| ■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 |
|
Photograph of the investigation held at Nara National Museum. (The existence of inscriptions is confirmed using light source equipment that emits light of various wavelengths)
The Department of Research Programming has concluded a Contract for Optical Survey and Creation of High Definition Digital Content regarding Buddhist Art with Nara National Museum and has been carrying out joint research. As part of this contract, we studied and photographed the Five Hundred Luohan stored at Daitoku-ji from May 11 to 17, 2009 at Nara National Museum.
Daitoku-ji’s Five Hundred Luohan is a very important work in art history, and a total of one hundred pieces of artwork were created by artists Lin Tinggui and Zhou Jichang from Junki 5 (1178) in Ningbo in Southern Song over a period of almost 10 years. Out of the existing 96 pieces (excluding the complementary works made in the Edo period), 37 pieces in total have been confirmed to have inscriptions, but these descriptions difficult to decipher with the naked eye due to aging deterioration.
This survey started with the goal of learning about these inscriptions using optical methods such as fluorescent recording, and an additional 11 inscriptions (43 inscriptions in total) were confirmed. This is a meaningful finding not only in terms of art history, but also in terms of the history of this period and the history of religion.
A conference will be held in mid-June by persons involved from both organizations based on the images shot during this survey, and will serve as investigation material for the second survey scheduled to be performed in autumn. Additionally, these survey results will be presented in part at Sacred Ningbo, the Origin of 1300 years of Japanese Buddhism: Everything Has Come from Here (http://www.narahaku.go.jp/exhibition/2009toku/ningbo/ningbo_index.html) (link rot). It will also be summarized as a report sometime in or after the next fiscal year through further survey and investigation.
On May 12, Mr. Tsuda Tetsuei and Ms. Sarai Mai of the Department of Research Programming conducted X-ray transmission photography and fluorescent X-ray non-destructive analysis of a copper bodhisattva in a pensive pose with one leg pendent from Hyakusaiji temple in Shiga as part of the current two-year plan, Investigation of and Research into Statues in Omi in Ancient and Medieval Times, Centering on Previously Undisclosed Statues such as Hidden Buddha Statues, at the National Research Institute for Cultural Properties, Tokyo. Funds for investigation and research were provided by the Idemitsu Culture and Welfare Foundation, and Mr. Inuzuka Masahide and Hayakawa Yasuhiro of the Center for Conservation Science and Restoration Techniques offered their services as well. At 13:00 on May 12, the statue was brought into the Institute by the two curators from the Miho Museum who then conducted joint research with us and the resident priest of Hyakusaiji temple. The main purposes of this research were to examine the structure using X-ray transmission photography in order to check whether the head and body of the statue, where reconnection was visible at the breast, were created around the same time, and also to check the copper components in both parts using fluorescent X-ray non-destructive analysis. The statue will be open for viewing by the public this summer at Miho Museum.
In May 2009, we created a new children’s website aimed at elementary and junior high school students. In the section entitled “All about working at Tobunken”, visitors can learn about the activities of the National Research Institute for Cultural Properties, Tokyo in card format.
We hope that children will take advantage of this website together with the What’s the National Research Institute for Cultural Properties, Tokyo?
(http://www.tobunken.go.jp/~joho/japanese/publication/kids/2008.pdf) (link rot) children’s brochure published last July for their independent research projects during summer vacation. Please take some time to visit the website at http://www.tobunken.go.jp/kids/index.html.
Mr. Hyoki of the Department of Intangible Cultural Heritage received training in South Korea for two weeks from May 25 to June 8 based on the exchange between Japan and Korea on research related to the conservation of intangible cultural heritage decided upon last June with the Division of Folklore and Folklife of the National Research Institute of Cultural Heritage, Korea. In last year’s training, most of the surveying was conducted on the archives of important intangible cultural properties created by the National Research Institute of Cultural Heritage, Korea, and research was also conducted on archives related to important intangible cultural properties in other Korean organizations. I myself did a detailed investigation on the current status of the traditional arts archive of the National Center for Korean Traditional Performing Arts and the folk archive of the National Folk Museum of Korea. Both organizations have carefully established classifications for sorting materials and metadata in anticipation of a future coalition of archives: I felt that they taught many points that would be helpful for similar projects in Japan. During the training sessions I was able to have the opportunity to see two intangible cultural properties in the suburbs of Seoul: the Kannun Dano Festival, and the Yeongsanjae Ceremony.
Detaching a mural painting with a wire-saw
Current state of the ceiling of Kitora Tumulus (The purple part shows the exposed stone.)
The Center for Conservation Science and Restoration Techniques has been detaching the mural paintings of Kitora Tumulus as part of a project entrusted from the Agency for Cultural Affairs. Currently, there is concern about the spread of deterioration in the stone chamber due to microorganisms. Since there is an urgent need to detach the mural paintings, it has been decided to conduct detachment continuously for one month rather than to do the work for three days every month.
The first stage of detachment started on May 11 and most of the painting on the south side of the ceiling was detached effectively. We were able to irradiate UV-C successfully to control microorganisms since all the areas where pigments had been applied had already been detached. Based on our success in this work, the next stage of detachment is planned for this autumn.
Practical on-site training
The second half of the course on the conservation of historical buildings, a part of the “Program for Capacity Building along the Silk Road,” which is a joint project with the China National Institute of Cultural Heritage, was conducted from early April at Kumbum (Ta’er) Monastery, a Tibetan Buddhist monastery in Qinghai province. While last year’s program focused on restoration theory and measurement survey, this year’s course focused on practicing the actual flow of work, from drawing up conservation management plan to basic design and detailed design. In addition, by giving an outline of the restoration system unique to Japan, in which survey, design and on-site control are undertaken by the same person, we sought to offer an opportunity for Chinese trainees to think about the meaning of conservation that often relies on given manuals.
Lectures from the Japanese side, which sent 5 lecturers in succession, were completed at the end of May and were followed by lectures from the Chinese side, which continued until the end of July. The twelve trainees have been working hard in their respective fields, but the course has also shed light on various issues. First, although both Japan and China have traditions of wooden constructions and Chinese characters, there are significant unexpected differences between Chinese and Japanese architecture. Thus there was often trouble communicating because of differences in terminology and views on restoration. Second, since restoration work was already in progress at many parts of the monastery, on-site practice could be conducted only on a part of the work site. As such, there was no choice but to change the building used for practice in cases when we could not reach an agreement with the monastery, who wanted the restoration to be done quickly. We really felt the necessity of making sufficient consultation at the planning stage for both curriculum and operation.
Two Members of Independent Administrative Institution Evaluation Committee of Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT), and other organizations
On April 9, members of the Independent Administrative Institution Evaluation Committee of MEXT visited us to observe the examination and research conducted by the National Research Institute for Cultural Properties, Tokyo. They toured the Audio-Visual Documentation Section of the Department of Intangible Cultural Heritage on the basement floor; the First Experimental Laboratory of the Center for Conservation Science and Restoration Techniques on the third floor; and the Biological Science Section of the Center for Conservation Science and Restoration Techniques, the International Center Archive of the Japan Center for International Cooperation in Conservation, and the Kuroda Memorial Hall on the fourth floor. Those in charge of each facility provided explanations and answered questions.
Mr. Hieda Kazuho being interviewed
At the Education Ministry’s Art Research Institute after evacuation to Sakata City, Yamagata - Mr. Hieda (far right), and Mr. Umezu Jiro (far left) who was a staff member of the Institute
The Japanese-style painter Hieda Kazuho (born in 1920), holder of the Cultural Order, is Professor Emeritus of Tokyo University of the Arts and a founding member of Sougakai. He graduated from Tokyo School of Fine Arts in 1943, and from the following year he worked for the Art Research Institute, the former National Research Institute for Cultural Properties, Tokyo, as a temporary employee for one year.
The institute is currently editing Text Edition of 75-year history of National Research Institute for Cultural Properties, Tokyo, which will be published this year. As such, we interviewed many associated persons to ask them about the history of the Institute so that we can compile records.
On April 14, we visited Mr. Hieda at his home in Tokyo, and he talked his early years at the Institute. In 1944, when war damage increased because of air attacks and the Institute was forced to evacuate its materials, Mr. Hieda took part in the evacuation work. He told us that he stayed at an evacuation home – Sakata City, Yamagata – for half a year, to protect the materials, until he received call-up papers in August 1945, and went home to Nara to enter the army. In the train that was on the way home, he found out about the end of the war. Despite his advanced age, he gave us an interview that lasted over 90 minutes, and we have a record of his valuable experience.
So (Imagine)
The Department of Research Programming has made public its database for retrieving art documents starting from October of last year (during trial operation). The database consists of 268,000 cases and allows users to browse, from an overwhelming amount of data, art documents published between 1966 and 2004 by using three search categories: editors/authors, keywords and titles of journals. The Department, whose major goals are to accumulate and disseminate information, is now promoting collaboration with other sites to enhance dissemination. One such collaboration is with the unique association retrieval site “So (Imagine) ” that was started by the National Institute of Informatics. Mr. Nakamura Yoshifumi, a researcher of the National Institute of Informatics and a visiting researcher in our Department from this year, demonstrated the operation of this site at a research seminar of the Department held on April 21. If the art documents retrieval database is successfully associated with “So (Imagine),” we expect that a simultaneous display of information from various fields, not just that of art, will be possible.
“Samurai with artistic taste...”
(Sino-Japanese War Graphics Vol. 10)
From “Drawing and Painting Soldiers from the Edges of the Japan-China War Battlefront and Art” (Kawada Akihisa) There were many drawing and painting soldiers in the battle area of the Japan-China War, and their artworks were widely known as a war pictures with reality.
The Department of Research Programming has issued the collected papers of 26 domestic researchers, as shown in the title above. This document is an achievement of the project study “Integrated research on modern and contemporary art.” As a research edition of “A Study of Exhibits from Art Exhibitions of the Showa Era – Pre-World War II Volume”, basic data compilation issued in 2006, the trends of art before World War II are shown from the viewpoints of each researcher from various perspectives. The document targets the various genres of paintings and sculptures, engravings, photographs, and art works based on trend of the exhibits and art galleries, and it also includes themes particular to the pre-World War II period, such as proletarian art and war pictures. Please examine the various issues regarding art in the Showa Era. We hope that they will offer you new findings and help you to raise awareness of the issues involved.
Refer to the pages issued by the Department of Research Programming for the titles of papers and the authors.
http://www.tobunken.go.jp/~joho/japanese/publication/book/showaki.html
This document is available from Chuokoron Art Publishers. http://www.chukobi.co.jp/products/detail.php?product_id=383
Mr. Tsuda Tetsuei and Ms. Sarai Mai of the Department of Research Programming will start this year to investigate and research important sculptures in Shiga Prefecture in a two-year plan, Investigation of and Research into Statues in Omi in Ancient and Medieval Times, Centering on Previously Undisclosed Statues such as Hidden Buddha Statues (representative researcher Tsuda Tetsuei). The two received funds for the investigation and research from the Idemitsu Culture and Welfare Foundation, and received cooperation from the research staff, who have special bonding with Shiga Prefecture, centered on Miho Museum. As our first project, we investigated the seated Avalokitesvara statue (245.3 cm high) at the Kannondo of Tendaishu Zensuiji Temple on Mt. Iwanesan in Koga City from the early morning until the evening of Sunday, April 26. The existence of this statue was generally unknown up to now, and this is the first project to move it. Based on the style of the statue, it was probably carved in the late Heian Period, and it was kept in relatively good condition. We were given a glimpse into the abundance and versatility of the cultural properties of Shiga Prefecture, where such a great work existed unnoticed by most people.
Report on the 3rd Conference on the Study of Intangible Folk Cultural Properties Conservation of Goods Related to Intangible Folk Cultural Properties
The Department of Intangible Cultural Heritage holds an annual meeting where preservation personnel, administrative personnel, and researchers gather: They decide a theme every year and discuss the protection and inheritance of our intangible cultural heritage. On November 20 of last year, the Department chose the theme Conservation of Goods Related to Intangible Folk Cultural Properties and held their meeting in the seminar room of the Institute. We summarized the details of this conference, issued a report in March 2009, and distributed it to interested persons and organizations. This report can also be downloaded in PDF format from the website of the Department of Intangible Cultural Heritage.
http://www.tobunken.go.jp/~geino/kyogikai/03mukeikyogikai.html(link rot)
Doudo timber basin (left bank of Yahagi River)
Gunkai Bridge in the Asuke region
The Center for Conservation Science and Restoration Techniques is studying the storage environment and deterioration status of iron cultural assets that have been stored outdoors, including airplanes, at the Kagamigahara Aerospace Science Museum. For this field survey, we visited Toyota City and discussed the conservation status and other issues related to versatile modern heritage that uses stone with local persons in charge. The heritage discussed includes Doudo timber basin, Darumagama kiln, Meiji Old Water service weir and boat lock, Isegamizuido Tunnel, and Old Gunkai Bridge. In addition to being the home territory of Toyota Motors, Toyota City makes use of many modern cultural properties, such as the silk culture from the Meiji Era and the transport of lumber via the Yahagi River.
We will do our best to make small contributions to these efforts.
Study of issues when managing world heritage (Peace Memorial Park)
Preparing group work: “Application for World Heritage (Simulation)”
We participated in the international training workshop Conservation for Peace – World Heritage Impact Assessment: Series Control and Conservation of World Heritage, which was held by the Hiroshima Office of United Nations Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR), from April 19 to 25, 2009 as part of a study on the applications of international training. Hiroshima Prefecture sponsored the sixth training session this year, and the UNESCO World Heritage Centre, Getty Conservation Institute, the International Council on Monument and Sites (ICOMOS), and the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) sent lecturers. Forty two speakers participated from 23 countries, mainly persons working in management, administration, and research organizations of world heritage sites (natural and cultural heritage) in the Asia-Pacific region.
The training consisted of three sessions: a classroom lecture, an on-site inspection, and group work. We heard lectures on management and were able to understand the importance of world heritage (natural and cultural heritage) and impact assessment. Then we visited the World Heritage Sites in Hiroshima (Atomic Bomb Dome and Peace Memorial Park, and Itsukushima Shinto Srine and Miyajima), to evaluate issues at the local sites and have the opportunity to apply and compare the cases in different Asian countries. The work was divided into five groups, including heritage that has not yet been registered as a world heritage site, in which participants created a simplified edition of world heritage registration application, emphasizing impact assessment with respect to the value of the heritage. At the round table open to public on the final date, the participants and citizens exchanged opinions on the issues of Hiroshima’s world heritage through discussions.
We acquired the specific data on the issues of world heritages in Asia, and also learned the training application method ? using advance preparation to achieve the maximum effect in a short training period, interactive lectures, and the inclusion of the “After Action Review” evaluation method.
22 researchers from the Urban Issues and Environmental Issues in East Asia through Analysis from a Historical Viewpoint organization
On March 16, a group from the above organization visited us to study, research, and conserve cultural properties in East Asia, and also to inspect the status of the National Research Institute for Cultural Properties, Tokyo. They toured the Restoration Studio of the Center for Conservation Science and Restoration Techniques on the third floor, and the Center’s Analytical Science Section as well as the Japan Center for International Cooperation in Conservation on the fourth floor. Those in charge of each facility provided explanations and answered questions.
‘Year Book of Japanese Art, 2007 Edition’
“Reviewing Exhibition Catalogs”Symposium
‘The Yearbook of Japanese Art, 2007’ edition was issued on March 25, the 64th volume since it was first published in 1936. Needless to say, this yearbook is a collection of materials that records trends in “art” in the corresponding year, with a focus on domestic movement; this book looks at the basic material of Japanese art.
Meanwhile, on March 20, the aforementioned symposium was hosted by the Japan Art Documentation Society (Venue: Umene Memorial Library of Wako University). The keynote report was followed by five presentations, including my presentation, entitled ‘Yearbook of Japanese Art and Exhibition Catalogs’. I reported on how the “exhibition catalogs” have been treated as materials in the “Yearbook of Japanese Art”, which has a history of over half a century, along with some issues regarding the current problems. Starting in 1984 the exhibition catalog in the Yearbook has been treated as “document materials”; starting in the 1999 edition, it has shown the documents included in the exhibition catalogs by providing one chapter on documents included in “art exhibition picture records”. This is to demonstrate that the exhibition catalogs include precise materials and data from an academic viewpoint. These catalogs have increased in tandem with the increase in establishment of new museums and art galleries since the 1980s. For example, the newest “2007 edition” includes 325 “picture records” from among 1888 exhibition data cases; 943 documents were selected from those records and are shown in the catalog. The importance of “exhibition catalogs” in terms of research is widely recognized: When editing the ‘Yearbook of Japanese Art’, I reported on how we can overcome the difficulty of closely investigating the documents as data and proceeding with a new edition while aiming at a comprehensive collection.
Nowadays everyone easily uses a camera and takes pictures. But in the days when photography such as adjustment of focus, exposure, development was entirely left to manual operations, photographs were very valuable: Those photo data became clues to examining the corresponding age, including the background behind the photograph.
In 2006 and 2007, Mr. Kaneko Mitsuo, a descendant of Kuroda Seiki’s wife Teruko, donated the photos and mementos of Kuroda Seiki that Mr. Kaneko had kept stored to the National Research Institute for Cultural Properties, Tokyo. The Institute’s Department of Research Programming investigated and arranged the logs of these materials and relevant items, and held an exhibition entitled “Photos Taken of Kuroda Seiki” in the Kuroda Memorial Hall last year. This project revealed the Kuroda image in a public place and included images such as a large-sized portrait of Kuroda Seiki in a court dress taken by Ogawa Kazumasa, an Imperial art specialist.
This year, “Photos Taken of Kuroda Seiki II” was held in the Kuroda Memorial Hall from March 19 (Thu) to July 9 (Thu), with themes including “family portraits” and “painter’s atelier” for the second time. Kuroda painted the woman who later became his wife in Lakeside, and he painted his family as models in many works. In addition to the portraits of his natural father, adoptive father, and mother, he used models; his niece Kimiko appeared in Sunlight shone through trees, another niece appeared in Yukiko, 11 year-old girl, his wife Teruko in Portrait of a woman (charcoal/paper, 1898) and Portrait of a woman (oil painting/canvas, 1911-1912). When comparing the photos of these people and the pictures painted by Kuroda, we find that the works were not simply portraits of which main purpose is resemblance, as the title Lakeside implies, but they also provide an opportunity to consider reproducibility and fictitiousness in paintings and photos.
The photos focus on the painter in his atelier and his concentration while he was producing the works. From the work hanging in the atelier we can understand the painter’s interests, and from the photos with models we can also grasp his relationship with them.
To prevent the originals of these photo materials from deteriorating by exhibition, pictures with the original texture preserved and reproduced to full-size photographs are exhibited. This demonstrates the results obtained by research and development of digital image formation technology that can conserve photo data and show it to the public. We will continue to promote the studying of Kuroda Seiki while considering the conservation of the data itself, and plan to exhibit/release the results in Kuroda Memorial Hall.
Clarifying the structure of Nohkan and Ryuteki using radiography
The Institute periodically exhibits panels at the entrance lobby so that all visitors can see our research results. Starting at the end of March, we have been introducing the results of radiography study on flutes used in Noh, Nohkan. The Nohkan delivers a unique sharp tone: To do so, the inner diameter between the mouthpiece and the first ventage has been narrowed as an artifice. The subsequent crafting technique was conventionally known: An additional material called “nodo (throat)” was inserted into this portion to narrow the inner diameter. However, X-ray photography discovered several old Nohkan flutes whose inner diameter had been narrowed without inserting “nodo”. One researcher put forward the view that Nohkan was derived in the process when a broken Ryuteki was repaired by inserting a tenon. However, this theory must now be revised as a result of this X-ray photography conducted. With this exhibition, we are making preparations so that the sound from an old Nohkan can be heard, and we are also exhibitingthe X-ray photo of the Ryuteki housed in the Buddha statue in the Kamakura period. We are very happy that this exhibit allows people to actually hear Japanese traditional music.
‘Research and Reports on Intangible Cultural Heritage Vol. 3’
Accompanying the reorganization and change in name from the Geino Department to the Department of Intangible Cultural Heritage in 2006, the name of the report magazine was also changed from ‘Geino no Kagaku’ to ‘Research and Reports on Intangible Cultural Heritage’. This year volume 3 was issued. This volume examines intangible cultural heritage as a whole, not limited to Geino, and half of the included research papers and reports are not directly connected to “Geino”. As soon as preparations are finalized, the PDF edition of all contents will be posted on our Website in the same way as before.
Type 2 flying boat
Conditions inside
The Center for Conservation Science and Restoration Techniques is studying the storage environment and deterioration status of iron cultural assets stored outdoors, including airplanes, at the JMSDF Kanoya Air Base. The iron cultural assets (planes, railway vehicles, scaffolds, boats, and ships) that are currently being conserved cannot usually be stored under a roof due to their large sizes, and they are in very poor condition as a conservation environment. We are also continuing to measure the temperature and humidity inside the airplane (Type 2 flying boat) exhibited outdoors. The conservation environment inside is more stark than that outdoors because it is an enclosed place, and materials other than iron inside the plane (resin-made shields of electric wires, etc.) often melt and damage the inside resulting in a grave condition. We will work with JMSDF so that they will carefully understand the situation hereafter and take necessary measures.
