The general discussion
Research introduction by organizations related to Museum IPM
On February 21, 2025, the Center for Conservation Science (CCS) hosted a forum titled “Considering the Conservation of the Museum Collections After the Suspension of Major Fumigation Gas Sales.” This event was co-hosted by the Agency for Cultural Affairs, the Japan Society for the Conservation of Cultural Properties, and the Japan Society for Scientific Studies on Cultural Properties.
In cases of extensive insect and mold damage, gas fumigation is used to mitigate the damage. Alternatively, gas fumigation may be utilized to prevent insects and molds from infesting incoming collections. This method has also been applied to museum collections that have suffered fungal damage due to disasters. Gas fumigation is a crucial technology for preventing biological deterioration in the conservation of museum collections in Japan. However, the sale of one of the primary fumigation gases was scheduled to cease at the end of March 2025. This decision stems from the growing awareness of the negative impact of fumigation gases on human health and the global environment.
At the forum, experts and organizations in this field were invited to discuss alternative methods for conserving museum collections without the use of gas fumigation, in response to the contemporary societal demand for sustainable practices.
In the keynote speeches, Mr. YONEMURA Sachio (Agency for Cultural Affairs) and Ms. KIGAWA Rika (Kyushu National Museum) spoke about the future of conservation in museum collections, focusing on Integrated Pest Management in museums (Museum IPM). Additionally, during the lunch break, Mr. WATANABE Hiroki (Kyushu National Museum) and Mr. SHIMADA Megumi (Tokyo National Research Institute for Cultural Properties) reported on international research topics related to Museum IPM. This was followed by lectures from Mr. HIDAKA Shingo (National Museum of Ethnology), Mr. IWATA Yasuyuki (Japan Institute of Insect and Fungal Damage to Cultural Properties), and Mr. MABUCHI Hajime (The National Center for the Promotion of Cultural Properties) on the practical applications of Museum IPM, the qualifications associated with it, and the theory and practice of mold control.
The general discussion was moderated by Mr. TATEISHI Toru (The Museum of the Imperial Collections, Sannomaru Shozokan. Each speaker, including Mr. KODANI Ryusuke (Cultural Heritage Disaster Risk Management Center), Mr. WADA Hiroshi (Tokyo National Museum), Ms. FURIHATA Junko (Kyoto National Museum), Mr. WAKIYA Soichiro (Nara National Research Institute for Cultural Properties), and Mr. TAKAHATA Makoto (Imperial Household Agency) took to the stage to discuss methods for conserving museum collections without relying on gas fumigation.
The venues were the seminar room and conference room (satellite venue) on the basement floor, and in the foyer, organizations related to Museum IPM showcased booths highlighting their recent research. Approximately 170 individuals attended in person, while around 750 accounts were registered for a simultaneous online broadcast, resulting in a substantial audience. The CCS hopes that this forum provided an opportunity to foster more dynamic discussions and enable those concerned to take meaningful steps toward addressing these issues.
Search using morphological features as key words
In April 2024, a new function, “Cultural Property Pest Search” (https://www.tobunken.go.jp/ccr/pest-search/top/index.html) was launched on the TOBUNKEN website. This function helps users to identify cultural property pests when they are found.
There are many different types of cultural property pests, and it has been difficult for people who are not insect specialists to identify them. However, these pests become apparent, and there was a need to develop a tool to assist with their identification on the spot. In response to this need, this search page has been created to enable anyone to easily identify the cultural property pests.
The “Cultural Property Pest Search” page is a web-based content search engine that can be browsed from a smartphone, so that cultural property pests can be examined immediately at the site where they are found. The search algorithm is based on morphological information such as the shape and color of the insect, which can be determined on the spot, so even if users are not familiar with insects, they can intuitively examine the pest. In addition to information on morphology and ecology, the pages returned for each pest contain many photographs from various angles for easy comparison with the insects found. The pages also contain useful information for research on cultural property pests, such as genetic information and related papers.
As of May 2024, the “Cultural Property Pest Search” content lists 30 of the 150 known major species of cultural property pests. We will continue to expand the database to include more species in the future.
Method to identify cultural property pests using DNA as an identifier
Collecting frass from buildings
Damages caused by cultural property pests are a serious and global threat to cultural property conservation because they result in significant losses of cultural property materials and largely reduce their values. Thus, it is critical to identify and take appropriate measures as soon as the cultural properties start showing signs of damage to prevent further loss. However, we may encounter a situation in which it is difficult to identify “criminal” species even by experts, as we cannot find living insect pests but only their frass. To overcome these difficulties, the Biological Science Section has identified cultural property pests using DNA extracted from frass as an identifier.
As the outcomes in FY2021, we succeeded in establishing a method to identify species by frass for the major pests boring bamboo, which are used as part of cultural property buildings and to create craft works. The method includes collecting bamboo-boring pests, extracting the DNAs, and determining a short section of sequence from a specific gene. The datum is registered in the international databases, combining the morphological characteristics and the DNA sequence. Then, DNA is extracted from frass collected at rearing containers and outside buildings, determining their target sequence. The resulting sequences are compared to the reference databases to find the matching species. Before the establishment of the method, it was difficult to determine the base sequence, because the DNA extracted from the frass was either too small or contaminated by DNA of other species. However, specific primers for PCR constructed in this study enabled us to succeed in identifying “criminal” species using anonymous frass collected in the cultural property buildings, rather than being limited to laboratories. Please refer to “Science for Conservation” #61 for further details.
In the future, we plan to further develop specific primers to identify species by frass of cultural property pests in various phyletic lines, and enable easy usage in the field by upgrading the base detection system, including standardization and simplification of methods. We will continue to proceed with the study to achieve these objectives.
