Report on a research stay: the Sainsbury Institute for the Study of Japanese Arts and Cultures (SISJAC) and inspection of museums and libraries in the UK. ―The 1st Seminar Held by the Department of Art Research, Archives and Information Systems.

The Seminar

Witt Library, the Coutauld Institute

　Ms. MAIZAWA Rei, Head, Archives Section of the Department of Art Research, Archives and Information Systems of the Tokyo National Research Institute for Cultural Properties (TOBUNKEN), stayed as a visiting researcher at SISJAC, located in Norwich, East of England, from October 2023 to February this year, as detailed in the link below.
https://www.tobunken.go.jp/materials/ekatudo/2059896.html
During her stay, she conducted lectures and a gallery talk at the Sainsbury Centre of the University of East Anglia（UEA）and the University of London The School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS). She also conducted research on the British Museum’s collection of Japanese art and visited museums, galleries, libraries, and other facilities with archival institutions in the UK.

　At the 1st seminar of the Department of Art, Research, Archives and Information Systems, held at TOBUNKEN on April 30, 2024, Ms. MAIZAWA reported on the research and inspections she had conducted in the UK. She presented explanation regarding an image digitization project currently ongoing at the Witt Library of the Courtauld Institute of Art, and about an inspection she had conducted of a conservation workshop at the Bodleian Library, University of Oxford, with photographs. YASHIRO Yukio (1890-1975) had visited the Witt Library as a reference for the creation of Bijutsu-Kenkyūjo (a predecessor of TOBUNKEN). The library holds about 2.2 million photographs, reproductions, and cuttings of paintings, drawings, and engravings. A team of 200 volunteers is working on digitization of the large amount of material, and stands as an example that provides clues for future management of TOBUNKEN, which also holds a wide range of materials. She also looked into how some museum programs are being managed in the UK, highlighting some of the projects for older people run by the National Liverpool Museums and the Dulwich Picture Gallery. She visited 28 of museums and galleries, 10 of which have libraries and archive facilities. Many important issues were presented that serve as reference for us, such as digitization and ensuring the accessibility of materials and the role of cultural institutions in an ageing society, which led to a lively exchange of views in a question-and-answer session after she presented her report.

Publication of Painted Silk Database of Paintings in the Tokyo National Museum Collection

Screenshot of the painted silk database user interface

Digital microscope photograph

　Silk has been a traditional support material for Japanese and other Eastern paintings since the Tang Dynasty in China, which corresponded to the Heian period in Japan. Silk has been used mainly in clothing in East Asia from ancient times to the present. Although ancient silk clothing is rarely preserved, due to consumption, examples of painted silk have been handed down in better condition. Painted silk works can be compared in terms of their woven structure and fiber shape, as most of them were plain woven. The study of the woven structure and fiber form (composed of silk thread) of painted silk is an important research issue, not only for art historical research, but also for the history and transition of materials and techniques.

　The Tokyo National Research Institute for Cultural Properties (TOBUNKEN), established a “Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) of the Joint Research on the Composition of Silk Painting Supports and Other Textiles Used in Artworks” with the Tokyo National Museum in 2019. As a part of the research, photography and measurement of silk paintings is being conducted using a digital microscope (HiRox RH-2000), focusing on works in the Tokyo National Museum’s collection.

　We are pleased to announce that a database of the results of this project is now available as the “Tokyo National Museum Digital Research Archives,” in cooperation with the Infomatics Division of the Tokyo National Museum, accessible through the website below.

https://webarchives.tnm.jp/infolib/meta_pub/G0000002221214GK

　The database contains images of important works such as the National Treasure “The Bodhisattva Fugen,” “The Biography of the Traveling Preacher Ippen,” and “Red and White Cotton Rosemallow” by Li Di, as well as images of the woven structure and the measured data of the fiber shape. We plan to add more works to the database in the future. We will use this database to promote research on works and material techniques.