| ■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 |
|
Research Materials: Techniques of Hollow Dry Lacquer Sculpture
This research sought to elucidate the techniques used to produce hollow dry lacquer statues of Buddha during the Tenpyo period as part of a Department of Research Programming research project on the Multi-disciplinary Study of Art Techniques and Materials pursuant to a 5-year program that started in 2006. Research Materials: Techniques of Hollow Dry Lacquer Sculpture reports on the results of this research. This volume includes basic data on individual sculptures and images such as X-ray images (black and white) of statues and their internal structures, a feat that would not be possible with surface observation alone. This volume includes a CD version of the Lexicon Database for Color-related Terminology Found in Nara Period Historical Documents, which was part of a research project that took place at the same time.
An Agreement on Optical Study of Buddhist Art and Creation of HD Digital Content was concluded between the Institute and Nara National Museum in 2010 as part of a Department of Research Programming research project on Research on the Use of High-Resolution Digital Images. Results of joint research by the Institute and Nara National Museum on the Five Hundred Arhats from Daitoku-ji Temple are reported in Five Hundred Arhats from Daitoku-ji Temple – Report on a Study of Inscriptions. This volume contains images with better rendering of inscriptions that were hard to read with the naked eye. Publication of this volume has revealed most of the details of these inscriptions and represents a significant achievement in elucidating the circumstances governing the production of Five Hundred Arhats from Daitoku-ji Temple.
Tokyo National Research Institute for Cultural Properties (Tobunken) has published “Phoenix Hall of Byodo-in Temple, the Wall Behind the Buddha Investigation Material List: Fluorescent Paintings Edition,” a report on the results obtained in a survey of the murals on the wall behind the Buddha image in the Phoenix Hall which was conducted jointly with the Byodo-in Temple in 2004–2005. This publication is the third volume in a series, following on from “Phoenix Hall of Byodo-in Temple, the Wall Behind the Buddha Investigation Material List: Color Image Edition” (published in 2008) and “Phoenix Hall of Byodo-in Temple, the Wall Behind the Buddha Investigation Material List: Near-infrared Image Edition” (published in 2009). It is anticipated that these three volumes will provide important basic materials for future research on the Phoenix Hall murals.
Library Catalogue 8 of the National Research Institute for Cultural Properties, Tokyo - Works in Chinese
Library Catalogue 1 of the National Research Institute for Cultural Properties, Tokyo: Western Art – Works in European languages & Works in Japanese was published in March 2002 as part of a Department of Research Programming research project on the Enrichment of Cultural Archives (overseen by the Library). Additional catalogues have been published since, as demonstrated by publication of Library Catalogue 8 – Works in Chinese, the eighth volume of the library catalogue. This catalogue lists about 12,000 works in Chinese at the National Research Institute for Cultural Properties, Tokyo. Publication of this catalogue has revealed the full state of works in Chinese held by the Institute and should lead to greater use of these works.
Conference
An international seminar is routinely held under the auspices of the “NETWORKING OF EAST ASIAN CULTURAL HERITAGE (NEACH),” an organization that consists of the 10 ASEAN states as well as Japan, China, and South Korea. Malaysia hosted the seminar in Kuala Lumpur from March 5 to 8, 2011. The theme of the Seminar was intangible cultural heritage and Mr. Shigeyuki Miyata from Japan was invited to give a lecture on “Documentation and Archiving of Japanese Intangible Cultural Heritage.” Even though some participating states were not parties to the “Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage,” participants were generally quite conscious of the need for conservation of intangible cultural heritage and an active discussion took place. The Department of Intangible Cultural Heritage plans to actively participate in such conferences and publicize its experiences in Japan.
An illustration from “Yokobue Saiku Shiritu Binran”
Results of a 5-year project concerning “Study of the Conservation and Transmission of Intangible Cultural Properties” that started in 2006 were reported in March 2011. The report describes 3 documents regarding the conservation and transmission of intangible cultural properties:
“Yokobue Saiku Shiritu Binran”—a handbook on the manufacture of the Japanese transverse flute
“Gidayu-bushi no Syurui to Kyokusetu”—Records of the Gidayu-bushi of Bunraku, with the categorization of their tunes and melodies.
“Edo-komon Gijyutsu Kiroku”—Records of the manufacturing process and history of Edo-Komon
A PDF version of the document in its entirety will be made available on our website.
A lecture underway
Starting in 2012, Theories of Conservation of Museum Materials will be a required class as part of a university course to train curators. This class requires that students who wish to become curators have knowledge of the conservation of materials with a scientific basis. Although over 300 universities and junior colleges currently offer such a course, the reality is that a limited number of personnel have the expertise sufficient to teach the course. In order to prepare for the start of these classes, lectures on Approaches to Theories of Conservation of Museum Materials took place for 3 days starting on March 8. The lectures were intended for instructors who had been assigned to oversee the course and consisted of 15 lectures related particularly to preventive conservation. The lectures provided information instructors would need to know. The lectures were attended by 81 individuals from around the country, including university instructors and curators overseeing the class on an adjunct basis. Since this was the first time such lectures had taken place, participants praised the lectures but the lasting impression was that many were confused. In the past, involvement with such individuals has been severely limited, but in the future departments that study conservation conditions must play an active role in educating these individuals.
Exhibit depicting a train derailed by sabotage efforts of the Resistance during the War (la Cité du Train (Musée français du chemin de fer), Mulhouse, France)
A sightseeing submersible under restoration (Verkehrshaus der Schweiz, Lucerne, Switzerland)
Precisely aligned automobiles (la Cité de l’automobile (Musée national de l’Automobile), Mulhouse, France)
Road signs as exterior decorations (Verkehrshaus der Schweiz, Lucerne, Switzerland)
From March 8 (Tues.) – 14 (Mon.), the Center for Conservation Science and Restoration Techniques conducted a field survey of conservation and restoration of trains, automobiles, and aircraft in France and Switzerland. The Center also conducted an on-site study of conservation of blast furnaces in Germany. In Mulhouse, France, the la Cité du Train (Musée français du chemin de fer) and la Cité de l’automobile (Musée national de l’Automobile) were surveyed. The number of train cars and automobiles kept by both museums was both considerable and impressive. Train cars were arranged with ample space for exhibits and there was no sense of being closed in, as is often found in railroad museums. Train cars were kept indoors and properly stored. Cars were diligently repainted since this is an aspect visitors would notice, though this aspect did have some drawbacks. Nevertheless, there were various twists in the way exhibits were laid out and the museum is interesting enough to warrant repeat visits. The automobile museum was extremely neat and felt like a museum for car buffs, which is probably the result of the collection being based on automobiles that were originally privately owned. Although the cars were obviously well preserved, many of the cars were resting directly on their tires and marks on those tires were evident.
The Verkehrshaus der Schweiz, located beside Lake Lucerne in Switzerland, was surveyed. The museum grounds are over 2000 square meters and feature a space where children can play in the center with exhibit halls surrounding it. The impressive museum showcases items related to transportation. Although there was an undeniable sense that the collection was somewhat mix-and-match overall, seeing so many things in one place was a joy. Most of the exhibits were made of iron and the museum had apparently taken pains to rust-proof portions touched by visitors. The last site surveyed was an ironworks in Germany. Although its style is found throughout Europe, the facility was extremely interesting in the sense that it appeared to have mostly ceased operations and remained in that state. One hand is used on facilities for visitor safety (handrails, the elevator, and walkways) although the hands are not used elsewhere, a fact that makes the site extremely interesting. Having such a site in Japan would obviously be rather difficult because of the numerous legal constraints and need for evacuation routes in the event of a fire.
Exposed test pieces under an open platform (stage)
The Center for Conservation Science and Restoration Techniques studied materials to restore the Otorii gate of Itsukushima Shrine. The study selected materials for use in a coastal setting with harsh conditions such as high temperature and high humidity, immersion in water, and the presence of salts. Forced degradation tests are currently being performed in the lab and an exposure test is being performed on-site. Exposure on-site began in June 2010, and the water content in test pieces is being measured and deterioration is also being observed, in every 2 months. These tests will continue in the future, and plans are to verify deterioration via a strength test in 2011. Forced degradation tests in the lab include a UV irradiation test and temperature cycle test, and plans are to conduct a salt spray test in 2011.
From March 3–5, experts from the 5 Arab countries of Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, Jordan, and Bahrain were invited to the National Research Institute for Cultural Properties, Tokyo. These experts exchanged information on cultural heritage and the current state of safeguards in their countries with Japanese experts. A meeting was also held to discuss potential efforts to safeguard cultural heritage through future international cooperation via links with other countries like Japan. The Japan Center for International Cooperation in Conservation seeks to construct a regional network to safeguard cultural heritage at locations throughout Asia and encourage Japan’s participation in those efforts. The Center has held international meetings with representatives of countries in various regions like Central Asia (2007), Southeast Asia (2008), and East Asia (2009). The Expert Meeting represents a valuable first step in constructing a new network from the perspective of safeguarding cultural heritage. This is especially true for western Asia, where many of the previous exchanges have dealt primarily with archaeological and historical research.
Lecture
The 2010 General Assembly of the Consortium and a lecture was convened on March 11 (Fri.), 2011. A report on Consortium projects in 2010 and projects planned for the following year were reported at the General Assembly meeting. The lecture that followed was given by John Sell, Executive Vice-president of Europa Nostra. Europa Nostra is an NGO that is active in safeguarding European cultural heritage. Mr. Sell started by explaining the conditions that gave rise to the various cultures in Europe such as multiple languages and complex political systems. Mr. Sell also explained current conventions and administrative policies to safeguard cultural heritage. Mr. Sell then described the activities of Europa Nostra, such as its campaigns to preserve cultural heritage that is at-risk, such as Italy’s l’Aquila that was damaged by an earthquake, and its presenting of Europa Nostra Awards to recognize outstanding conservation efforts. For many years, Europa Nostra has encouraged coordination and cooperation with regard to safeguarding cultural heritage, and the organization’s experiences have provided a valuable reference for discussions of the nature of the future activities of the Japan Consortium for International Cooperation in Cultural Heritage.
Keynote lecture by Dr. Hong Sun-Pyo “Glory and humiliation of Korean art history – Issue of interpretation and evaluation of paintings in latter term of Korea”
Discussion taking place
On February 27, we held the above-mentioned symposium at our Institute. The “Art Studies (The Bijutsu Kenkyu)” (first published in 1932) is an academic journal issued by the Department of Research Programming of our Institute, and the academic journal “Art History Forum” (first published in 1995) is issued by the Korean Art Research Institute of Hoshioka Cultural Foundation. This symposium came about because we have been interchanging with Dr. Hong Sun-Pyo, Director of the Korean Art Research Institute, stemming from his assistance as an overseas member for the editorial board of the Bijutsu Kenkyu. On February 27, Dr. Hong Sun-Pyo first made a keynote lecture, and then Dr. Chang Chin-Sung (from Seoul National University) and Dr. Moon Jung Hee (from Center for Art Studies) from South Korea made presentations. From our Institute, Watada Minoru and Emura Tomoko made presentations, and then a discussion was held. We took up the important issue of “evaluation” in art history and exchanged opinions.
On March 12, we will hold a symposium in Seoul, South Korea (at Ewha Womans University), with the same presenters.
Lecture by Professor John Grunewald, Dresden University of Technology
A conference on Analysis of Conditions at Facilities Handling Cultural Properties and Reduced Energy Use by Museums was held on February 25, 2011 in the seminar hall of the National Research Institute for Cultural Properties, Tokyo. The current problem of global warming requires efforts to reduce the emissions of greenhouse gases at every facility. Facilities like museums and art museums are no exception. Facilities like museums and art museums need to have reduced energy use while adequately maintaining conditions so that cultural properties can be safely passed on to later generations. At the conference, Professor John Grunewald of Dresden University of Technology, who oversees environmental analysis of projects to reduce energy use by buildings in Germany, gave a lecture on Techniques for Reduced Energy Use by and Analysis of Conditions in Buildings in Germany. Dr. Rudolf Plagge of Dresden University of Technology also gave a lecture on Methods of Measuring the Physical Properties of Building Materials in relation to Environmental Analysis. Dr. Plagge’s lecture cited the problem of deterioration of marble statuary along Berlin’s Unter den Linden Boulevard. In addition, Motoe Kanno, Akihiro Yagawa, and Akihiko Ohta of the Shimizu Corporation gave a lecture entitled Techniques for Airflow Simulation to Analyze Conditions at Facilities Handling Cultural Properties and Examples of Their Use. They described techniques for environmental analysis and they cited sample analyses performed during renovation of the Nezu Museum’s repository. There were 50 attendees in total, and an active exchange of opinions took place.
Discussions
On February 2 and 3, the Japan Center for International Cooperation in Conservation held a “conference on international training to foster conservators of cultural properties in overseas countries” at the meeting room of the National Research Institute for Cultural Properties, Tokyo. As a project to “train personnel engaged in protecting cultural properties in overseas countries” conducted by the Center, we planned this conference to share information and exchange opinions with domestic and international training organizations, aiming to have international training more effectively and practically. The Center focused on training on restoration and conservation techniques and developing the capacity of trainees from overseas countries, centering on developing countries, received reports on the details of training programs, teaching methods and also evaluation methods of training results and some issues, from the persons in charge in four overseas organizations and three domestic organizations including our Institute. Then attendees exchanged their opinions on the basis of these.
By analyzing the examples of training conducted, several common issues were highlighted. The major issues included how to manage training projects, how to continue with training programs and how to have mutual cooperation between the programs, and how to share the data acquired from the training. Although we have not previously had many opportunities to hold a conference with such a theme, we will do our best at every occasion in the future and thus help to improve training methods and foster mutual cooperation between many countries.
Nan Dawas, which is said to be the tomb of a king
Discussions with government representatives of the Federated States of Micronesia
Survey of the ruins at low tide
From February 18 to 25, the Japan Consortium for International Cooperation in Cultural Heritage surveyed the Nan Madol Ruins in the partnering country of the Federated States of Micronesia. The ruins are said to have been constructed between the sixth and sixteenth century and are said to have consisted of 92 artificial islands and buildings constructed on them. The full extent of the ruins has yet to be determined, leading them to be called mysterious ruins. The purposes of this survey were to examine the current status of the ruins, determine what needs to be done to protect them, and consider potential fields of cooperation of Japan.
The buildings, made by stacking basalt columns, were found to have collapsed in many places. They may have collapsed due to natural weather exposure and the growth of plants such as mangroves. Furthermore, higher water levels due to recent global warming mean that some ruins are now submerged at high tide. A detailed survey regarding these issues must be conducted in the future and a plan to manage the ruins must be formulated. At the same time, local people need to be made more aware of the need to protect these ruins. Some isles and buildings are said to be the tombs of kings and sites of rituals. The need to protect the ruins is pressing, as is the need for comprehensive preservation of oral traditions associated with those ruins.
Talking with relevant individuals at the Ministry of Culture, the Republic of Armenia
Interview at the Matenadaran
The Japan Consortium for International Cooperation in Cultural Heritage surveyed the partnering country of the Republic of Armenia from February 7–13, 2011. Two experts from the National Research Institute participated in the survey. The survey sought to explore the potential for future cooperation with Japan in safeguarding the cultural heritage of Armenia.
Survey participants visited various institutions involved in protecting and researching cultural heritage such as the Ministry of Culture (Photo 1), which is responsible for the protection of cultural heritage, and the History Museum, the National Gallery, the Matenadaran (the Mesrop Mashtots Institute of Ancient Manuscripts) (Photo 2), and the Scientific Research Center of the Historical and Cultural Heritage. Participants gathered information and talked with supervisors. As a result, the survey identified major problems Armenia faces in the area of cultural heritage. The survey revealed that the country has suffered a lack of capital since gaining independence from the former Soviet Union, and the country also has difficulty training personnel due to the demise of its educational system, which depended heavily on Russia. Although the country has material needs such as the need for equipment and the need to construct museums, it must also quickly train personnel to safeguard cultural heritage. Japanese cooperation in the future should take the form of joint research and training with an eye toward training Armenian experts in conjunction with Armenian research facilities.
An explanation given in the Library (January 17)
Four visitors including curators from the Nagoya City Museum
On January 17, the visitors came to the Institute in order to view conservation efforts and research on materials related to textiles. They toured the Library of the Department of Research Programming, the Audio-Visual Documentation Section of the Department of Intangible Cultural Heritage, the chemical laboratory of the Center for Conservation Science and Restoration Techniques, and the Japan Center for International Cooperation in Conservation. The staff members in charge of each facility explained the work they do.
Discussions at the seminar on research into modern genre paintings
Display of high-definition images in the lobby on the first basement floor
The Department of Research Programming has been studying modern genre paintings since 2009 through a joint research project with the Tokugawa Art Museum. On January 29, 2011, we held a seminar at the National Research Institute for Cultural Properties, Tokyo to report on this research. At the seminar’s start, Mr. Tokugawa Yoshitaka, the president of Tokugawa Reimeikai Foundation and the director of the Tokugawa Art Museum, gave a talk on IT technology in recent years. Ms. Emura Tomoko then gave a presentation entitled “Depictions in Kabuki Performance and Audience” that focused on details in the scrolls (important cultural properties in the collection of the Tokugawa Art Museum) and characteristic expressions of figures that have been overlooked by past studies of art history. Then, Ms. Yoshikawa Miho, a curator of the Tokugawa Art Museum, gave a presentation entitled “Expression in Genre Figures, said to be based on the romance of Honda Heihachiro and Lady Senhime.” She talked about the depiction of figures in the screen” (an important cultural property in the same museum’s collection) and showed slides of high-resolution images. She reported on the depictions, saying that the woman wearing a kosode with crests of hollyhock appeared to have drawn-in eyebrows, which was a custom and cosmetic practice of noble women at the time. Then, there were discussions chaired by Mr. Yotsutsuji Hideki, the deputy director of the Tokugawa Art Museum. Also participating in discussions concerning image data was Mr. Nakamura Yoshifumi of the National Institute of Informatics. Over 110 participants in fields related to art history, music history, the history of the performing arts, the history of fashion, and the restoration of cultural properties participated in the seminar. Following lively discussions, the seminar concluded. Full-scale images of the two scrolls that make up Kabuki Performance and Audience, which spans 15 meters, were displayed in the lobby in front of the seminar hall for participants to see. We will continue to study such art and publicize our findings in the future.
Comprehensive discussion
We held the 34th international symposium on the conservation and restoration of cultural properties “‘Rehabilitation’ and Cultural Heritage” at the Heiseikan of Tokyo National Museum for three days from January 19 to 21. Concerning the relationship between societies, which are often in the process of recovering from a natural disaster or conflict or in the midst of changes, and cultural heritage, we provided three sessions that correspond to these circumstances. There were ten lectures presented by persons from overseas countries and four lectures given by Japanese. Then there was a lively discussion among the chairman and lecturers, covering a range of issues such as which cultural heritages should be restored for people while the meaning and assessment of cultural heritage is changing depending on the social circumstances. A report on the details of this symposium will be issued next year.
Giving an explanation in the restoration studio (December 6)
Five students of the Kanazawa College of Art, majoring in Japanese-style painting （and others）
They came to view the site of conservation and restoration of cultural properties on December 6. They toured the Japan Center for International Cooperation in Conservation and the Center for Conservation Science and Restoration Techniques on the fourth floor, the restoration studio of the Center for Conservation Science and Restoration Techniques on the third floor, and the Library of the Department of Research Programming on the second floor. Those in charge of each facility provided explanations and answered questions.
