to end, in an era represented by this catchphrase where people try to build an individualistic lifestyle, how did artists respond to the trend? At a workshop organized by the Department of Art Research, Archives and Information Systems of the Tokyo National Research Institute for Cultural Properties (TNRICP) on April 25th, 2017, Ms. Midori YAMAMURA (Special Researcher of the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science) gave a presentation titled “‘Oishii seikatsu’: Look at Japanese culture in the transitional stage to the tertiary industry,” which was an attempt to explore the society and the origin of culture in the 1980s.
According to Ms. YAMAMURA, artists who emerged from the end of the 1980s to the 1990s were greatly influenced by the Japan World Exposition held in Osaka in 1970. Artists participated in the World Expo, which excited enthusiasm in a great many Japanese people, through designing pavilions or exhibiting a piece of art. Meanwhile, those contemporary artists who were critical of the event’s stance of accepting the information industry or urbanization ended up becoming further alienated from people at large. A younger generation of artists, however, began conducting production activities by snuggling up to an everyday sense of ordinary people in the city. It is safe to say that the “Saison culture” based on a cultural strategy spelled out by the Saison Group, a distribution powerhouse centered on Seibu Department Store, which disseminated art, music, play or cinema that was in the forefront of the era between the 1970s and 1980s, played a role in fostering those artists’ flexible sensitivity.
The workshop invited Mr. Yuji MAEYAMA of the Museum of Modern Art, Saitama, who made a remark on the cultural context in the 1970s to 1980s. Due in part to the fact that many participants underwent the same era, opinions and views were exchanged passionately, going beyond the framework of specialty. The content of the presentation is scheduled to be complied in the First Chapter of the book titled Japanese Contemporary Art After 1989 to be published by REAKTION BOOKS.
Intangible Cultural Assets and Disaster Prevention – Risk Management and Restoration Support
A report by the 11th Conference on the Study of Intangible Folk Cultural Properties organized on December 9th, 2016 was published at the end of March. This year’s subject is “Intangible Cultural Heritage and Disaster Prevention – Risk Management and Restoration Support.” We shared efforts and initiatives and discussed what preparations are effective to protect intangible cultural heritages from disasters that have occurred frequently in recent years, or what support can be provided after they are hit by these natural disasters.
Even without disasters, intangible cultural heritages are constantly at risk of extinction. These disaster prevention efforts and initiatives can be expected to lead to preparations for day-to-day risks of extinction or decline due in part to the falling birthrate and the aging of population or the modernization of lifestyles.
the PDF version can be downloaded from the website of the Department of Intangible Cultural Heritage.
