| ■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 |
|
Survey on the extent of cultural heritage damage at Aganchen Temple, Hanumandhoka in Kathmandu
Workshop on management and documentation of timber members salvaged from a collapsed temple
Survey of disaster damage condition in Khokana
A field survey was conducted in Nepal from 21 November to 8 December as a part of the “Japan’s International Contribution to Protection of Cultural Heritage” program commissioned by the Agency for Cultural Affairs, Japan. Based on results of the briefing survey that had been conducted in September on the disaster-affected cultural heritages in Kathmandu Valley of World Heritage, the survey this time conducted Kathmandu Durbar Square of World Heritage Site and Khokana Village that was listed on the Tentative List of World Heritage for its remaining historical townscape.
In the Kathmandu Durbar Square, Traditional techniques of historic buildings team carried out a “survey on the extent of cultural heritage damage” and Structural engineer team carried out “3D measurement” and “micro-tremor measurement.” Further, as a part of emergency preservation measures, with regard to appropriate management and documentation of timber members salvaged from collapsed temples,. a workshop on the classification, recordkeeping, and storage methodology was conducted with local experts to transfer this technical knowledge.
In Khokana, on the other hand, This comprehensive, in-depth survey considered the settlement space from a cultural perspective, the extent of cultural heritage damage, the historical development of urban typologies, structural impacts, including micro-tremor measurements, intangible heritage impacts, and water quality. In the case of a historical settlement that has been disaster stricken, people who are disaster victims tend to consider that “speedy reconstruction of their houses” and “inheritance of historical townscape” are two contradictory issues. In order to address this difficult challenge and contribute to developing the reconstruction plans, the survey was conducted by accurately gathering information from the perspective of cultural heritage in cooperation with Khokana Reconstruction and Rehabilitation Committee, an organization consisting of local residents who were highly-motivated to inherit their history.
We are planning to continue the survey and to feed back the fruit to the local stakeholders in a speedy manner.
2016 desk calendar (Front page)
2016 wall calendar (January page “Metal ornaments”)
The Japan Center for International Cooperation in Conservation has been carrying out surveys of the selected preservation techniques that are indispensable for preservation of cultural properties. In this endeavor, a hearing survey on working processes, situation surrounding the work, and work-related social environment has been conducted targeting possessors and possessing groups of the selected preservation techniques and also photographing/recording of actual work sites and tools used for the work have been promoted. As a part of efforts to disclose the result of and disseminate information about this survey, the 2016 calendar for overseas was produced (available in two types: desk calendar and wall calendar). This calendar is titled “Traditional Japanese Technique to Conserve Cultural Properties,” in which, based on the surveys that were carried out in FY2014 and FY2015, the following production techniques were introduced; metal ornaments, Tatara Iron Works, Japanese swords, ridge-end tiles, cypress bark roofs, handmade ramie threads, original yarns for Japanese musical instrument, Showa Village Karamushi-ori (ramie weaving), bark of hemp stalks, lacquer-tapping tools, Assam indigo, and shuttles for weaving. All the pictures were taken by Seiji SHIRONO who is a specialist staff member of the Institute’s Department of Art Research, Archives, and Information Systems. In the pictures, the right moment to clearly show the characteristics of the material and technique has been captured, producing optimal optical effects. The explanatory texts are written both in English and in Japanese. Copies of the calendar are delivered to foreign government ministries/agencies concerned with cultural properties in hopes to further deepen understanding among overseas people of Japanese culture and techniques to conserve cultural properties.
Two visitors from the National Museum of Korea, the Republic of Korea
On November 5, they visited the Institute to take a close look at our equipment to be used as a reference against new equipment they planned to purchase. The visitors toured the Center for Conservation Science and Restoration Techniques, where leading researchers explained their work.
Lecture by Deputy Director of the Center for Conservation Science and Restoration Techniques
21 visitors from the Japan Air Cleaning Association
On November 16, the members of the Association visited the Institute to extend their knowledge about cultural properties in general and learn conservation science and restoration techniques closely related to air quality environment. After attending the lecture by Deputy Director Chie Sano of the Center for Conservation Science and Restoration Techniques, they toured the Library of the Department of Art Research, Archives and Information Systems, and the Performing Arts Studio of the Department of Intangible Cultural Heritage. Leading researchers in each department explained their work
Four students from the Korean National University of Cultural Heritage
On November 17, the students visited the Institute to obtain information on folding screen painting techniques from our experts in the restoration of Japanese paintings for their reference in the investigation of the conditions of Japanese folding screens at the University, as well as in determination of their restoration approaches. They toured the Japan Center for International Cooperation in Conservation, where leading researchers explained their work.
JAL Project: Overseas Invitees Visiting the Institute
The JAL Project (Chairman of the Executive Committee: Mr. Sachio Kamogawa Director of the National Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo) was started in 2014 to invite overseas experts handling Japanese art materials (such as librarians and archivists) to Japan for a review on how Japanese art materials and related information should be provided. Director Emiko Yamanashi and Researcher Hideki Kikkawa of the Department of Art Research, Archives and Information Systems of the Institute were commissioned as members of that committee. Kikkawa visited Germany and Chez Republic to interview the invitees in advance, and was involved in training guidance and study tours of the related institutions in Japan.
On October 3 and 5, he interviewed Ms. Cordula Treimer of the Library of the Museum of Asian Art of the Berlin State Museums, and Mr. Jana Ryndova of the National Gallery in Prague jointly with Mr. Takeshi Mizutani of the National Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo, as well as toured the locations to understand how Japanese art information was handled and released.
Nine overseas experts in handling materials visited Japan from November 16 through 23 to tour the related institutions located in Tokyo, Kyoto, Nara and Fukuoka. They came to this Institute on November 18 to have discussions with our researchers after the introduction of our book materials, photos of researched works, files of modern and contemporary artists, and sales catalogs, as well as relevant projects, at the library. In response to the request from the invitees in 2014, we also organized an “Exchange Meeting with Overseas Experts in Japanese Art Related Materials” for 2015 to offer them an opportunity to interact with persons working for related institutions in Japan. Twenty-eight participants actively exchanged professional opinions in an amicable atmosphere.
On November 27, the last day of the training program, an open workshop was held at the auditorium of the National Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo. Like 2014, the invitees made proposals on the transmission of Japanese art information, which provided us with a good opportunity to reconsider how we should globally transmit information on cultural properties.
“Remarks of Old Paintings” Vol. 26, Portrait of Okamoto Zen’etsu (Source: Library of Tokyo University of the Arts)
On Tuesday, November 24, the Department of Art Research, Archives and Information Systems invited Ms. Hiroko Kato (Research Fellow of the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science) to give a presentation on her research under the title of “Updating of the Visual Arts and Iconography Led by Tokugawa Yoshimune – With a Focus on the Roles of Okamoto Zen’etsu Toyohisa.”
Tokugawa Yoshimune, the eighth shogun of the Edo Shogunate (1684-1751), is well known as an innovative yet reactionary politician. Also in the field of art, he encouraged the reproduction of Chinese masterpieces painted in the Song, Yuan and Ming Dynasties, while allowing the import of Dutch oil paintings. He also ordered the reproduction of old paintings possessed by feudal lords and the sketching of rare animals from abroad. One of the leading painters who reproduced such old paintings and made such sketches is Okamoto Zen’etsu Toyohisa (1689-1767), who served Yoshimune as a painter in the Doubou rank. Ms. Kato introduced the fact that approximately 270 painting examples called Funpon, which had been formerly owned by the Hikone Family as a descendant of Zen’etsu, were included in the “Pictorial Materials of the Itaya Family” possessed by the Tokyo National Museum. Based on the existence of these materials, Ms. Kato pointed out the possibility that Zen’etsu might have played an important role in leading visual arts and iconography by communicating the intention of Yoshimune to the Kano and Sumiyoshi Families known as long lines of great painters. These issues clarify Yosimune’s perspectives on paintings, suggesting that Yoshimune’s views affected the style of the Kano school later by way of Zen’etsu through the accumulated example paintings. After the presentation, there was an animated discussion over the roles of Zen’etsu and his relation with Narushima Douchiku as one of the close advisors to Yoshimune like Zen’etsu. We expect further discovery of works created by Zen’etsu, who actually produced a few paintings only.
The Shochuhi memorial is being restored at Bronze Studio in Tokyo (on November 7, 2015)
A bronze black kite spreading its wings is placed on its back. Referring to the pre-earthquake photos pinned on the board behind, the broken pieces are put back together one by one.
As repeatedly reported through this activity report, the Committee for Salvaging Cultural Properties Affected by the 2011 Earthquake off the Pacific Coast of Tohoku and Related Disasters having its secretariat in this Institute have provided rescue activities for numerous cultural properties damaged by the Great East Japan Earthquake in March 2011. The Shochuhi memorial standing on the site of the inner citadel of Sendai Castle (Aoba Castle) is one of them. The monument was built to console the souls of war victims affiliated with the Second Division in Sendai in 1902. Due to the earthquake, a bronze black kite installed on the stone tower about 15 m in height fell to the ground. Its broken pieces were collected and the main body has been relocated as part of the Cultural Properties Rescue Operations by the Committee. Since the completion of the Operations in 2014, the Monument has been restored as the Disaster-Affected Museum Reconstruction Project in Miyagi Prefecture. In this fiscal year, the broken black kite pieces have been transferred to Bronze Studio located in Hakonegasaki, Tokyo, and joining operations are now under way. Here, I would like to report on the restoration process of the black kite based on my visit to the Studio on November 7, 2015.
The broken black kite was delivered to Tokyo twice on June 3 and July 10. First, as a step prior to the joining process, the concrete and lead inside the largest part of the broken black kite (approx. 5.1 t) was removed. The black kite was filled with these materials to fix the rail inserted as an iron core connecting the black kite and the stone tower, as well as to balance it in weight. After the three months it took to remove them, the process to join the broken bronze pieces started on a full scale. Based on the images taken during the research before the earthquake, the pieces are being put together in such a way as to return them to their original form. Since the head and wing tips of the black kite are crushed, small pieces are being assembled like a jigsaw puzzle.
The construction of the Shochuhi memorial , on which a huge black kite weighing over 5 tons was installed on a tower 15 m in height, was really a feat of strength. According to Mr. Yuji Takahashi of Bronze Studio, the on-going restoration process has revealed the painstaking craftsmanship dedicated at that time, such as fine parts that are now produced with machines were manually processed one by one. The restoration process made us recall the time-consuming endeavors undertaken by the people involved in the construction of the Monument during the Meiji period. These piecing operations will proceed on to the next fiscal year. After the completion of all processes, the black kite will go back to Sendai. On the other hand, however, the stone tower has deteriorated due to the infiltration of rainwater. Although five years have passed since the earthquake, many challenges still remain over the conservation and restoration of the Monument. Long-term initiatives are required.
Self-portrait of Hata Shokichi. Taken in 1910
He pointed the camera lens at the mirror to shoot himself pressing the shutter. His writing on the negative tells that it was taken in Hotel Soufflot in Paris that was a favorite place to stay for Japanese intellectuals and artists.
Hata Shokichi (1882-1966), a sculptor, was a professor at the Tokyo School of Fine Arts (present Tokyo University of the Arts) and Tokyo Higher School of Arts & Technology (present Chiba University), and created commemorative medals and reliefs as a non-regular employee of the Japan Mint and Decoration Bureaus. He went to France as an overseas business trainee of the Ministry of Agriculture and Commerce between 1907 and 1910 and became the first Japanese sculptor admitted to the École nationale supérieure des beaux-arts (National School of Fine Arts) where he studied sculpture. Twelve negatives during his stay in France have been kept by his bereaved family and Mr. Fumio Hata, a grandchild of Shokichi, donated them to this Institute. The photo negatives include those of his self-portrait, him with Yasui Sotaro, Fujikawa Yuzo and other Japanese artists who were in Paris at that time. We may say that the negatives are highly precious materials that help us look at his association with other Japanese in a foreign country. We will convert these negatives into digital photos and make them available on the web.
At the Kumagaya Traditional Industry Passing Down Room (Kumapia)
On November 11 and 12, 2015, the Department of Intangible Cultural Heritage held Seminar II on Passing Down Intangible Cultural Heritage (Traditional Techniques) “Passing Down Dyeing and Weaving Techniques and Regional Involvement” jointly with Kumagaya City. In connection with the previous seminar “The People and Tools that Sustain Textile Techniques” (held on February 3, 2015), we invited experts concerned from Kumagaya City in Saitama Prefecture and Kyoto City of Kyoto Prefecture, both of which give proactive support to the conservation and utilization of “tools” essential to dyeing and weaving techniques, for this seminar. We exchanged opinions on how administration could be involved in the conservation and utilization of “tools” as elements indispensable for dyeing and weaving techniques.
On the first day, after the report on “Protection and Utilization of Tools” from a perspective of cultural heritage by Mr. Shunsuke Nakayama, Head of the Modern Cultural Properties Section of the Center for Conservation Science and Restoration Techniques of this Institute, Mr. Norihiro Oi of Kumagaya City Library gave a speech on “Protection of Kumagaya Dyeing Related Tools and Administrative Involvement,” and Ms. Naoko Kotani of the Traditional Industries Section, City of Kyoto talked about “Projects Supporting Dyeing and Weaving Techniques in Kyoto City.” At the comprehensive discussion following these presentations, opinions were exchanged vigorously over what administration could do, the importance of collaboration among people in different positions, and so forth. The audience also mentioned that it would be necessary to consider the collaboration with other “regions” with a focus on the “region” in which the technique to be passed down was rooted.
On the second day, after the lecture of “Small History of Modernization of Dyeing and Weaving in Saitama Prefecture – With a focus on Kumagaya Dyeing –“ by Ms. Kayoko Mizukami of Toyama Memorial Museum, we toured the Kumagaya Traditional Industry Passing Down Room (inside the Kumagaya city sport cultural village “Kumapia”). The long board rotary, water washer, and steaming box have been relocated with aid from the Pola Foundation for the Promotion of Traditional Japanese Culture.
This seminar, where discussions were developed based on concrete cases on dyeing and weaving techniques and the tools supporting them, provided a good opportunity for us to recognize the importance of conserving tools anew for smooth and secure passing down of traditional dyeing and weaving techniques.
The Department of Intangible Cultural Heritage will continually provide opportunities to discuss various issues surrounding traditional techniques.
Research Using Image Plate Developing Equipment
On November 10 through 12 following the first survey in August, we conducted an investigation into a pair of six-fold screens of “Birds and Flowers of the Four Seasons” (an important cultural property) at the Suntory Museum of Art. To investigate the production techniques and materials of the folding screens, we conducted research using an optical survey, fluorescent X-ray analysis, visible spectroscopy, X-ray radiography and other approaches.
As for X-ray radiography, we obtained X-ray transmission images with imaging plates. For this research, we brought the developing equipment, which is dedicated to imaging plates and were introduced to our institute in November, to the Suntory Museum of Art. Accordingly, at the site, we proceeded with the research by confirming the X-ray transmission images each time they were obtained. These images gave us a variety of information such as types and thicknesses of the coloring materials and production techniques.
We will summarize these research outcomes to publish a research report within FY 2015.
General Discussion
Inviting experts involved in the preservation and restoration of archeological and architectural heritage from five countries in Southeast Asia, the above seminar was held at our seminar room on November 13. After the experts presented their diverse technical challenges over the preservation of historical monuments or sites s in their countries, we exchanged opinions on the possibilities of new collaboration. Indonesia and Thailand, which have many practical cases on the maintenance of monuments and sites , and Cambodia, Vietnam and Myanmar, which have been introducing new technologies particularly in recent years, presented their concrete cases. This was a good opportunity for us to get a wide overview of the current state of protecting cultural properties in historical sites and monuments, museums, and so forth.
We invited Mr. Hubertus Sadirin (Advisory Expert Board on Cultural Property for the Governor of Local Government of DKI ) from Indonesia, Mr. Vasu Poshyanandana (Senior Architect of the Office of Architecture, Fine Arts Department, Ministry of Culture and Secretary-General of ICOMOS Thailand) from Thailand, Mr. An Sopheap (Head of Office of Archeology, Department of Conservation of Monuments inside Angkor Park and Archaeology Preventive, APSARA National Authority) from Cambodia, Ms. Le Thi Lien (Senior Researcher of the Institute of Archaeology of the Vietnam Academy of Social Sciences) from Vietnam, and Mr. Thein Lwin (Deputy Director General of Department of Archaeology and National Museum, Ministry of Culture) from Myanmar.
At the comprehensive discussion, active dialogue was undertaken over how to preserve unearthed remnants of ancient buildings, consistency between new and old materials used for restoration, quake-resistant measures for structures, balance between tangible and intangible values in conservation, issues on management systems and HR, etc. These tropical or semitropical countries have many similarities not only in their climatic environments, but also in challenges on factors of and countermeasures to material deterioration. This meeting worked as a good opportunity for them to reconfirm the continual information sharing and cooperation toward the further collaboration within and outside the region. Communicating with these countries closely, we would like to clarify their support needs and consider more effective approaches for cooperation.
Demonstration of lining with Japanese paper at practical session
From November 4 to 20, 2015, the International Course on Conservation of Paper in Latin America was conducted as part of the LATAM program of the International Centre for the Study of the Preservation and Restoration of Cultural Property (ICCROM). The course was jointly organized by NRICPT, ICCROM, and Mexico’s Coordinación Nacional de Conservación del Patrimonio Cultural, Instituto Nacional de Antropología e Historia (CNCPC-INAH). It was held at CNCPC-INAH and this year was the fourth time.
There were 9 participants who are experts of conservation for cultural properties and hailed from 8 countries of Portugal, Belize, Chile, Columbia, Cuba, Mexico, Uruguay and Venezuela. The first half of the course was conducted by NRICPT. It was aimed to apply the paper conservation techniques of Japan to cultural properties overseas. Providing the lectures on the protection on cultural properties in Japan as well as the materials such as Japanese paper and adhesive, basic knowledge of the traditional mounting and restoration techniques, the practical session was implemented. The practical session was supported by the staff member of CNCPC-INAH, who had learned the traditional mounting and restoration techniques at NPICPT for several months as part of the program. Following the demonstration by the Japanese instructor, the participants experienced the basic of the traditional mounting and restoration techniques, such as cooking paste, cleaning, infill, lining and drying with karibari. In the last half of the course, the experts of conservation of cultural properties in Mexico, Spain and Argentina conducted lectures on the application of Japanese paper to the conservation in the west and so forth. Through such technical exchange, the plans are to conduct similar training sessions in the future as well in order to deepen understanding of the conservation techniques of Japan and contribute to protection of the cultural properties overseas.
FAO Used as the Venue
Deliberations
Representative from the Institute attended the 29th General Assembly of ICCROM (International Centre for the Study of the Preservation and Restoration of Cultural Property) held in Rome, Italy from November 18 through 20, 2015. ICCROM is an intergovernmental organization, the headquarters of which was established in Rome in 1959 following the resolution at the 9th Session of the UNESCO General Conference in 1956. Known as an advisory body to the World Heritage Committee, ICCROM has been working on the conservation of various movable or immovable cultural properties. Our Institute has been contributing to its activities particularly through training on the preservation and restoration of cultural properties using paper and Japanese lacquer.
The General Assembly of ICCROM takes place every two years. As usual, new members of the Council were elected since almost half of its members’ term of office had expired. As a result, Mr. Wataru Kawanobe of our Institute was reelected as its member. New Council members were elected from Ireland, Argentina, Iran, the Netherlands, Canada, Korea, Tunisia, Norway and Jordan, while the members of UAE and France were reelected.
From this General Assembly in 2015, a thematic discussion was held and disaster measures and reconstruction cases were introduced from the member states under the theme of “Climate Change and Natural Disasters: Culture cannot wait!” During the course, the adoption of the “Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015-2030” and “Sendai Declaration” at the third UN World Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction held in Sendai in March of 2015 was also addressed with a focus. We really felt the great expectations of the member states toward Japan in these areas.
The Institute will proactively join these international meetings in order to collect global trends on the protection of cultural properties, as well as to transmit Japanese activities widely.
Students at a briefing lecture on global activities of the Japan Center for International Cooperation in Conservation
Nine students from Tokyo Gakugei University
On October 5, the students visited the Institute to foster better understanding of our latest activities, such as research on domestic and overseas cultural properties and cooperation in the safeguarding of cultural properties, for the promotion of their on-going study. Leading researchers briefed participants on their operations at the Library of the Department of Art Research, Archives and Information Systems, the Performing Arts Studio of the Department of Intangible Cultural Heritage, and the Conservation Science Section of the Center for Conservation Science and Restoration Techniques. In addition to these, at the Japan Center for International Cooperation in Conservation, global activities of the Institute were also introduced by a researcher in charge.
Audience at the seminar room
The Department of Art Research, Archives and Information Systems organized public lectures at the seminar room of the Institute on Friday, October 30 and Saturday, October 31, 2015. This lecture has been annually held for 49 years in order to widely release our accumulated research outcomes to the public. For 2015, two researchers of the Institute and two more lecturers from outside gave a one-hour lecture, respectively.
Day 1 was dedicated to “Amida (Amitabha) Triad of Ninna-ji Temple and the Belief of Emperor Uda” by Ms. Mai Sarai (Senior Researcher of the Department of Art Research, Archives and Information Systems), and “Painters in the 10th Century : Various Phases of “Japanization” from the Perspectives of East Asian Art Historyby Mr. Ryusuke Masuki (Associate Professor at Kobe University). Ms. Sarai explained iconographical features of the Amida Triad built by Emperor Uda together with their involvement with historical backgrounds of the religion centering on Emperor Uda, while Mr. Masuki studied changes in landscape paintings around the 10th century in China read from historical materials, which affected Japanese paintings.
Day 2 was for “Japanese and Chinese Found in Yosa Buson’s Paintings” by Mr. Takuyo Yasunaga (Researcher of the Department of Art Research, Archives and Information Systems) and “Looking into the Landscape Paintings of Ike no Taiga : By Means of Two Paintings of ‘Riku-en’” by Ms. Rie Yoshida (Curator of the Shizuoka City Art Museum). Mr. Yasunaga explained how Yosa Buson, a painter representing the Edo period, was aware of “Japanese” and “Chinese” styles in his expressions, which were mixed and shown in his actual paintings. On the other hand, Ms. Yoshida focused on the paintings of “Riku-en” drawn by Ike no Taika, a famous painter in the Edo period like Buson, which are based on the Chinese theory of painting but which are very unique. She also referred to how the paintings of Taiga as a Japanese “Bun-jin (literati) painter” had been established along with the styles of paintings using Japanese brushes shown in his works and the relationships with people involved in his works.
With an audience of 138 people on Day 1 and 109 on Day 2, the lectures were esteemed highly: More than 80% of questionnaire respondents answered “Satisfied Very Much” and “Satisfied in General.”
Under the circumstance where globalization is becoming an issue in various areas, researchers in art history are also putting more effort into “World Art History” or “Global Art History.” Against this backdrop, the International Symposium: “Histories of Japanese Art and Their Global Contexts – New Directions” was organized by the Institute of East Asian Art History, Heidelberg University at its Karl Jaspers Centre from October 22 through 24, 2015. This symposium was held in commemoration of the 10th anniversary of the establishment of the “Ishibashi Foundation Visiting Professorship in Japanese Art History,” which supports the dispatch of visiting professors in Japanese art history from Japan to Heidelberg University. The symposium was composed of seven panels: I. “‘Making Worlds’ – Imagining Japan,” II. “Global Entanglements of East-Asian Export Artifacts,” III. “Artistic Interactions between Japan and China in the early Twentieth Century,” IV. “Japanese Art and Public Discourses,” V. “Collecting Japan and China in EuroAmerica and the Formation of a “World Art History,” VI. “Contemporaneity in Postwar Art,” and VII. “Japan in International Exhibitions.”
Twenty-two researchers presented their research outcomes, and discussions were held in each panel. Keynote speeches were given by Dr. Christine Guth (Royal College of Art and V&A Museum, London) and Dr. Timon Screech (SOAS, London). Emiko Yamanashi was invited from this Institute to make a presentation under the title of “The art historian, collector and dealer Hayashi Tadamasa – negotiating the concepts of “Fine arts” in Europe and “bijutsu” in Japan” in Panel V prior to “The Origin of Species and the Beginning of World Art History: Kunstwissenschaft’s Encounter with Darwinian Aesthetics around 1900” (Dr. Ingeborg Reichle: Humboldt University, Berlin) and “Collecting East-Asian Art in Imperial Germany and the Predicament of World Art History” (Dr. Doris Croissant: Heidelberg University).
The three-day presentations and discussions revealed that Japanese artifacts and Japanese art history have also been discussed differently in various regions in and after the Age of Exploration, when people, goods, knowledge and information started to move significantly. The report of the symposium will be published in 2017.
Lecture on Dyeing
The Department of Intangible Cultural Heritage organized a workshop on Yuzen dyeing jointly with Bunka Gakuen Costume Museum on October 16 and 17, 2015. For this workshop, we invited Lecturer Takashi Seto from J. F. Oberlin University to focus on “Yuzen Dyeing” as a technique representing modern Japan. Comparison was made between the materials inherited from the early modern times (Japanese paper soaked in blue dayflower pigment, Yuzen glue, natural dyes, etc.) and synthetic materials in recent times (synthetic dayflower pigment, mucilage, and synthetic dyes), as well as their respective tools.
On the first day, the current situation surrounding the production of materials and tools used for Yuzen-dyeing was explained together with images. Then, a series of processes were demonstrated: Drawing a design while making a comparison between natural dayflower pigment and synthetic dayflower pigment, masking with reddish glue made from starch glue, sappanwood and slaked lime, and undercoating with glue and ground soybean juice. On the second day, after learning the differences between natural and synthetic dyes, the remaining processes of coloring with synthetic dyes, steaming, and washing with water were performed. While steaming the fabrics to fix the dyes, the participants experienced masking with mucilage to learn the differences in the masking process from starch glue. At the end of the workshop, the participants discussed the “tradition” that they thought should be handed down.
At this workshop, we could understand the relations among changing materials, tools and techniques through actual working processes, while sharing issues on techniques to be protected for handing them down to the coming generations through discussions with the participants.
The Department of Intangible Cultural Heritage will continue to plan a variety of seminars to focus on diverse techniques.
Dust removing & cleaning operations
Under the Cultural Properties Rescue Operations in Fukushima Prefecture of the Committee for Salvaging Cultural Properties Affected by the 2011 Earthquake off the Pacific Coast of Tohoku and Related Disasters, cultural properties t evacuated from the museums located in the former restricted areas of Futaba, Okuma and Tomioka Towns were tentatively stored in the school buildings of the former Soma Girls High School (Soma City). Excluding large or particularly heavy objects, almost all objects have been transported and stored in the temporary storage of the Shirakawa Branch of the Fukushima Cultural Property Center to be utilized for exhibition after dust removal, cleaning and recording. Due to longer-than-expected tentative storage, conservation environments in Soma City were examined again on October 15, 2015. After collecting the installed data loggers for temperature, humidity and illuminance, we measured the surface temperatures of the walls in the classrooms and insulation board applied on the windows for shielding. We also checked visual inspection of the objects for any damage incurred by insects and mold. Desiccant dehumidifiers installed in the classrooms where objects were stored had prevented the rooms from becoming highly humid even in the seasons with high relative humidity such as the rainy season and summer, maintaining their humidity at 50-60% rh in general from late February to mid-August. This means that the materials were not in a mold-active condition. We also found that the intensity of illumination was somewhat high and the temperature of the space up to 1 m away from the window was easily affected by the external environment. For those objects for which mold was a real possibility, we conducted cleaning operations. We will continually consider how to maintain better environments at the tentative storage sites based on our collected basic data.
Trainee operating a small UAV
The Japan Center for International Cooperation in Conservation has been involved in the “Support for documentation standards and procedures of the Silk Roads World Heritage serial and transnational nomination in Central Asia” promoted by the UNESCO Japanese Funds-in-Trust since 2011. To support the collective listing of the Silk Road related assets expected by the five countries in Central Asia, this project is jointly implemented by research institutes in Japan and the UK.
After “the Chang’an-Tian-shan Silk Road Corridor” nominated jointly by Kazakhstan, Kyrgyz and China was listed as a World Heritage Site in 2014, another application made jointly by Uzbekistan and Tajikistan, and one more by Turkmenistan alone are expected as well. However, there is still an issue to be settled: establishment of a sustainable management system for cultural properties under close cooperation among the five countries. Therefore, UNESCO has decided to continue to provide support by implementing Phase 2 of this project from 2014 to 2017.
From October 2 through 10, the Japan Center for International Cooperation in Conservation in charge of Kyrgyz organized a workshop to improve the documentation technique for cultural properties focusing on archaeological and architectural remains, as well as to prepare management plans for the heritage, in Uzgen, the southern part of Kyrgyz. First, we gave lectures on techniques to prepare distribution maps of ruins by using a GNSS (Global Navigation Satellite System) receiver and GIS (Geographical Information System) software, topographical survey for archeological sites with aerial photographs taken by a small UAV (Unmanned Aerial Vehicle) and 3D modeling software, and high-resolution 3D modeling of architectural heritage, which were followed by a field survey. Then, we simulated the preparation of management plans for cultural properties as group work.
Participation of the Japan Center for International Cooperation in Conservation in this project ended this year. The GNSS receiver, small UAV and other equipment used for this workshop have been provided for Kyrgyz by UNESCO. We expect that documentation of the cultural assets using these latest devices will be promoted further in Kyrgyz.
