Training and workshops at Amarbayasgalant Monastery in Mongolia

Workshop on formulation of a site management plan

Survey of building conservation and restoration in progress

ditto

　This year marks the third year of work carried out at Amarbayasgalant Monastery in Mongolia in cooperation with the Ministry of Education, Culture, and Science of Mongolia (MECS) as part of the Networking Core Centers project commissioned by Japan’s Agency of Cultural Affairs. This year, expert teams were sent in late June and late August.
　In accordance with the topics covered at last year’s workshops, this April the Mongolian government enforced its decision to establish a protected area around the site based on the Cultural Heritage Law. The protected area is vast, including the monastery itself as well as the surrounding landscape, archaeological sites related to the monastery’s construction, and sacred and traditional sites. Specific constraints such as restrictions on development in the area are a major topic this year. With each team sent, a workshop was held with attendees from the province, district, monastery, and local community in order to encourage efforts by Mongolia’s Selenge Province to formulate plans for site management. Many issues were discussed, among which was the substantial delay in collecting essential information and setting up a framework to formulate a site management plan on the part of Selenge Province. Nevertheless, basic policies to be incorporated in the plan were summarized in recommendations to the province.
　In conjunction with these efforts, the team sent in August included Japanese specialists in restoring historical wooden buildings who trained junior Mongolian conservation specialists in surveys for architectural conservation and restoration. This training is a continuation of that last year and the year before. Trainees practiced surveying a temple building that has suffered extensive damage and they participated in steps from quantitatively determining the extent of that damage to preparing estimates of materials needed for restoration work. Historical structures within the monastery are dilapidated and extensively damaged and thus are in quite urgent need of restoration. By itself, Mongolia would have difficulty ensuring the technical standards for restoration. Calls for technical assistance from other countries like Japan are mounting. Discussion with representatives of the Mongolian government must continue in order to find ways to meet that need in the future.

Facility Visit, July

An explanation given in the Restoration Laboratory (July 4)

An explanation given in the Analytical Science Laboratory (July 7)

　Four Visitors Including Staff of the Kyujanggak Institute for Korean Studies:
　On July 4, four visitors including staff of the Kyujanggak Institute for Korean Studies visited the Institute in order to view work involved in the conservation of cultural properties. The visitors toured the Library of the Department of Art Research, Archives and Information Systems, the laboratories of the Center for Conservation Science and Restoration Techniques, and restoration studio of the Japan Center for International Cooperation in Conservation. The staff members in charge of each facility explained the work they do.

　Four Visitors Including Staff of the National Taiwan Library:
　On July 7, four visitors including staff of the National Taiwan Library visited the Institute in order to view work involved in the conservation of cultural properties. The visitors toured the laboratories of the Center for Conservation Science and Restoration Techniques. The staff members in charge of each laboratory explained the work they do.

　31 New Staff Members of the National Institutes for Cultural Heritage:
　As part of a training session, eighteen new staff members of the National Institutes for Cultural Heritage visited the Institute on July 21, and thirteen new members visited on July 22. Each group toured the restoration studio of the Japan Center for International Cooperation in Conservation, the Library of the Department of Art Research, Archives and Information Systems, and the Performing Arts Studio of the Department of Intangible Cultural Heritage. The staff members in charge of each facility explained the work they do.

Recording Kyo-kanze

　The Research Centre for Japanese Traditional Music at Kyoto City University of Arts has been working on a project entitled “Recording Kyo-kanze” since May 2011. The Centre held a public lecture on “The tradition of Kyo-kanze: What can be gleaned from its records and memories” in February 2011 celebrating the 130^th anniversary of the founding of the university. In conjunction with the lecture, Ms. Takakuwa, head of the Intangible Cultural Properties Section, participated in the project. Kyo-kanze is a traditional Utai (Noh chant) unique to Kyoto that survived until the mid-Taisho period. The form of Noh chanting is no longer practiced, but 50 years ago the Department of Intangible Cultural Heritage recorded Kyo-kanze and 30 years ago the Department used those recordings to help produce records. As the repository of these materials, the Department of Intangible Cultural Heritage will continue working with the Research Centre for Japanese Traditional Music to revive the tradition of Kyo-kanze.

Research on techniques of straw mat manufacture in the Yonegawa area of the City of Kudamatsu, Yamaguchi Prefecture

Listening to villagers and former villagers talking about their lives from 1945 to 1955

　Techniques of mushiro [a type of straw mat] manufacture in Nishi-hira-dani in the Yonegawa area (formerly Yonegawa Village) in the City of Kudamatsu, Yamaguchi Prefecture were studied from July 4^th to 5^th. Nishi-hira-dani is a set of small mountain villages consisting of Nishi-dani and Hira-dani and is located deep in a valley of the Chugoku Mountains. After 1955, village inhabitants flooded to urban areas on the coast, leading to such severe depopulation that there are fewer than 10 families left in both villages combined.
　As part of efforts to promote the region, the Yonegawa area began efforts through local volunteers to revive techniques of making mushiro starting last year. Mushiro are folk implements that had long been an essential part of the lives of Japanese peasants. Techniques of manufacturing mushiro are more or less the same throughout Japan and have been so since the rise of modern Japan. However, the ubiquitous nature of mushiro meant that techniques of mushiro manufacture were seldom properly recorded for posterity. Since the mushiro in Nishi-hira-dani are made for personal use, mushiro are manufactured using the simplest of tools, presumably preserving an ancient form of mushiro manufacture. The current study seeks to revive, record, and carry on with techniques of mushiro manufacture through the assistance of local volunteers. This study also seeks to delve into and document life and conditions in villages that created folk implements like mushiro.

Training Course for Museum Curators in Charge of Conservation

The case study in progress

　Training Course for Museum Curators in Charge of Conservation was conducted from July 11 to 22 (27 participants), marking the 28^th session of that course. Lectures and practics were conducted by instructors from the National Research Institute for Cultural Properties, Tokyo and other facilities to provide curators with knowledge and skill regarding conservation environment at facilities handling cultural properties and prevention of the degradation of different types of materials primarily from a scientific perspective. In addition, Yachiyo Folk History Museum provided a “case study” of a study of conservation conditions on-site. Participants divided into groups to examine set topics and announced their findings. An active discussion took place and questions were asked and answered.
　The training session in question featured an agenda that included a lecture on preparations for serious disasters and practica and demonstrations regarding emergency measures to preserve water-damaged photos and paper materials. Unfortunately, none of the attendees were from the Tohoku region, which had been heavily damaged by the recent Tohoku Earthquake and Tsunami, but participants from around the country were reminded of the affected region and the fact that they themselves could be victims of such a disaster. Seeing participants closely follow and observe lectures and practica so that they could prepare for a major disaster as might occur in the future was quite moving.

Expert meeting for the conservation of the Ajanta Caves, India 2011

Presentation by Mr. Chandrapandian of the ASI

　The National Research Institute for Cultural Properties, Tokyo and the Archeological Survey of India (ASI) have implemented a collaborative project to preserve Ajanta paintings in Caves 2 and 9. This project is funded by the ‘Networking Core Centers for International Cooperation on Conservation of Cultural Heritage Project’ of the Agency for Cultural Affairs, Japan.
　As a follow-up, the Japan Center for International Cooperation in Conservation invited Mr. Chandrapandian, an expert from ASI who oversaw the Ajanta Caves from July 23 to 28, 2011, to visit and an expert meeting was held on the 27^th.
　At the meeting, Japanese experts reported on the status of Ajanta paintings in Cave 2, covered by the collaborative project, and factors leading to their damage. Results of high-resolution photographic documentation of Caves 2 and 9 were also reported by the Japanese experts. As a representative of the ASI, Mr. Chandrapandian reported on the ASI’s activities at other archaeological sites in India besides the Ajanta Caves. The meeting was a great opportunity to discuss how to better preserve the Ajanta paintings in the future.

Study and photography of a wooden statue of the monk Shoshin while seated in Gunma Prefectural Museum of History

　This study took part on June 21 (Tues.) and was part of a Department of Art Research, Archives, and Information Systems research project on the Multi-faceted Study of Artistic Representations and Art Materials and Techniques. With the cooperation of Inuzuka Masahide of the Center for Conservation Science and Restoration Techniques and Hagiwara Hajime, adjunct instructor at Musashino Art University, Tsuda Tetsuei and Sarai Mai of the Department of Art Research, Archives, and Information Systems studied and photographed a wooden statue of the monk Shoshin (a cultural property designated by Gunma Prefecture that was sculpted by Daishin in the Kamakura period) from Hofuku-ji temple in the Town of Itakura, Gunma Prefecture on exhibit at the Gunma Prefectural Museum of History. Researchers had become aware of the statue’s existence following a full-fledged study by the late Kuno Takeshi, an emeritus researcher at the Institute, in which Kuno became aware of the statue’s inscriptions. Some time later, the statue underwent full-scale restoration, but its obtuse and complicated inscriptions remained unclear.
　The aims of the current study were to accurately ascertain the statue’s structure and the conditions under which it is kept and to use infrared photography to discern its undeciphered inscriptions. This study also sought to verify the existence of a container holding the monk’s bones in the head of the statue. X-ray photography was attempted to meet these goals. Plans are to continue studying the statue and present findings and photographs from the study in Bijutsu Kenkyu.

Visiting researcher Chi-chun Liu and convening of a Conference of the Department of Art Research, Archives, and Information Systems

Liu Chi-chun (l.) making a presentation at the Conference of the Department of Art Research, Archives, and Information Systems

　From February to June of this year, Liu Chi-chun of the Art Institute of National Taiwan Normal University served as a visiting researcher in the Department of Art Research, Archives, and Information Systems. During his research, Mr. Liu used the Institute as his base of operations. Mr. Liu specializes in Taiwanese art under Japanese colonial rule and in his current research he sought to look at trends in the Nanga (Southern School of painting) particularly in modern Japan. Although Mr. Liu had to temporarily return home during his research due to the Tohoku Earthquake and Tsunami, he finished collecting materials in June and presented his results on June 29, 2011 at the 3^rd Conference of the Department of Art Research, Archives, and Information Systems. Mr. Liu’s presentation was entitled Searching for the Identity of Taiwan’s Traditional Calligraphy and Painting under Japanese Colonial Rule. This serious presentation looked at individuals with a mix of Taiwanese and Japanese thought through statements at the time concerning Nanga. As Mr. Liu explained, these individuals were caught in the gulf between the 2 frameworks of traditional “calligraphy and painting” common to East Asia and “fine art” as was brought about by the West after the modern age.
　Following Mr. Liu’s presentation at the Conference, Minami Asuka, professor at Sagami Women’s University, made a presentation entitled Appraisal of Muromachi-period Paintings by Georges de Tressan (1877－1914). De Tressan was a soldier in the French army with a fondness for Japanese art, and a number of his discourses remain. Ms. Minami has labored several years to verify de Tressan’s achievements, which had been forgotten. Her presentation focuses on de Tressan’s appraisal of Muromachi-period paintings, and she discusses where he drew his information from, characteristics of his discourses, and their significance at the time. Japanese art researchers from the Institute and experts in French art from other organizations attended a discussion following the presentations, and opinions were actively exchanged regarding appraisals of Japanese and Oriental art in Europe during the early 20^th century.

The 35^th World Heritage Committee

Opening of the World Heritage Committee

　The 35^th World Heritage Committee was held at UNESCO Headquarters in Paris from June 19 to 29. The Committee was originally to be held in Bahrain, but the venue was changed two months prior due to anti-governmental protests in Arab countries. Unlike usual committee meetings, no opening ceremony was conducted and there were no excursions to sites. There appeared to be fewer participants than usual because the Committee limited the number of delegates from parties other than Committee Members.
　The Committee placed 25 properties, including 3 natural, 1 mixed, and 21 cultural heritage properties, on the World Heritage List. The Advisory Bodies (ICOMOS and IUCN) had recommended the inscription of 12 items, but this number doubled as a result of discussion among the Committee Members. There are four levels of recommendations from the Advisory Bodies, and second from the lowest is “deferral of inscription.” Ten properties that had been deferred were inscribed on the List. The lowest level of recommendation is “not to inscribe” a property, and the recommendation was made to not inscribe the architectural work of Le Corbusier, which includes the National Museum of Western Art. However, the Committee decided instead to defer inscription. Since last year, recommendations from the Advisory Bodies have tended to be overturned by the Committee, and this year that tendency was even stronger. State Parties to the World Heritage Convention have complained about the lack of transparency in the process of finalizing recommendations from the Advisory Bodies, but some Committee Members said that the flood of decisions disregarding the opinions of specialists would damage the credibility of the Convention.
　Political conflicts also emerged regarding properties that had already been inscribed or that were to be inscribed on the List. As an example, the Preah Vihear Temple located on the Cambodian-Thai border was inscribed on the World Heritage List in 2008. Since the inscription, armed conflicts have erupted between the two countries because of the unclear border demarcation near the temple. During the Committee session, Thailand announced its intent to withdraw from the World Heritage Convention because they were unsatisfied with the lack of information on plans to manage the site and the lack of transparent decision-making. Opposition arose as to whether to discuss or to avoid discussing issues involving Kosovo and Serbia and Israel and the Arab states.
　Ogasawara Islands and Hiraizumi, both properties nominated by Japan, were inscribed on the World Heritage List. During the discussion, the chairperson of the Committee expressed condolence to the victims of the recent earthquake and tsunami. The inscription of these properties should have a beneficial effect on the recovery of stricken areas.

Survey of paintings in the US as part of the Cooperative Program for the Conservation of Japanese Art Objects Overseas

Survey underway at the Cincinnati Art Museum

　Japanese antiquities located overseas serve to introduce Japanese culture, but these items are suffering from aging and differences in weather and climate, preventing many of these works from being displayed. Thus, the Cooperative Program for the Conservation of Japanese Art Objects Overseas seeks to preserve these works in a consistent state so that they can be put on display. Prior to last year, the program was a project of the Center for Conservation Science and Restoration Techniques, but starting this year the program is being managed by the Japan Center for International Cooperation in Conservation. From the standpoint of restoration, the program studies and repairs artwork in conjunction with art history researchers from the Department of Art Research, Archives, and Information Systems. Last year, we surveyed museums in the US, Australia, and Europe with Japanese paintings in their collections in order to ascertain the latest conditions. Twenty-five institutions responded to questions regarding whether or not they had works in need of restoration and how they conserved and restored works at their institution. Based on their responses and a list with images of the works, program experts consulted the curating institution with regard to how works were viewed in terms of art history, what works needed restoration and what works needed immediate restoration, and what the institution had done in response. This year, we conducted our survey at 2 art museums in the US. On June 24, we surveyed 6 hanging scrolls and 6 folding screens at the Cincinnati Art Museum (Ohio), and on June 27, we surveyed 3 hanging scrolls and 5 folding screens at the Kimbell Art Museum (Texas). This year marked the program’s first visit to the Cincinnati Art Museum, which was founded in 1881 and is one of the oldest art museums in the US. The Cincinnati Art Museum is a major art museum in the Midwest with a collection of about 60,000 pieces. The Museum’s collection primarily contains Western art, but the Museum also has a collection of Japanese art, and many of the pieces are unknown in Japan. The study has occasioned technical exchanges, and the program will continue to encourage consultation with relevant personnel and curators.

Study of the techniques to craft Kurume Ikat

Ikat weaving in the studio of Moriyama Torao, a second–generation crafter of Kurume Ikat

　This study examined techniques of crafting Kurume Ikat, which is designated an important intangible cultural property, by visiting members of the Society to Preserve Ikat from June 27^th to 28^th. Ikat is a decorative fabric woven with a weft and warp that are dyed differently depending on the pattern. The picture shows how ikat is woven by adjusting the weft and warp in order to create certain patterns on the cloth. Kurume Ikat also uses araso, a hemp fiber, to prevent dyeing of the weft and warp. Manufacture of this araso is a selected preservation technique and is thus nationally protected. Plans are to conduct additional studies of these techniques firsthand and their preservation.

Study of techniques to catch Japanese cormorants in Jyu-o town, Hitachi City

Hut on a cliff where young cormorants are caught in flight.

A young cormorant of suitable age for use in fishing

　This study examined techniques of catching Japanese cormorants (an intangible folk cultural property of Hitachi City) in Jyu-o Town, Ibaraki Prefecture from June 7^th to 8^th. Most of the wild Japanese cormorants used in cormorant fishing, a traditional fishing technique now found mainly in western Japan, are caught here in Jyu-o Town at a little hut located on a precipitous cliff facing the Pacific Ocean. Both the technique and the present status of its transmission were studied. The hut had been affected by the collapse of the cliff due to the huge earthquake in March but had been repaired by cormorant catchers before the spring cormorant season starts (from the end of April to the middle of May). In all, 11 cormorants were caught and sent to fishing sites around the country. Plans are to visit the site again in the autumn cormorant season and to study the techniques firsthand.

Follow-up training for Curators Responsible for Conservation

Lecture underway

　On June 27, a follow-up training course was conducted for individuals who had completed training for conservators. The course sought to instruct participants in the latest findings with regard to onservation environment. Under the subheading the Nature of Future Measures to Avoid Biodeterioration, the session included the following 3 lectures:
– Efforts in the event of biodeterioration (Sano Chie, Head, Conservation Science Section )
– Certification, from the Japan Institute of Insect Damage to Cultural Properties, for agents used in conservation (Miura Sadatoshi, Visiting Researcher, Director, Japan Institute of Insect Damage to Cultural Properties)
– The process of combatting biodeterioration via travelling exhibitions (Kigawa Rika, Head, Biological Science Section)
　In light of the reality of the vast damage to cultural properties done by the tsunami that accompanied the Tohoku earthquake, Ms. Kigawa gave a lecture on the subject of Initial Efforts to Rescue Cultural Properties. Participants were then given a demonstration of the “Squelch Drying technique,” which was one of the initial efforts used to preserve water-damaged paper materials.
The training session had 88 participants. Attendees represented close to 15% of the individuals who had completed training for conservators over the last 30 years or so. The Center was pleased to see such good attendance, and this turnout impressed upon us at the Center the need to continue improving ourselves by offering even better sessions in the future.

Conclusion of an agreement on cooperation in the conservation of cultural heritage between the National Research Institute for Cultural Properties, Tokyo and the Ministry of Culture, the Republic of Armenia

Conclusion of the Agreement and the Memorandum of Understanding

　Our institute concluded an agreement with Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Armenia and a memorandum of understanding with the History Museum of Armenia on June 24, 2011 at the Ministry of Culture in Yerevan, the Republic of Armenia.
　The agreement covers comprehensive cooperation in the field of the conservation of cultural heritage in the Republic of Armenia. The agreement seeks to train Armenian experts on cultural heritage through joint projects and workshops at home and abroad. The memorandum of understanding agrees to cooperation in the training of experts in the conservation and study of metal artifacts kept by the History Museum of Armenia.
　The Japan Center for International Cooperation in Conservation plans to begin efforts pursuant to the agreement and memorandum of understanding in the autumn of 2011.

Conclusion of an Agreement between the Institute of History and Cultural Heritage of Academy of Science of the Kyrgyz Republic and the National Research Institute for Cultural Properties, Tokyo, Japan for Cooperation in the Conservation of Cultural Heritage of the Kyrgyz Republic

Conclusion of the Agreement

　On June 27, 2011, the National Research Institute for Cultural Properties, Tokyo (NRICPT) and Institute of History and Cultural Heritage, Academy of Science of the Kyrgyz Republic concluded an agreement and memorandum of understanding to protect Cultural Heritage in Kyrgyz.
　NRICPT will conduct a training program and a program on conservation of cultural heritage with the Institute of History and Cultural Heritage and jointly organize a symposium with the Institute.
　This autumn, NRICPT plans to conduct a program to train Kyrgyz personnel in documentation, excavation, conservation, and maintenance of historical sites in the medieval town of Ak Besim along the Chu River.

1^st Conference of the Department of Art Research, Archives, and Information Systems held in 2011

　The 1^st Conference of the Department of Art Research, Archives, and Information Systems was held on May 11, 2011. Presenters and their topics were as follows:
・ Takahiro Tsuchiya (Research Division, Curatorial Research Department, Tokyo National Museum)
　 A Pictorial Biography of Prince Shotoku in the Metropolitan Museum of Art
　 This presentation was based on A Pictorial Biography of Prince Shotoku in 2 scrolls in the Metropolitan Museum of Art in NY. This piece had not been fully studied despite its significance. Mr. Tsuchiya compared the piece to similar imagery in the 2 scrolls of Okura-ji temple and the 6 scrolls of Shi-tenno-ji temple. Examining specific details with regard to imagery, setting selection, and arrangement revealed similarities to and differences from the piece in the Metropolitan Museum and indicated elements common to scrolls of Tachibana-dera temple and Zuisen-ji temple. A Pictorial Biography of Prince Shotoku has led to a number of varied works, and the presentation touched on issues such as the piece’s relation to other works, the atelier (studio) at Shi-tenno-ji temple, and large-sized medieval depictions of ancient tales.
　 The presentation’s large audience included Kanako Muramatsu (Ryukoku Museum) and visiting researcher Masahiko Aizawa (Seijo University). After the presentation, there was an active discussion of topics like the piece’s relationship to scrolls of the Seikado Bunko Art Museum, the era when the piece was produced, and establishment and continuation of imagery in depictions of ancient tales.

2^nd Conference of the Department of Art Research, Archives, and Information Systems held in 2011

　The 2^nd Conference of the Department of Art Research, Archives, and Information Systems was held on May 25 (Wed.), 2011. A presentation was made by Matthew P. Mckelway, associate professor at Columbia University in NY, entitled The Largest Rakuchu-Rakugai-zu Screen: Conditions During and Deduced Eras of Its Production. Rakuchu-Rakugai-zu (Grand View of Kyoto) on an Eight-fold Screen (private collection) recently made news when exhibited at Nagoya City Museum’s exhibit entitled Momoyama: Time of Transformation (Aug. 25–Nov. 7, 2010). The presentation started off by recounting the piece’s background from when it appeared at auction at Christie’s in 1990. The presentation meticulously discussed the era when the piece was produced and conditions under which it was produced by comparing the piece to works with similar content and in similar styles. After the presentation, attending researchers from the Institute and from other organizations engaged in an active and frank exchange of opinions. The Eight-fold Screen is likely to be highlighted both in history and in art history in the future. This presentation and discussion provided an unparalleled opportunity for experts to share essential information and identify problems.

A study of Yokoyama Taikan’s Yamaji (the Mountain Path) at The National Museum of Modern Art, Kyoto

Yokoyama Taikan’s Yamaji (in The National Museum of Modern Art, Kyoto), X-ray fluorescence analysis

　This study represents joint research on Yokoyama Taikan’ s Yamaji with Eisei Bunko that took place as part of a Department of Art Research, Archives, and Information Systems research project entitled Documentary research on cultural properties. Taikan’s Yamaji in Eisei Bunko’s collection was exhibited at the 5^th Bunten Art Exhibition (sponsored by the Ministry of Education) in 1911 and is an important work that inaugurated new forms of expression in Japanese painting with its vivid strokes. After the work was studied last fall, a variant of Yamaji in The National Museum of Modern Art, Kyoto was studied on May 29. Following the work that was exhibited at Bunten, the variant was painted by Taikan for Hara Sankei, a well-known Yokohama industrialist and avid collector of artwork. A letter of thanks from Taikan for receipt of payment addressed to Sankei dated February 6, 1912 remains. With the cooperation of Ogura Jitsuko of The National Museum of Modern Art, Kyoto, the current study by Miyake Hidekazu of Eisei Bunko, Shioya Jun of the Institute, and Arai Kei, Taira Yuichirou, and Ogawa Ayako (Tokyo University of the Arts) used near-infrared reflectance photography and X-ray fluorescence analysis to examine paints in the piece. A study of the Bunten piece last fall revealed that Taikan actively used modern pigments. Taikan was found to use modern pigments in the piece that was formerly in the Hara Sankei Collection. Although this piece had the same motif as the Bunten piece, some of its colors differed due to the use of different pigments. The Bunten piece is current being repaired and plans are to study it again when it is unveiled.

An international conference on “The Value and Competitive Power of Naganeupseong Folk Village as World Heritage” was held in Suncheon City, Jeollanam-do, South Korea

Discussions at the Conference

　An international conference organized by the Folklore Society of Korea was held on May 12^th as part of efforts to designate Naganeupseong Folk Village (Suncheon City) as a world heritage site. Experts from various disciplines related to cultural properties such as history, folklore, and architecture and administration officials involved in protecting cultural properties participated in the conference. Mr. Miyata Shigeyuki from Japan was invited to give a lecture on “The present state of designation of intangible world heritage in Japan.” Naganeupseong Folk Village is not merely an amusement park but it is a place where people reside. Participants shared the perception that approaches to assessing such a “living” heritage as both tangible and intangible are essential. There was also great interest in how Japan deals with intangible properties. The Department of Intangible Cultural Heritage plans to actively participate in such exchanges of opinion and publicize its experiences findings from Japan.

Cultural Property Rescue Programme　Report on a conference to share information

Demonstration of the squelch drying technique

Discussion during the meeting

　Spurred by the Project to Rescue Cultural Properties Damaged by the Tohoku Earthquake and Tsunami (Project to Rescue Cultural Properties), the National Research Institute for Cultural Properties, Tokyo will provide logistical support via its Secretariat located in Tokyo and coordinate with the Agency for Cultural Affairs and other relevant institutions and organizations. A specific series of emergency measures must promptly be established (in a manual) to rescue damaged cultural properties in a variety of potential situations. When cultural properties are damaged by water from a tsunami, water damage, salt damage, and biological deterioration due to microorganisms (e.g. mold) should be limited as much as possible. Efforts should also be made to devise responses using materials and infrastructure available on-site in order to facilitate subsequent restoration of those properties. Several types of efforts should be explored. Information should be shared with relevant individuals, institutions, and organizations involved in rescuing those properties and information should be provided to the site of the disaster. As a first step, a conference to share information was held on May 10, 2011 at the National Research Institute for Cultural Properties, Tokyo. The topic of the conference was Expanding Choices in Initial Efforts to Rescue Damaged Cultural Properties: Limiting Biological Deterioration as Much as Possible and Preparing for Later Restoration.
　 This conference featured issues raised by Isamu Sakamoto, who was actively involved in efforts to rescue damaged cultural properties on-site during the Northern Sumatra earthquake, Toshiharu Enomae, who studied the incidence of mold on paper immersed in seawater, and Hiromi Tanimura, who studied use of the squelch drying technique as a way to rescue damaged cultural properties during recent floods in Europe. Experts in various fields were invited to comment, notes on initial responses for different materials were provided, and views were presented. In addition, the conference featured a demonstration of the squelch drying technique and sample paintings immersed in salt and salt water. Thanks are expressed to the experts who participated and to the 161 attendees who participated in the enthusiastic discussion throughout. Hopes are that this information will prove of some use at rescue sites.
　　Materials from the conference were made available at the National Research Institute for Cultural Properties, Tokyo website http://www.tobunken.go.jp/~hozon/rescue/rescue20110510.html on May 17.