| ■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 |
|
Training on packaging relics of various materials and shapes
Training on transporting a heavy object
The Japan Center for International Cooperation in Conservation continues to cooperate with the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), which is conducting a technical support project for establishing and operating the Conservation Center of the Grand Egyptian Museum.
As part of this project, JICA dispatched four instructors from Nippon Express to Egypt from July 3 to 19, and held training on packing for transport in the Conservation Center. This was the second time this training had been held, following the one-week training for seven invited Egyptian conservation specialists that was conducted in the National Institute for Cultural Properties, Tokyo, last October.
We used as many locally procured materials and educational tools as possible and executed on-the-job training, using the latest equipment transported from Japan, in addition to the equipment installed in the Conservation Center. The objects to be packed in the training ranged from small ones to heavy ones weighing about 200 kg, and we used not only replicas but also real relics. The training included robust packing for transport from an external storage site or museum to the Conservation Center, loading and unloading them to and from a vehicle for transport and simple packing for transport between laboratories within the Center and activities during transport. As in the previous training, we also paid attention to conveying the Japanese mentality of being committed to work with a love of relics, in addition to transferring techniques. We hope that the trainees who learned the packing techniques and the spirit of these training sessions will work carefully and speedily when actually packing items for transport.
We will proceed to offer cooperation in effective capacity development that is suitable for the individual levels of specialists, aiming for full-scale operation of the Center.
Member countries’ chairperson seats at the Meeting of World Heritage Committee
The 34th session of the World Heritage Committee was held from July 26 to August 3 in Brasilia, a city that is commemorating its 50th anniversary this year. (Currently, Japan is an observer, not a committee member.) It was conspicuous in this session that despite the recommendations of the advisory bodies for enquiring about information or putting off nominations in the World Heritage List, many cases were decided to be nominated. Some committee members stated that the professional opinions of advisory bodies should be respected and the reliability of the List should be taken into account. However, we got the impression that many countries had complaints and were dissatisfied with the opacity of advisory bodies and the decrease in nomination recommendation rate. Meanwhile, the conservation state report exposed multiple territorial disputes in lands that contain heritage sites listed as World Heritages.
It can be said that the system related to World Heritage is approaching a turning point regardless of whether the heritages are already listed or newly nominated. We believe Japan has a lot to do toward the 40th anniversary, in two years’ time, of the Convention concerning the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage, such as proposing solutions.
We participated in the 6th Cultural Heritage East Asian Network assembly held in Solo, Indonesia, at the request of the Agency for Cultural Affairs. In the assembly, representatives of ASEAN countries and three countries in East Asia (Japan, China and South Korea) participated and reported on projects developed by ASEAN countries. The Japan Center for International Cooperation in Conservation made a report on the survey on restoration of damaged cultural heritage, conducted in 2009. This was conducted in the framework of the project of Japan Consortium for International Cooperation in Cultural Heritage, and commissioned by the Agency for Cultural Affairs. Responding to our report, the participating countries indicated their hope for actively surveying cultural heritage, and holding workshops and meetings in the future.
From South Korea, the director of the Cultural Heritage Conservation Science Center of National Research Institute of Cultural Heritage participated, and the 7th assembly will be held in South Korea. It is conceivable that the importance of the assembly will further increase in the future to deepen the relationship between ASEAN and East Asian countries.
A meeting of the Institute Survey and Research Division of the Evaluation Committee of an independent administrative institution, the National Institutes for Cultural Heritage, was held at the National Research Institute for Cultural Properties, Tokyo on April 21. In addition, the general assembly of that committee was held at the Tokyo National Museum on June 3. The former is a session in which the Evaluation Committee members comment on the self-evaluation of the activities conducted in fiscal year 2009 by the National Research Institute for Cultural Properties, Tokyo and Nara. And the latter is a session in which feedback is given on the overall activities, including the surveys, research, and finances of the Institutes. A total of 41 activities are targeted for the self-evaluation of the National Research Institute for Cultural Properties, Tokyo. According to this self-evaluation, the Institute judged that the annual plans for fiscal year 2009 were fully achieved for all activities, and sufficient results were shown, so the mid-term plans are being achieved. The Evaluation Committee members gave the following comments about the activities of both the Tokyo and Nara Institutes:
1. Both Institutes have achieved sufficient results in the fundamental research on cultural properties including the research on intangible cultural heritage, and the advanced and developmental research on conservation and restoration, thereby contributing to national administration for cultural properties.
2. The Institutes are energetically involved in international cooperation for the protection of cultural properties in East Asian areas and West Asia. The Institute researchers are requested to make efforts so that the fruits of their activities are widely made known to the people of Japan and partner countries.
3. Individual investigation research projects have produced many excellent results, and they should be made known to people in a way that is easier for the general public to understand and also in an integrally summarized manner.
4. The researchers are requested to actively tackle research transcending sections or genres, research that is collaboratively conducted by both the Tokyo and Nara Institutes, joint research of cultural property institutes and museums, and research making use of the characteristics of independent administrative institutions.
We also received a great number of other opinions. We will use the results of the self-evaluation and opinions of the Evaluation Committee members in planning future activities and improving corporative management.
Mr. Sato Tamotsu and Mizubasho (Skunk Cabbage) Mandala presented on 22nd Chikyukai exhibition (1978)
The Department of Research Programming received a donation of part of the materials owned by Mr. Sato Tamotsu, a Japanese-style painter, who died in 2004, from his wife Ms. Kiyoko. He broke new ground in postwar Japanese-style painting with his series of Mizubasho (Skunk cabbage) Mandala paintings that abstractly express skunk cabbages using bold circular arcs with sumi (Indian ink) lines. The donated materials include art journals and catalogs of the art group Chikyukai he set up with his colleagues in 1957 and various art groups. They have been delivered to the Institute, and we will organize the precious materials of postwar Japanese art so that they can be browsed and utilized.
Listening at the survey on important intangible cultural property at the inheriting hall (Ms. Han Sang Soo, an important intangible cultural property holder in embroidery)
Mr. Hyoki of the Department of Intangible Cultural Heritage visited the Division of Folklore and Folklife of the National Research Institute of Cultural Heritage, Korea from June 28 to July 8. His visit was in the framework of exchange between Japan and Korea on research related to conserving intangible cultural heritage. He received training on how to protect intangible cultural heritage in South Korea. In the past two years, training sessions and surveying had been conducted on the status of archiving the records on intangible cultural heritage in Korea. This year, we investigated the way the Cultural Heritage Administration of Korea is performing intensive data management on the recordings produced by the relevant organizations. We also examined the guidelines on creating standard data of cultural property recording projects. We carried out our investigations by listening to the people involved. We also conducted a survey on the current status and issues of the inheriting instructor system that is a feature of the system for protecting intangible cultural properties in Korea. We listened to the Cultural Heritage Administration of Korea and the holder of intangible cultural property (conservation society of Pilbong peasant music).
Lecture at seminar meeting
Observing many glues
The Technical Standard Section of the Center for Conservation Science and Restoration Techniques held a seminar with the title Glue – (I) at a meeting room of the Institute on June 21 (Monday). There are many kinds of glue materials, and glues are traditional adhesives that have been widely used throughout the ages all over the world including Japan. At present the production of traditional Japanese glue (nikawa) is rare and there are many unclear points regarding its current status, including its physical properties. Against this background, Ms. Hayakawa Noriko, a researcher of the Center, outlined the physical properties of glues as restoration materials. This was followed by a speech given by Ms. Yamamoto Noriko of the Association for Conservation of National Treasures on the subject how to use glues for restoration and conservation from her viewpoint as a restoration engineer. Mr. Seki Izuru, professor of the Tokyo National University of Fine Arts and Music, gave a lecture on the achievements of studies on materials from his standpoint as a painter. Finally, Mr. Morita Tsuneyuki, the professor of the Aichi Prefectural University of Fine Arts and Music, who once interviewed on the production of glues when he was a professor at the National Museum Ethnology, Osaka, gave an explanation on the glue production processes with documents. The lecturers’ speeches were persuasive because they were on subjects that the lecturers had studied throughout their long carriers; we also had an opportunity to observe many types of glue brought to the meeting room by Professor Seki Izuru, making the seminar a great success.
Lecture by Mr. Mabuchi, a visiting researcher
On June 21, we held the training course shown above, intended to transfer the latest knowledge and findings related to the conservation environment to trainees who have completed the seminar course for curators engaged in conservation. First, Mr. Yoshida, a senior researcher of the Institute, introduced the latest technological trends regarding white LEDs, which have recently seen a rapid increase in their popularity, from the viewpoint of preventing global warming. Then, Ms. Nishida Hiroko, the Deputy Director of the Nezu Museum, gave a lecture during which she brought some LEDs into the exhibition room, taking advantage of the construction of the museum. Following the lecture, Mr. Mabuchi Hajime, a visiting researcher of the Center, gave a lecture on the method of conducting microbial surveys in cultural facilities, which is his subject of research, and Ms. Sano, the head of the conservation science section, explained how to examine organic acid emitted from wood. Because the lectures for this training session covered topics that many cultural facilities have deep concerns about, approximately 100 people participated, more than in past years. At annual follow-up training sessions we will meet the needs of curators and provide them with the latest important information.
IPM practical training
The Japan Center for International Cooperation in Conservation has been continuing to cooperate in the technical support project of the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) to establish and operate the Conservation Center in Egypt, an affiliated organization of the Grand Egyptian Museum.
As part of this project, three Japanese conservation specialists were dispatched to the local site from May 14 to 22, and IPM training took place at the Conservation Center. IPM stands for Integrated Pest Management, and it indicates here integrated management for preventing harmful organisms from damaging cultural properties. Before this training, the staff of the Conservation Center had little idea about IPM, but its concept has led to the continuous management activities of Egyptian staff such as their own monitoring after training. On June 14, the opening ceremony of the Conservation Center took place with the attendance of Ms. Susan Mubarak, the first lady of Egypt. There are currently more than 120 Center employees and restoration specialists, and a further increase in this number is being examined. Thousands of relics have already been brought to the Center, and restoration and conservation work has started gradually. We will continuously move forward with effective cooperation in capacity development that is suitable for the various levels of the individual specialists, aiming for full-scale operation of the Center in the future.
Entire view of Goreme National Park
Restored El Nazar Church
In the framework of the Cooperative Project for the Conservation and Restoration of Cultural Heritage in West Asia, from June 19 to 29, the Japan Center for International Cooperation in Conservation conducted a basic survey on the mural paintings of cave churches scattered around Cappadocia, Turkey, for which international conservation and restoration support is planned.
We investigated the conservation status of approximately 20 sites, such as cave churches with mural paintings done from the 9th to the 13th centuries, around the Goreme National Park, Cavusin, Zelve Valley, and Ortahisar area. Together with the local conservation specialists and the international conservation experts invited by UNESCO, we investigated not only the mural paintings but also the rocks and geological conditions of the caves where they were painted, discussed the future monitoring methods, and gave some advice on future conservation and restoration.
Forming new support
Mounting mural painting fragment on support
The Japan Center for International Cooperation in Conservation conducted the eighth mission for Conservation and Restoration of Mural Painting Fragments in the collection of the National Museum of Antiquities of Tajikistan. This was part of an exchange program commissioned by the Agency for Cultural Affairs, from May 16 to June 22. The mural paintings were originally stable since they were on the walls of a building. Exhibiting them in a museum requires support in place of the wall surfaces. In the 8th mission, we decreased the weight of the support and also tried not to place any burden on the mural painting fragments when mounting them. The Tajik trainees mounted two mural painting fragments, excavated from the Buddhist temple ruins of the Kofir kara site, on the supports, following the instructions of Japanese restoration specialists, and exhibited them in a museum. The Tajik trainees actively tackled the task of forming new supports and mounting the mural painting fragments.
In the 9th mission, we will mount the mural painting fragments excavated from the Kara-i Kahkaha I site. During the period of this next mission, we will also hold a workshop on mounting mural painting fragments.
The above meeting (ICC) was held in Siem Reap, Cambodia, from June 8 to 9, and activity reports were given by specialists in various fields from Cambodia and other countries who work around the Angkor Site. Our Institute reported on its investigation on the influence of plants on stones at the Ta Nei site.
Recently, ICC has been concerned with how the ambient environment and plants are related to the deterioration of stones, but they are understood in an extremely simple manner, i.e., the idea that “no trees at site must be cut down since that will cause the stones to deteriorate”. A rush to obtain results may lead to conservation processes being conducted based only on the track records of researchers’ home countries. We ended the presentation by pointing out the need to conduct long-term investigations at local sites for such an issue that is closely associated with the environment, and gain the understanding of teams from other countries that are conducting similar investigations.
From left of front row: Mr. Nakano, our Deputy Director General , Mr. Jacques Giès, Director of Guimet Museum, Mr. Kamei, our Director General and Mr. Shimizu, Director of Japan Center for International Cooperation in Conservation
On May 24, 2010, a memorandum on cooperation in research and exchange was concluded between the Guimet Museum in France and the National Research Institute for Cultural Properties, Tokyo. The purpose of this memorandum is to strengthen and promote cooperation in research and exchange on the investigation, research, conservation and restoration of cultural properties for the Guimet Museum and the Institute. This will be achieved by exchanging researchers, jointly conducting academic activities, jointly holding symposiums and swapping scientific data. On that day, we welcomed Mr. Jacques Giès and Ms. Omoto, the Director and the counsel of Guimet Museum, to the Institute, and had a signature ceremony, where Mr. Jacques Giès and Mr. Kamei, the Director General of the Institute, signed the memorandum in the presence of staff members of the Institute.
Exhibition
From May 11 (Tuesday) to 23 (Sunday), we displayed art objects that had returned to their homeland of Japan and whose restoration had been completed by the domestic craft centers at the end of 2009, in the planning exhibition room on the first floor of the Heiseikan of Tokyo National Museum. The exhibition took place under the title “Special display: Restoration of Japanese Art Objects Overseas”, and also had the purpose of making publicly known the achievements of the Cooperative Program for the Conservation of Japanese Art Objects Overseas.
Three art objects were displayed in the above exhibition – Folding screen of Kabuki Acrobatic Performance and Audience owned by the Ashmolean Museum (UK), Wakaura Gold-Lacquered Shogi Board owned by the Cologne Museum of East Asian Art (Germany), and Incense Shelves with Makie Decoration of the Eight Views of Lake Biwa owned by Museum Velké Meziucí (Czech Republic). This kind of exhibition takes place in the Heiseikan of Tokyo National Museum around this time every year. We hope that continuing to hold exhibitions will let as many people as possible know something about the international cooperation that the Institute is working for.
Filmon Sound Belt
The Filmon Sound Belt is a special storage medium (a kind of record) developed in prewar Japan. The shape is an endless tape made of synthetic resin (approximately 13 m long), and it is said that the tape can record sound for up to 36 minutes. The Department of Intangible Cultural Heritage owns five such sound belts. Since a special player is needed to play them and very few players now remain, it has not been possible to even check what is recorded on them up to now.
Since last year, the Department has been researching the Filmon sound Belts jointly with the Theatre Museum of Waseda University (Collaborative Research Center for Theatre and Film Arts). The Theatre Museum stores the players in a playable state, so digitizing the sounds played back by the players is also included in the investigation plan.
At present, we have confirmed there are a total of more than 100 sound belts in existence when including those stored in the Department of Intangible Cultural Heritage and Theatre Museum and those owned privately. Unfortunately, quite a few of these sound belts are hard to play back since they have deteriorated noticeably through age, but we are now working to obtain playback sound from as many belts as possible.
Creating hand-plate specimens for exposure test
Installing hand-plate specimens
As part of the Survey Research on Traditional Restoration Materials and Synthetic Resins project, the Center for Conservation Science and Restoration Techniques is conducting a survey on the deterioration of exterior coating material of Itsukushima Shrine. The Itsukushima Shrine is widely known for its beauty with its contrast of a vermilion shrine pavilion floating in a blue sea, but the building is exposed to a severe environment because it is in contact with seawater. And an issue raised by the relevant persons is that the vermilion exterior coating material has become black in a relatively short time. The Center for Conservation Science and Restoration Techniques tried to identify the cause of this blackening phenomenon in the laboratory, also created hand-plate specimens coated with a large amount of the past exterior coating materials which were conceivably used for Itsukushima Shrine, and installed them on the actual floor of shrine and to the pillars which are in contact with the sea surface on May 13 (see Photos 1 and 2). We will perform an exposure test in the environment of Itsukushima Shrine for at least one year and observe the deterioration of exterior coating materials. We will use the results to maintain the exterior coating of Itsukushima Shrine pavilion in as good a status as possible.
Meteorological equipment being moved
Installation of soil-water sensor
Training workshop
With the Thang Long Citadel Ruins conservation project funded by the UNESCO/Japanese Funds-in-Trust, the partnership convention between the National Research Institute for Cultural Properties, Tokyo and UNESCO Hanoi Office went into effect in April, and the comprehensive support activities spanning for three years have finally begun. From May 17 to 22, we dispatched seven specialists focusing on the conservation science field to Hanoi as the first mission. To collect basic data to examine the measures of conserving the excavated archaeological remains, we moved and improved the installed meteorological equipment and installed a new soil-water sensor. Concerning the unearthed relics, we investigated the method of storing the wooden relics immersed temporarily in water and had a conference with the local administrative organization for joint research on types of Vietnamese wood that are different from those in Japan. Both Japanese and Vietnamese specialists cooperated in working at the local site, and we held a training workshop for young staff members, so that they can understand the significance of work accurately and in detail. We will sequentially in the future put in force the project activities in various fields, such as historical study and support for control plan establishment.
I took over the director’s duties from my predecessor Mr. Suzuki Norio and assumed the post of Director General in April 1, 2010. The National Research Institute for Cultural Properties, Tokyo has a long history spanning 80 years, including the years of the antecedent art research institute, and stores an enormous amount of data on cultural property research amassed by our senior staff. These data are valuable assets of the Institute and form the foundation of research on cultural properties that supports the present-day administration for cultural properties. In the middle of the recent administrative and financial reform, the National Research Institute for Cultural Properties, Tokyo is positioned as one facility of the National Institute for Cultural Heritage which consists of four national museums and two research institutes. In spite of the changes accompanying the reform, the National Research Institute for Cultural Properties, Tokyo has a firm foundation that the precedent Director General Mr. Suzuki took the lead in building. This foundation includes the systematization of investigation and research of cultural properties, the unification and systematization of development in conservation and restoration techniques, and sharing of data on cultural properties. I will take over this firm foundation, further develop it, and do my utmost to accomplish the social mission that was given to the Institute.
Recently, there have been demands for active links with the community and disclosure of information in a variety of fields, and approaches to open up organizations are being taken. Although research on cultural properties is apt to be specialized and difficult, I believe investigation and research for protecting cultural properties includes giving guidance to get as many people as possible to realize the importance of and cooperate in conservation. Therefore, when we make public the stored data on cultural properties and research achievements, we regard it crucial to convey them in an easy to understand way.
The Institute does not have a sufficient number of researchers, but there are many researchers with abilities that can be used overseas, and their research activities are highly rated both in Japan and abroad. We all do our utmost to protect cultural properties so that our Institute can play a central role domestically and internationally. Your ongoing support and cooperation would be greatly appreciated.
The Education Superintendent of the Shanghai Academy of Governance and six persons:
On April 22, they visited the National Research Institute for Cultural Properties, Tokyo to inspect the advanced facilities for protecting national heritage in Japan. They toured the Audio-Visual Documentation Section of the Department of Intangible Cultural Heritage on the basement floor, the Restoration Studio of the Center for Conservation Science and Restoration Techniques on the third floor, the chemical laboratory of the Center for Conservation Science and Restoration Techniques and the Japan Center for International Cooperation in Conservation on the fourth floor. Those in charge of each facility provided explanations and answered questions.
Exhibiting images on the second floor of Institute
With cooperation from the National Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo, we conducted an optical survey on “Landscape with an Eye” pained in oil (1938, 102.0 x 193.5 cm) by Ai-Mitsu (1907-1948) on January 18. We took a full-color photographing and a reflection near-infrared photographing at that time. These two images are exhibited on the second floor of the Institute as an original-size panel. Following the above survey, we executed another survey using transmission near-infrared photographing on April 27. Taking the opportunity of the work’s restoration, we transmitted light from the back of the painting with the wooden frame removed. We were able to capture an image of the painting nearest to the canvas surface, i.e., an image of the work when it was created. This work is highly valued because of its unique expression in acceptance of Surrealism paintings in Japanese modern art. However, there are still ongoing discussions about how it was created and its motif. We must make a detailed investigation from now, using the images obtained by reflection and transmission near-infrared photographing. As long as we think of transmission near-infrared photo, we can recognize the depth of image that the painter had, and the traces that the painter left when he was trying to visualize the image as a real thing, in the form of a mysterious metamorphosis, which is different from an animal or a plant.
