| ■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 |
|
Art Research Center (Seoul)
Art Research Center (Gwacheon)
Larchiveum (Cheongju)
Search System (Gwacheon)
On May 1, 2026, the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, Korea (MMCA) and the Tokyo National Research Institute for Cultural Properties (TOBUNKEN) concluded the “Agreement on Academic and Cultural Exchange and Other Activities.” This agreement was promoted mainly by the Archives Section of the Department of Art Research, Archives and Information Systems, with the aim of advancing research and investigation on modern and contemporary art materials held by the two institutions, sharing digital information on such materials and related scholarly information, promoting joint projects such as symposia and seminars related to modern and contemporary art in Japan and Korea, and encouraging staff exchanges.
The MMCA is one of Korea’s leading museums of modern and contemporary art. With venues in Gwacheon, Deoksugung, Seoul, and Cheongju, it actively engages not only in exhibitions, collection building, conservation, education, and research, but also in archival activities. At its Art Research Center, the MMCA collects, arranges, preserves, and makes available personal archival materials of artists, architects, critics, and others. It also manages materials generated through the museum’s exhibition, education, and research activities, to develop a foundation for research on modern and contemporary Korean art. These materials can be searched through the “Archive Search” page on the MMCA official website listed below.
The Cheongju venue also houses Larchiveum, a space for which the name combines “Library,” “Archive,” and “Museum.” Located on the third floor, Larchiveum collects and manages a wide range of content related to modern and contemporary Korean art, centered on works in the MMCA’s collection. Visitors can freely consult materials there, making it not only a space for preserving and managing art-related resources, but also a place where the public can engage with such materials and use them for research, study, and learning.
Among these archival materials, those available for consultation may be accessed by users after completing the prescribed application procedures. Once approved, users can consult original or digital materials at the Art Research Center in either the Gwacheon or Seoul venue. Information on opening hours and user guidance is available on the MMCA website “Library and Archive” page listed below. The MMCA also operates the online research platform “MMCA Research Lab,” also listed below, where it provides timelines, essays, glossaries, seminar records, and other resources related to modern and contemporary Korean art. Thus, the museum actively utilizes archival materials not only for preservation, but also as resources for research, education, and public outreach.
At TOBUNKEN, the Archives Section has long worked to investigate, arrange, preserve, and make materials held by the Institute available to the public, while also promoting information sharing with related institutions in Japan and abroad. Taking the conclusion of this agreement as an opportunity, the two institutions will further exchange information and conduct joint research on modern and contemporary art materials in their respective collections. They will also work to develop a foundation that contributes to the study of modern and contemporary art in Japan and Korea through the digitization of materials and the organization of symposia and seminars. In addition, the two institutions will exchange information on effective ways to utilize archival materials, with the aim of promoting their more effective and meaningful use.
Reference URLs
National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, Korea: Archive Search
https://www.mmca.go.kr/research/archiveSearchList.do
National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, Korea: Book Search
https://www.mmca.go.kr/bookArchive/searchBookList.do
National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, Korea: Library and Archive
https://www.mmca.go.kr/eng/bookArchive/bookArchiveMain.do
MMCA Research Lab
https://www.mmcaresearch.kr/
Mr. KIKKAWA Hideki explaining archival materials to the group.
On May 21, 2026, three staff members from the Library of the National Museum of Korea visited the TOBUNKEN Library of the Tokyo National Research Institute for Cultural Properties (TOBUNKEN): Ms. Jeon Hae-eun, Officer, Education Division; Ms. Bae Jin-hee, Curator, Education Division; and Mr. Jeong Jae-ho, Librarian, Education Division.
The National Museum of Korea is widely recognized as one of Korea’s leading national museums. Its library collects and systematically organizes specialized materials related to museums from Korea and abroad, and provides diverse and professional information to library users and researchers in related fields. Its holdings include approximately 110,000 books and 40,000 academic journals in museum-related fields such as archaeology, general history, and art history. In this respect, the character of its collection may be considered similar to that of the TOBUNKEN Library.
On the day of the visit, guided by Mr. KIKKAWA Hideki and Mr. TASHIRO Yuichiro of the Cultural Property Archives Laboratory, the visitors received an overview of the Institute’s collection of books, which has been accumulated since 1930, an introduction to the reading environment of the TOBUNKEN Library, and an explanation of the Institute’s initiatives for the preservation and publication of materials. The visit also provided an opportunity for a lively exchange of views on such topics as the role of specialized libraries in museums and cultural property research institutions; the organization, preservation, and utilization of materials; user services; and the current state and challenges of digitization.
Although the two institutions operate under different national and institutional systems, they share many common issues associated with collecting and organizing cultural properties and museum-related materials and making them available to users, including researchers and students. Taking this visit as an opportunity, we hope to continue sharing information on materials and deepening exchanges concerning specialized libraries and archives, thereby contributing to the development of the research infrastructure for cultural properties in East Asia.
Library of the National Museum of Korea
https://www.museum.go.kr/MUSEUM/contents/M0610010000.do
Landscape with poppy flowers seen from the bus window
Rue KURODA Seiki (KURODA Seiki street),
Observation of a ceiling painting by Raphaël Collin, The Odéon-Théâtre de l'Europe, Paris
Poppy flowers scatter like bright red confetti across lush green fields of grass. The poppy, with its thin stems and petals appearing to float, was often included in landscape paintings of impressionists, and KURODA Seiki also left behind such rurual scenes from his student life in France.
The Tokyo National Research Institute for Cultural Properties (TOBUNKEN) traces its origins to the Art Research Institute, established within the KURODA Memorial Hall. Since the hall was transferred to the Tokyo National Museum in 2007, TOBUNKEN has continued to collaborate with the museum to conduct research on KURODA, and has also been involved in exhibitions held in the KURODA Memorial Room.
Recently, I accompanied a tour in France, titled “Tokyo National Museum 2026 Special Supporting Member Tour: Visiting Places Associated with KURODA Seiki,” as a guide. This project was prepared over nearly a year with Mr. OKIMASU Kenjiro and other staff members of the Tokyo National Museum, and with Ms. MOINE-MAEDA-Emiko, a guide conférencière holding a French national qualification, who has been investigating KURODA’s footsteps in the country. Ms. MOINE-MAEDA and her husband were at the venue, along with another guide conférancière, INOUE Yukari. The guide conférancière qualification is essential for guiding at French museums and similar institutions. Witnessing their skillful and lively commentary and agility during the tour placed me in a good mood during the sections I was responsible for guiding.
In France, we visited Paris, where KURODA lived from 1885 and received his first art education, and Grez-sur-Loing (hereafter, “Grez”), a commune located 70 km south of Paris where he regularly stayed in the rustic rural landscape. When KURODA first visited Grez, mainly in the late 19th century, there were colonies of foreign artists, and even around 1890 many foreign still artists stayed there, even though the peak period had passed. Their history is officially commemorated in this commune, and in 2001, ‘Rue KURODA Seiki’ (KURODA Seiki street) was established, with commemorative plaques in both Japanese and French displayed (KURODA is commonly written as ‘Kouroda’ in French, but the street name spelling was chosen to be ‘KURODA’ which is more familiar to Japanese visitors). The Hôtel-Chevillon in Grez, where KURODA painted “Reading,” is now operated by a Swedish foundation as an atelier and residence for artists. Paintings created in Grez are also housed in the City Hall, and a dedicated exhibition was held for our group there. Behind the warm welcome by the entire city lies the fact that the city is actively preserving not only the history of its artists, but also the landscapes they loved. For the fact that we can now see landscapes no different from what KURODA saw, we owe our gratitude to regulations such as minimizing power lines, and to the people protecting the environment of Grez.
In Paris, the program included visits to the Hall of Modern French Art, where KURODA and his colleagues studied, such as the Pantheon and Musée d’Orsay, visits to view works by his mentor Raphaël Collin that are usually not publicly exhibited, and walks through other places related to KURODA’s former residence.
After returning to Japan, KURODA took on a leading role in laying the foundations of Japanese modern art through art education and the establishment of exhibition systems, but due to his extremely busy schedule he was not able to devote himself fully to painting production. However, even during this period, KURODA kept focusing on everyday landscapes such as garden plants and suburban farmland, and continued to paint when he could.
This tour once again taught me that KURODA’s roots were nurtured during his free and sincere student life as an artist in France.
A pansori performance presented during the conference
Scenes from the Chunhyang Festival
Mr. ISHIMURA Tomo of our institute participated in the international conference “2026 International Forum for Promoting Good Safeguarding Practices of Intangible Cultural Heritage,” held in Namwon, Republic of Korea. This international conference was organized by Namwon City and the Center for Intangible Culture Studies (CICS) and was held from April 30 to May 1, 2026.
The theme of this conference was “Increasing the Visibility of Good Safeguarding Practices: Rethinking Approaches in the Context of Underrepresented Regions.” The UNESCO Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage includes three lists and registers: the “List of Intangible Cultural Heritage in Need of Urgent Safeguarding (Urgent Safeguarding List),” the “Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity (Representative List),” and the “Register of Good Safeguarding Practices.” However, the “Register of Good Safeguarding Practices” suffers from low international recognition, and the small number of entries (43 as of 2025) remains a challenge. The purpose of this conference was to discuss measures to enhance its visibility.
Mr. ISHIMURA delivered a presentation titled “Good Safeguarding Practices vs. Representative List: Comparing Two Cases of Traditional Architectural Craftsmanship,” focusing on Japan’s “Traditional Skills, Techniques, and Knowledge for the Conservation and Transmission of Wooden Architecture in Japan” and Germany, Austria, France, Norway, and Switzerland’s “Craft Techniques and Customary Practices of Cathedral Workshops, or Bauhütten, in Europe, know-how, transmission, development of knowledge, and innovation,” noting that while the former is inscribed on the Representative List, the latter is registered as a Good Safeguarding Practice, and reported the results of a comparative analysis of their contents.
Namwon City, where the conference was held, is known as the setting for the story “The Tale of Chunhyang.” Originally a folktale from the Joseon Dynasty, “The Tale of Chunhyang” depicts a love story that transcends social boundaries between the daughter of a gisaeng, a type of traditional female artist and entertainer, and the son of a yangban, a high-ranking nobleman and scholar. It is performed as a piece of the traditional performing art pansori (inscribed on the Representative List) and has also been adapted into novels and films. Namwon City hosts the annual “Chunhyang Festival” to commemorate this story, and on the second day of the conference, participants observed the festivities. The “Chunhyang Festival” began in 1931 and marked its 96th edition this year. During the conference, there was discussion that this festival—which has been organized by citizens for many years—is a worthy example of “Good Safeguarding Practices.”
Although the Register of Good Safeguarding Practices has received little attention in Japan to date, it was felt that this approach should be reconsidered going forward.
A presentation by a participant
Panel discussion
Mr. CHIBA Tsuyoshi, a researcher of the Center for Conservation Science, participated as a panelist in the public symposium “Considering the Preservation of Historical Materials on Science and Technology in Modern Japan: What Should We Preserve, and How?” organized by the he History of Science Society of Japan and the Graduate School of Language and Society, Hitotsubashi University, held on May 31, 2026. He presented a paper entitled “Historical Materials on Science and Technology as Cultural Properties: Focusing on Modern Transportation Movable Cultural Properties.”
In his presentation, Mr. CHIBA first provided an overview of how “historical materials on science and technology” have been positioned within Japan’s Law for the Protection of Cultural Properties. He then introduced the current state of designation systems at the national, prefectural, and municipal levels, focusing primarily on cultural properties related to transportation and mobility.
With regard to aircraft in particular, Mr. CHIBA highlighted the striking gap between their recognized scientific and technological value and their actual status under cultural property designation: no aircraft has been designated as an Important Cultural Property at the national level or as a prefectural cultural property, and only a handful of municipal designations are on record. He suggested several possible reasons for this situation: the idea of evaluating aircraft “from a cultural property perspective” has yet to gain broad acceptance in society; adequate research and investigation to establish such an evaluation has not sufficiently advanced; and there exists a sense of aversion toward materials associated with the military and warfare.
As the sole example of an actual aircraft designated as a cultural property, Mr. CHIBA discussed the Imperial Japanese Army Type 4 Fighter Hayate (No. 1446), designated as a cultural property of Minamikyushu City, Kagoshima Prefecture in 2020. He explained that this designation was driven by an affirmative recognition of the aircraft’s local ties — its local significance as a type with a specific connection to the region. He further noted that since the former town of Chiran purchased the aircraft in 1995, it has been continuously preserved and studied in Minamikyushu City. This ongoing stewardship, he argued, generates new value in itself — not only through the knowledge gained from research, but through the very act of preservation carried out by its owners together with those involved. This can be understood, he suggested, as an effort to reconstruct the aircraft’s local ties within the broader life history of the airframe.
Mr. CHIBA also touched on certification schemes established by academic societies and industry associations, noting that these play an important role alongside official government designation, with the two serving as complementary pillars of evaluation.
At the same time, he pointed out that many modern historical materials on science and technology are inherently perishable, making long-term preservation difficult in numerous cases. Such materials are currently being lost at a rapid pace, and he emphasized the importance of bringing together diverse stakeholders — including government bodies, researchers, museums, and enthusiasts — to collectively confront the difficult question of “what to preserve” (and, by extension, “what not to preserve”).
Following the panelists’ presentations, a discussion was held with fellow panelists Dr. ARIGA Nobumichi, Dr. SAITO Yurika, and Dr. HISHIKI Fuka. A wide range of topics were explored in lively debate, with participation from the floor, including the preservation of related materials as a coherent body or collection, the risk of large-scale dispersal of undesignated cultural properties, questions around the cultural property evaluation of materials related to accidents and incidents, and the long-term sustainability of corporate museums.
The proceedings of the symposium are scheduled to be published in the Journal of the History of Science, Japan.
