Basic Research on the Nagao Museum – The 8th Seminar Held by the Department of Art Research, Archives and Information Systems

The seminar

　At the 8th Seminar of the Department of Art Research, Archives and Information Systems held on 18 December 2024, Ms. TSUKIMURA Kino, Researcher of the Department of Art Research, Archives and Information Systems, gave a presentation entitled “Basic Research on the Nagao Museum – Towards a Clarification of its Relationship with the Art Research Institute.”

　The Nagao Museum was established by NAGAO Kin’ya (1892-1980) and his wife Yone (1889-1967), the founders of Wakamoto Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd., at their villa ‘Senko Sansō’ (Kamakura, Kanagawa Prefecture) in 1946. The museum had many masterpieces in its collection, such as Tea-Leaf Jar with a design of wisteria by NONOMURA Ninsei (now in the MOA Museum of Art, in Shizuoka prefecture), Tachi Signed Chikushūjū Sa (Named “Kōsetsu Samonji”) (now in the Fukuyama Museum of Art), and Shrike in barren tree by MIYAMOTO Musashi (now in the Kuboso Memorial Museum of Arts, Izumi). Over time, however, NAGAO Kin’ya and Yone gradually gave up these works and the museum was dissolved around 1967. More than half a century has passed since the de facto closure of the museum, and the actual operation of the museum and the status of entire collection are still unclear.

　However, when purchasing and exhibiting works, Kin’ya and Yone were closely involved with staff members of the Art Research Institute (Bijutsu Kenkyūjo), the predecessor of the Tokyo National Research Institute for Cultural Properties (TOBUNKEN). It is noteworthy that Kin’ya participated as a board member in the activities of the Bijutsu Konwa-kai and the Society of Friends of Eastern Art (Tōyō Bijutsu Kokusai Kenkyūkai), which were based at TOBUNKEN, and had the opportunity to introduce the collection to researchers.

　The lecture raised the possibility that the interaction between the NAGAO couple and art historians was related to the evaluation of the Nagao Museum collection, as a result of an examination of relevant documents remaining at TOBUNKEN.

　The presentation was followed by a lively exchange of views, including valuable testimony from researchers with knowledge of the situation at the time of the museum’s dissolution. The Nagao Museum is important for the history of the transmission and evaluation of works, and future research will be conducted to gain a fuller understanding of the museum.

The 58th Public Lecture: Look at Form, Read Form

Lecture by Ms. OSAKA Yukiko

Lecture by Mr. KAWASHIMA Tadashi

　The Department of Art Research, Archives and Information Systems of the Tokyo National Research Institute for Cultural Properties (TOBUNKEN) plans a “Public Lecture” to be held every fall, inviting a wide audience from the public to hear researchers present their research results. The 58th Public Lecture, “Look at Form, Read Form” was held in the TOBUNKEN seminar room on November 1 and 2, 2024.

　On the first day, lectures were presented titled “The Relationship between Search and Keywords in Databases” by Mr. OYAMADA Tomohiro (Chief Researcher of the Department of Art Research, Archives and Information Systems) and “Digital Archives in the Age of AI: Toward Preservation, Inheritance, and Utilization of Culture” by Ms. OSAKA Yukiko (Research Fellow of the Center for Global Communications (GLOCOM)), showing the future possibilities of digital archiving of cultural properties.

　On the second day, the lectures were “History of Appreciation of Korean Ceramics: The Formation of Collections in Korea,” presented by Mr. TASHIRO Yūichirō (Researcher of the Department of Art Research, Archives and Information Systems) and “History of Appreciation of Chinese Ceramics: Acceptance and Transition of Chinese Ceramics in Japan in Modern Times,” presented by Mr. KAWASHIMA Tadashi (President of Mayuyama & Co. Ltd. and Director of the Tokyo Art Dealer Association). These lectures introduced the changing values of Korean and Chinese ceramics.

　There were 139 participants from the public attending on both days, and we received a positive reaction from the audience: about 90% of the feedback questionnaire responses were “very satisfied” or “relatively satisfied.”