| ■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 |
|
Bronze Black Kite Being Hoisted by the Crane on October 13th
Restored Shochuhi memorial (Photographed by Mr. Takashi OKU)
As repeatedly reported through this activity report, the Committee for Salvaging Cultural Properties Affected by the 2011 Earthquake off the Pacific Coast of Tohoku and Related Disasters having its secretariat in this Institute provided rescue activities for numerous cultural properties damaged by the Great East Japan Earthquake in March 2011. The Shochuhi memorial (managed by Miyagiken Gokoku Shrine) standing on the site of the inner citadel of Sendai Castle (Aoba Castle) is one of them. The monument was built to console the souls of war victims related to the Second Division in Sendai in 1902. Due to the earthquake, a bronze black kite installed on the stone tower about 15 m in height fell to the ground. Its broken pieces were collected and the main body was relocated as Cultural Properties Rescue Operations by the Committee. After the completion of the Operations in 2014, the Monument was restored as the Disaster-Affected Museum Reconstruction Project in Miyagi Prefecture. The joining work for the broken black kite conducted at Bronze Studio located in Hakonegasaki, Tokyo from FY2015 was finally completed. From October 11th through 17th, 2016, the black kite was installed at its original location in Sendai.
The bronze black kite (4.44 m in height, 5.68 m in width, 3.819 t in total bronze weight), whose original virile appearance with its wings widely spreading was restored in Tokyo after about five and a half years, was transported to Sendai by trailer on October 12th, 2016. On the next day, the bronze statue was installed in the lower front of the stone tower by crane, under the watchful eye of the people concerned, local mass media, and tourists visiting Sendai Castle. The bronze black kite, which had been placed on the top of the tower, was installed at the foot of the tower for security, considering the possibility that it may fall again from the tower top when another large earthquake occurs if placed in its original position. This bronze statue was commissioned, and then produced and cast at Tokyo Fine Arts School (Tokyo University of the Arts, today). Now, you can get a close look at the dynamic appearance of the huge black kite produced with the united efforts of the art school in the Meiji era, although it is now located in a place different from its original position.
The restoration process that has taken over a little more than five years has revealed a lot of unknown facts about the Shochuhi memorial. The boring survey conducted in June, 2016 showed that there is a large hollow surrounded by brick walls inside the tower. Another fact that one of the wings of the black kite had toppled over due to an earthquake on November 3rd, 1936 prior to the Great East Japan Earthquake was confirmed with a newspaper at that time.
According to the restorers of the bronze statue, the restoration process has revealed a variety of techniques made full use of for production. Particularly, the lead and concrete filling the inside of the statue to fix the rail inserted as an iron core connecting the black kite and the stone tower, as well as to balance the black kite in weight, was removed in this restoration for weight reduction. On the other hand, for installation of the restored black kite, steel pipes with different diameters are connected like inserts are used as a support rod inside the bronze statue. To join the steel pipes, lead was cast to fill the gap for fixing. The fixing method used for this statue clarified during the restoration process was applied to this approach. Thus, the Shochuhi memorial has been revived from the earthquake damage by utilizing the excellent technique of our predecessors. We sincerely hope that this valuable monument in the Meiji era will be handed down from generation to generation for ever after re-realizing the value of new knowledge obtained during the restoration process.
On-going Seminar
At the 6th seminar in 2016 organized by the Department of Art Research, Archives and Information Systems on October 25th, 2016, Koji KOBAYASI, Head of the Trans-Disciplinary Research Section, made a presentation titled “Japanese Lacquerware Motifs and Techniques Prevalent during the Late Keicho Period to the Early Kan-ei Period – Dialog between Painting Materials and Lacquerware Passed Down” from the perspective of material culture history. At this presentation, he compared and studied the contents drawn in the picture of “Maki-e Craftsman” composing a folding screen depicting various craftsmen possessed by Kitain Temple in Kawagoe City as an important cultural property and the same picture shown in one of Maekawa family’s books owned by Suntory Museum of Art as an original picture depicting various craftsmen of Kitain Temple’s so as to reconfirm the conventional view that these pictures were painted in the early 17th century. Then, he regarded it as reasonable to consider the landscape age of “Kabuki Picture Scroll” and “Picture of Play in the Residence (folding screen of Sououji Temple)” stored at the Tokugawa Art Museum as important cultural properties as the 1610s (between the late Keicho period and the early Genna period) and around 1630 (around the early Kan-ei period) respectively from several perspectives not referred to in past theories. In addition, he pointed out the possibility that you may recognize the living conditions of those days drawn fairly extensively and accurately in these genre paintings.
As lacquerware having large vine and wisteria patterns and painted lacquerware using silver powder are often depicted in these pictures, he suggested that these lacquerware patterns and techniques were prevalent in the early 17th century (between the late Keicho period and the early Kan-ei period). He also suggested that the pained lacquerware, lacquerware made for trading with Europeans who visited Japan, and painted lacquerware using silver power with large vine and wisteria patterns passed down to today may be produced in this period.
The relation between the contents/expressions of genre pictures in the early modern period and the historical reality is an unsolved issue due to the diverse views posed by scholars in art history and history. During the argument after the presentation of this research, that issue was referred to, leading to active discussion among the participants.
“Part of the Materials Owned by Masako Yamashita”
The materials related to Kikuji YAMASHITA (1919-1986) previously possessed by his wife Masako YAMASHITA (1926-2014) were donated from a certain person as of September 30th, 2016. Kikuji is one of the artists representing the Showa era. His works and materials, as well as related works, had also been donated to the Itabashi Art Museum, the Museum of Modern Art, Kamakura & Hayama, and the Tokushima Modern Art Museum. The materials provided for this Institute had been kept on hand by Masako until she passed away. Their volume is so large that the book racks about 6 m in length are filled with them. These materials include photos Kikuji may have taken, and materials cut off to be used for his works, which help us to research and understand him deeply. Among them, the photos taken during World War II, when he served on active duty, and after the war as an employee working at the Educational Movie Division of Toho are valuable in the study of the modern history of Japan.
The Department of Art Research, Archives and Information Systems has accepted the archives of modern artists including Taketaro SHINKAI and Hotsuma KATORI to make them available at the Library. We are now organizing these donated materials owned by Masako to make them accessible while giving consideration to private information, privacy or material conservation issues.
On-going 27th Annual Conference of the EAJRS
The annual conference of the EAJRS (European Association of Japanese Resource Specialists) was held at the Central Library of Bucharest University in Romania from September 14th through 17th, 2016. The EAJRS is mainly composed of librarians, university professors, museum and art gallery staff members, and other experts who are stimulating interest in and encouraging research in Japanese studies in Europe. At its annual conference for 2016 titled “International Cooperation between Japanese Studies Libraries,” a wide variety of presentations and reports were made through 11 sessions, including the history of Japanese studies, the history of collecting Japanese materials, the program to dispatch Japanese librarians to overseas, the program to invite overseas Japanese studies librarians to Japan, the latest trends in digital humanities, and the project to conserve old Japanese books. (For more information, please access the website of the EAJRS: http://eajrs.net/.) I made a presentation under the title of “Expansion of Cultural Archives at the Tokyo National Research Institute for Cultural Properties (TNRICP): Providing Contents of The Yearbook of Japanese Art for Global Academic Information Infrastructure” to introduce information transmission projects we have been working on this year, including the provision of data for the Online Computer Library Center (OCLC). During the exchange of opinions after the presentation, many people expected us to release our research information accumulated in the Institute. During the term of the conference, lots of exhibition booths were installed by relevant institutions and companies in the lobby of the venue for information sharing and PR activities. At the general assembly held on the final day, it was decided that the next annual conference for 2017 would take place in Oslo, Norway, and the conference ended. With many suggestions on improvement of the accessibility to Japanese cultural property information, attending the conference was a good opportunity for me to think over our archive activities in the large framework of transmitting information on Japanese studies.
Seiki Kuroda and his foster mother, Sadako
Part of a letter from Sadako to Seiki Kuroda dated July 9th, 1886
The Tokyo National Research Institute for Cultural Properties (TNRICP) possesses a number of letters addressed to Seiki Kuroda (1866-1924), a Western-style painter who contributed greatly to the foundation of the Institute. As these letters are important materials for understanding his human network, the Department of Art Research, Archives, and Information Systems has been working on their transcription and investigation. Among them, there are letters that were exchanged between Kuroda and his family. With the objective of also focusing on such communications with his family, Mr. Jun TANAKA, Research Assistant of the Department, gave a research presentation titled “Transcription and Bibliographical Introduction of Letters to Seiki Kuroda from His Foster Mother, Sadako Kuroda” at the Departmental seminar.
Sadako Kuroda (1842-1904), the wife of Kiyotsuna Kuroda who adopted Seiki as his heir, raised Seiki from his infancy. The letters sent to Sadako from Seiki during his period of study in France had already been transcribed and published in “Diary of Seiki Kuroda” (Chuo Koron Art Publishing Corporation, 1966). At this seminar, over 70 letters from Sadako to Seiki were introduced. As was the case with the letters from Seiki to Sadako, the letters from Sadako were also written in plain kana characters with colloquial expressions inserted here and there. The contents pertain mostly to family news, telling Seiki, who was studying abroad, the recent events of family members in detail and her husband Kiyotsuna’s intention. She thus seems to have been serving as a mediator between the father and the son. In particular, when Seiki, who had left for France to study law, decided to direct his efforts toward becoming a painter, it is worth noting that Sadako, together with Kiyotsuna, expressed her support by writing, “It’s a very, very good idea” in her letter dated July 9th, 1886. It would be no exaggeration to say that the painter Seiki Kuroda came into being thanks to such emotional support from his foster parents. This seminar has given us an opportunity to reaffirm the importance of family ties in Kuroda’s accomplishments as a painter.
The Istanbul Congress Center, the venue of the session
Plenary session of the Committee
The 40th session of the World Heritage Committee was held in Istanbul, Turkey, from July 10th, 2016. Two staff members of the National Research Institute for Cultural Properties, Tokyo (NRICPT) participated in the Committee.
It was the third review of “The Architectural Work of Le Corbusier,” which includes the National Museum of Western Art, Tokyo, as one of components of the property, since the first review was conducted in 2009. As the Advisory Body (ICOMOS) recommended that it be inscribed on the World Heritage List, expectations grew among parties concerned when the review the following day became almost certain to be held in the evening of July 15th. Owing to the repercussions of an attempted coup by the military that occurred on the night of the 15th to the early morning of the 16th, however, the session on the 16th was canceled and it was decided on the 17th that the property be inscribed on the List. To reduce the time for discussion, the Committee Members were not allowed to comment on the sites which were recommend by the Advisory Bodies to be inscribed on the World Heritage List; thus, it was unfortunate that we were unable to hear their opinions about the Architectural Work of Le Corbusier.
From this time, regarding the nominated properties for inscription on the World Heritage List, the States Parties concerned are notified of the interim evaluation made by the World Heritage Panel. On the basis of this evaluation, they can modify their nomination files for the final evaluation. There are different responses by the States Parties. While some withdrew their files, others revised them significantly to prepare for the evaluation. There were cases in which the Advisory Bodies’ negative recommendation was overturned by the Committee and it was decided that the property be inscribed on the List. Given such cases, discussions should be continued on how recommendation and evaluations are made by the Advisory Bodies.
Note that although the session of the committee was scheduled to last until July 20th, it was abruptly adjourned on the 17th because of the coup. The session will be resumed at the UNESCO headquarters in Paris from October 24th to 26th, 2016, where agenda items are due to be discussed, such as minor boundary modifications of the properties already inscribed on the World Heritage List, including “Sacred Sites and Pilgrimage Routes in the Kii Mountain Range,” and a revision to the Operational Guidelines for the Implementation of the World Heritage Convention.
Results of a search on OCLC WorldCat website
The National Research Institute for Cultural Properties, Tokyo (NRICPT) concluded an agreement regarding the implementation of the “project to formulate the basic grounds for sending information on cultural assets centered on fine arts and crafts both domestically and internationally” with the National Museum of Western Art (NMWA), Tokyo on June 27th, 2016. NMWA was established on the basis of the collection of Japanese business tycoon Kojiro MATSUKATA in 1959. The database of its collection has been acclaimed highly as the norm by experts both at home and abroad as it meets the requirements of the study of art history. The purpose of signing the treaty this time around is for NRICPT to step up its efforts at sending information about the cultural assets in Japan that it discloses on the Internet by making use of NMWA’s method of, and experience in, disseminating information. As the first project under the concluded treaty, we plan to provide the global library service organization Online Computer Library Center, Inc. (OCLC) with the “information on literature listed on the exhibition catalogues published in Japan,” which has been included in the Year Book of Japanese Art that NRICPT compiles and publishes. Through a project like this, we will continue to improve accessibility to information on research on Japanese art overseas.
A subject of gossip by Gyokuro Kurihara 1914
The legend of Kiyohime, Woman by Gyokuyo Kurihara 1921
Tai TADOKORO, the Department of Art Research, Archives and Information Systems, gave a presentation entitled “Basic Research on Gyokuyo Kurihara: Her Life and Artworks” in the department on June 28th.
The Japanese-style painter Gyokuyo Kurihara, who achieved success mainly in Bunten (art exhibition sponsored by the Ministry of Education) in the Taisho period, left many paintings of little girls and women based on theatrical plays. While alive, she was thought to be the best female painter in Tokyo and to be even comparable to Shoen Uemura in Kyoto. Today, however, she is not very famous and has been little studied. TADOKORO overviewed her achievements as a painter focusing on the works displayed in exhibitions and then discussed changes in the expression seen in her works and her status in the world of art at that time. As well as materials such as art magazines and exhibition catalogues, photographs of her works appearing in women’s magazines revealed years of creation and a history of display in exhibitions of many of her remaining works. By overviewing her artworks based on this information, TADOKORO found that Gyokuyo changed the subject of her paintings around 1916 from little girls to women based on theatrical plays. TADOKORO also pointed out that strong influence from one of her teachers, Eikyu Matsuoka, can be seen mainly in the colors of the works in her last years. In particular, TADOKORO suggested that she tried a unique, unprecedented expression in the use of gold paint. Besides these creations, it came to light that she had played a major role in the world of painters, especially female painters, at that time through training of many disciples and the foundation of Getsuyokai, an organization of female Japanese-style painters, in cooperation with other female painters.
We invited Mr. Toshiaki GOMI, who is familiar with Gyokuyo, to this seminar as a commentator from the Nagasaki Museum of History and Culture. Mr. Gomi gave us valuable information about the current situation of research on Gyokuyo, her remaining works in Nagasaki, and her descendants. In addition, together with Dr.Kaoru KOJIMA at Jissen Women’s University and Ms. Yuri YAMAMOTO at the Sakura City Museum of Art, attendants keenly discussed issues such as female painters and bijinga, pictures of beautiful women.
The exhibition hall –Seiki Kuroda’s atelier is reproduced and sketches of Talk on Ancient Romance and others are on display.
The exhibition hall – From the section that reproduces the mural painting for the entrance of Tokyo Station for the Imperial Family, Wisdom, Impression and Sentiment is viewed.
This year marks the 150th year since the birth of Western-style painter Seiki Kuroda (1866-1924) who made a great contribution to modernizing Japanese art and establishing the Institute. To commemorate this milestone, the Special Exhibition: Seiki Kuroda, Master of Modern Japanese Painting: The 150th Anniversary of His Birth was held at the Heiseikan, Tokyo National Museum from March 23rd through May 15th, 2016. The Institute, which has continued to conduct research and studies on Kuroda since its estublishment, was involved as an organizer in planning and composing the exhibition, resulting in making the exhibition that reflects the outcome of our research.
In this exhibition, over 200 pieces of his works were collected together ranging from those he created while he was studying in France to those sent to Hakubakai that he led and those exhibited at Bunten, to sketches in his late life, not to mention familiar masterpieces such as Reading and Lakeside. Moreover, as an attempt unique to this exhibition, paintings by French painters who influenced Kuroda while he was studying in France and those by Japanese Western-style painters with whom Kuroda got involved were also exhibited. As regards French paintings in particular, we invited Mr. Atsushi MIURA, an expert of French modern art and professor of the University of Tokyo, as a guest curator. French works, including Shepherdess with her flock (owned by Musee d’Orsay) by Jean-Francois Millet whom Kuroda looked up to and Froreal (owned by Musee d’Orsay, deposited in Musee des beaux-arts d’Arras) by Raphael Collin, his mentor, were also on display, providing a good opportunity to compare these with the counterparts by Japanese Western-style painters in order to identify what Kuroda learned from the mainstream of Western art and tried to bring over to Japan.
In the exhibition, while the audience appreciated Kuroda’s original works, real-size images of works that were destroyed by the fire during a war, including Morning Toilette and Talk on Ancient Romance, were also displayed. The mural painting for the entrance of Tokyo Station for the Imperial Family completed in 1914 based on Kuroda’s concept was burnt down in an air raid in 1945, but based on some photographs, a corner was set up to allow the audience to feel the ambience using images of Tokyo Station in those days as well.
The exhibition not only coincided with the cherry blossom viewing season and Golden Week holidays but also received good reviews from various media; as a result, it drew as many as roughly 182 thousand visitors in total. With this exhibition, the Institute believes that Kuroda’s great presence was felt anew. The exhibition offered an opportunity to take a comprehensive view of his career as a painter and life on the one hand. On the other hand, there are still materials yet to be elucidated, including the letters addressed to him that the Institute owns. The Institute will continue to conduct research and studies on Kuroda and publicize the outcome on the Bijutsu Kenkyu (The Journal of Art Studies) and its website.
The seminar is being conducted.
The Institute held a seminar titled “Art Archives – Then and Now” on May 14th. This workshop invited Ms. Birgit Jooss, an archivist and art historian who takes the initiative in contemporary German art archive activities (next head of the Documenta Archive in Kassel, former head of the Germanisches Nationalmuseum in Nuremberg, the German Art Archive, and the Archive, Academy of Arts, Berlin, respectively), in an attempt to bring the significance and issues associated with the archive into question.
On the day, Mr. Fujio Maeda, a guest professor of Chubu University and professor emeritus of Keio University, gave a presentation titled “Art Libraries and Artist Archives: German Tradition in the Iconic Turn” in which he described the history of archives in the nation. In a lecture titled “Art Archives in Germany: An Overview” delivered by Ms. Jooss, she classified typical art archives in Germany into “Archives of Artists’ Personal Papers,” “Regional Art Archives,” “Art Archives Focused on Particular Subjects,” “Museum Archives,” “Archives for Individual Artists” and “Documentation Centers” and described their respective features and backgrounds of establishment. In general discussions, the audience exchanged questions and answers actively with the presenters and issues common to Japan and Germany were also cited and the seminar ended on a high note. Moreover, prior to the seminar, we gave a facility tour to those concerned, including Ms. Jooss, when they inspected the Material Reading Room and the Library, and exchanged views and opinions.
This workshop was co-hosted by the Art Library SIG of the Japan Art Documentation Society (JADS) and the Institute under the sponsorship of the Museum of Modern Art, Kamakura & Hayama and the Yoshino Gypsum Art Foundation. It was also an event organized as part of the “Integration of Producer Information through Collaboration between Museums and Research Institutes,” which was given grants-in-aid for scientific research by the Japan Society for Promotion of Science (JPSP) (Representative Researcher Yuzo Marukawa (National Museum of Ethnology)) as well. Ms. Masako Kawaguchi (The National Museum of Western Art) and Mai Sarai (The Department of Art Research, Archives and Information Systems of the Institute) served as a moderator for the seminar.
Seminar of the Department of Art Research, Archives and Information Systems
The Department of Art Research, Archives and Information Systems of the Institute organizes a monthly seminar to consider cultural assets centered on fine arts and crafts not only among staff members but also with researchers invited from other organizations as presenters. For May, it held a seminar on Tuesday, the 31st, when Mr. Masanori Nishiki, an associate fellow of the Tokyo National Museum, was invited to give a presentation titled “Considerations on Seven Yakushi Nyorai Statues at Keisokuji Temple in Shiga Prefecture.”
These wooden statues at Keisokuji Temple that were featured in the presentation have been known as a rare example of existing statues of the type from early on, but it had scarcely been dealt with as a subject of a consideration.
In the presentation, based on the knowledge gained form field investigations of each statues and the recognition that this set of statues are rare examples of the Tendai school, he supposed that the original wooden statues enshrined in Konpon Chudo of Enryaku-ji Temple in Mt. Hiei, while paying attention to the fact that they were statues with no gold leaf gilded. He went on to share his thoughts with the audience based on his recognition that it was a reproduction in the area.
The presentation was followed by a question and answer session, in which seminar participants exchanged views and opinions actively with the presenter.
Part of the papers of Denzaburo Nakamura
We received papers of Mr. Denzaburo NAKAMURA, a researcher emeritus of the Institute (1916-1994), from Mr. Toru Nakamura, a family member of the deceased, as of April 30th. Denzaburo was a researcher on Japanese modern sculpture and held a position at the Institute of Art Research attached to the National Museum (currently, Department of Art Research, Archives and Information Systems of the Institute) from 1947 until he resigned from the post in 1978. He researched on authors of sculpture, such as Auguste Rodin, Morie Ogiwara, Denchu Hirakushi, Taketaro Shinkai and Seibo Kitamura, and also conducted a systematic survey into sculpture organizations that existed in the Meiji period and later, thereby taking the initiative in empirical research in the Japanese history of modern sculpture. On top of these, he was engaged in research on the trends in contemporary art of the times centered on sculpture and stereoscopic molding as well as critiquing, which contributed to authors’ creative activities significantly. The materials that the family member donated to the Institute were: 1) Publications by, and documents related to, the Rokuzan Art Museum; 2) Materials related to Rokuzan Ogiwara; 3) Materials related to Koun, Kotaro and Toyochika Takamura; 4) Materials related to Taketaro Shinkai; 5) Materials related to Nika 70-nenshi (Nika Association, 1985) ; 6) Materials related to the Institute of Art Research and the National Research Institute for Cultural Properties, Tokyo; 7) Materials related to the Cultural Project to Commemorate the Centennial of the Opening of the Country; and 8) Materials related to the Metallplastik aus Japan, each of which is invaluable materials for research on the history of modern and contemporary sculpture.
Today, these archives generated by a certain individual or organization are widely recognized as valuable research resources and in recent years, heated debate has been conducted by those concerned as to how to prevent them from being scattered and lost, put in place an environment to better utilize them and hand them down to succeeding generations. We have received archives built by our former staff members, including Yukio YASHIRO, Jiro UMEZU, Kei KAWAKAMI, Takeshi KUNO, Osamu TAKATA and Ichimatsu TANAKA, positively and organized them better through initiatives, such as “Research and Development for Storage and Use of Record of Investigation into Works by Various Academic Predecessors and Image Materials and Others – Taking over the Perspectives of Art Historians” (Representative Researcher: Atsushi TANAKA, Basic Research (B) 2009-2012), and offered them through the material reading room. We will try our best to make public the papers of Denzaburo NAKAMURA donated around September this year while paying attention to issues associated with personal information, privacy and material preservation.
Yoshimatsu Goseda (right) and Seiki Kuroda
From a commemorative photo of a get-together among Bun-ten exhibitors (“Bijutsu Shinpo” Vol. 12, No. 2 December 1923)
The Institute owns a large number of letters addressed to Seiki Kuroda (1866-1924), a Western-style painter who was deeply involved in establishing the Institute. Regarding them as valuable materials that help us look into a network of personal contacts involving Kuroda, the Department of Art Research, Archives and Information Systems has worked on their republication and research, while seeking cooperation from outside researchers. As part of this initiative, Mr. Takuro Tsunoda, a curator of the Kanagawa Prefectural Museum of Cultural History, was invited to give a presentation titled “Reading letters addressed to Seiki Kuroda from Yoshimatsu Goseda – Profile, Tokyo School of Fine Arts, and History of Western-style Painting in the Meiji Period” at the seminar of the department held on April 21.
In recent years, Yoshimatsu Goseda (1855-1915), who is one of the leading Western-style painters in the first half of the Meiji period, has been reevaluated and reviewed through exhibitions and studies by Mr. Tsunoda. Yoshimatsu, who grew up in a family of machie-shi (town painters), went to France earlier than Seiki Kuroda and won a prize at a salon, displaying his talent. After returning to Japan in 1889, however, his activities were rather low-profile. Thus, he was treated as a person whose existence has been forgotten in art circles. Mr. Tsunoda’s presentation this time dealt with the details surrounding the latter half of Yoshimatsu’s life, which had not been told very much, through 25 letters that he addressed to Kuroda since 1908. In many of these letters, Yoshimatsu, who was trying to sell his old works to the Tokyo School of Fine Arts, asked Kuroda, who was a professor of the school, to go between. Kuroda replaced the previous generation, including Yoshimatsu, and led the world of Western-style painting in those days. In fact, a great many Western-style paintings that Yoshimatsu created in the early Meiji period while he was in Europe, such as “Ayatsuri Shibai,” were included in the collection at the school, where Kuroda worked, allowing you to make a survey of the trends in Western-style paintings from the early to the late Meiji period. Mr. Tsunoda’s presentation was an attempt to find positive significance in the creation of the history of Western-style painting in the Meiji period from exchanges between Yoshimatsu and Kuroda, which went beyond their respective positions, and reminded us of the importance of these letters that describe the background.
TANAKA Atsushi lecturing on artist KISHIDA Ryusei
As a part of the comprehensive study meeting program for the researchers of the Institute, the lecture meeting of TANAKA Atsushi (Deputy Director General) who was retiring at the end of this fiscal year was held on March 1st. Tanaka has been with the Institute since 1994 and engaged in research study on the contemporary art and published many literatures concerning Japanese modern Western paintings especially in the Meiji and Taisho eras. His books include “TAIYO TO JINTAN: Aspects of Japanese post-impressionism and modernism, 1912-1945” (Brücke Co., Ltd., 2012).
In the lecture titled “The substratum of the modern Japanese art ― with the focus on KISHIDA Ryusei,” the relationship between KISHIDA Ryusei as an artist of Western painting and the collectors surrounding him was viewed and discussed as the “substratum” that had supported his creative work. Tanaka’s view has deep-rooted in his research approach that was adopted in the above literary works and that he has developed over the past years. Furthermore, his lecture using abundant materials based on solid research has revealed that Kishida’s network with SUMITOMO Kanichi who was the eldest son of SUMITOMO Shunsui (the founder of the present Sumitomo Group and a well-known art collector), ODAKA Sennosuke who was a staff member of the Institute of Art Research (the predecessor of the National Research Institute for Cultural Properties, Tokyo), and others led the artist of Western painting to become an ardent admirer of the Eastern art such as Ming & Xing-era paintings and Ukiyo-e.
In addition to the Institute’s staff members, the lecture meeting was also attended by many former staff members of the Institute who used to work with Tanaka. A reception was held after the lecture, which was filled with a warm and friendly atmosphere just like that of an alumni reunion.
After retirement, Tanaka will continue to support the Institute as its honorary fellow and a visiting researcher of the Department of Art Research, Archives and Information Systems.
The National Research Institute for Cultural Properties, Tokyo established the Archives Working Group in FY2013 to make further efforts to widely and effectively transmit the results of various studies on cultural properties that the Institute has worked on.
In FY2014, as a part of the efforts above mentioned, a new system was established to organize a vast amount of research information/information resources and facilitate their disclosure. Furthermore, the existing retrieval system for the material database of the Institute was renewed as “TOBUNKEN Research Collections” ( http://www.tobunken.go.jp/archives/). Users comment favorably that a scope of accessible information has expanded as the retrieval of variety of information related to cultural assets has become facilitated.
In FY2015, with the aim of providing the entire list of research products that have been published by the Institute since its foundation till today, a new page “List of Publications of the National Research Institute for Cultural Properties, Tokyo” (http://www.tobunken.go.jp/japanese/publication/index.html ) was added to the Institute’s website. Based on this list of research products, it is planned to sequentially post those research products which can be published on the website (as PDF files etc.). In addition to the Institute’s website, those research products will also be included in the “open access repository” currently being promoted by the National Institute of Informatics, thereby developing a usage environment open to more people.
Nowadays, “opening of academic information on natural science” seems to be entering the new phase, where the Cabinet Office issued the open science policy. The Archives Working Group is planning to hold an active discussion also on how to handle the experimental data, useful illustrations, etc. in the field of natural science that have not been able to be sufficiently included in the paper medium.
Seminar of the Department of Art Research, Archives and Information Systems
Once a month, by inviting not only the Institute’s staff members but also researchers from other institutions as the presenters, the Department of Art Research, Archives and Information Systems holds a seminar to discuss cultural assets mainly focusing on arts and crafts. On Tuesday, 29th March, Yoshiya YAMASHITA (Curator of Japanese Painting of the Tokyo National Museum) delivered a presentation under the title mentioned above. This Emaki, owned by the Sumo Museum in Ryogoku, has an overall length of over 12 meters. Its existence had not been well known until it was recognized as a Sansetsu’s work and was displayed and publicly shown in the special exhibition “Kano Sanraku and Sansetsu” (March 30th to May 12th 2013) that Yamashita organized during his tenure at the Kyoto National Museum.
First, the presentation has drawn attention to the Japanese style motif that changed the previous image of Sansetsu having been created based on the works of Chinese type motifs. Then, the scenes that depicted the moments of various sumo techniques such as “Kawazu-gake” winning technique and the viewers’ excitement were explained in detail and Sansetsu’s characteristics were confirmed from his way of depicting portraits, including especially the faces and looks. Further, focusing on the postscript by his heir Einoh, the presenter gave his view on the issue of Sansetsu’s supporters and the background of the birth of this Emaki.
Signing ceremony
On February 9th, 2016, the National Research Institute for Cultural Properties, Tokyo concluded an agreement with the Getty Research Institute in Los Angeles, USA concerning promotion of the collaborative investigation in Japanese art. The Getty Research Institute was founded with the inheritance of entrepreneur Paul Getty in 1984 and has been engaged in the research and international exchange in the field of art, especially fine art. The Agreement, lasting five years, concerns exchanging researchers of Japanese art between both institutes, translating/publishing literature on art history written in Japanese/English, and making the digital information on Japanese art available on the Getty Research Portal.
At the signing ceremony, Dr. Thomas GAEHTGENS, Director of the Getty Research Institute addressed that the Getty Research Institute recognizes this as an important agreement and hopes that projects beneficial for both Institutes will be developed. In response, KAMEI Nobuo, Director General of the National Research Institute for Cultural Properties, Tokyo spoke that exchanging information on art materials held in Japan and overseas evaluation of Japanese art is quite significant in view of transmission of Japanese culture. We hope this to be further developed in the future. After the signing ceremony, a staff-level meeting was held by the personnel who were in charge of this project in each Institute.
Based on the agreement concluded this time, the National Research Institute for Cultural Properties, Tokyo will promote its efforts in study exchange between both Institutes, translation of Japanese art research literature that can contribute to study of the Japanese art history in English-speaking countries, and international standardization of research information that is now available on the web.
On February 23rd 2016 (Tue), a research presentation was made by Tomoko EMURA (Japan Center for International Cooperation in Conservation) at the study meeting of the Department of Art Research, Archives and Information Systems, which was titled “Korin’s works with the “Dosu” seal―Ogata Korin’s stay in Edo and a Change in His Painting Style.”
It has been said that the seals Ogata Korin (1658-1716) used on his paintings changed with his age. The seal used on the folding screen of “Irises” (Nezu Museum), which is one of his masterpieces of his early period, is the “Iryo” seal, while he used the “Hoshuku” seal on his later masterpiece “Red and White Plum Blossoms” screen (MOA Museum of Art). The “Dosu” seal was used during the period between the years when the “Iryo” seal was used and the years when the “Hoshuku” seal was used. During this period, Korin stayed in Edo a few times and it is believed that his painting style has changed during this period. There are other works of his with the “Dosu” seal, including the “Flowers and Grasses of the Four Seasons” handscroll painted in 1705 (Private Collection) with ink seal on the frame, the “Rough Waves” screen (the Metropolitan Museum of Art), and the “Azalea” hanging scroll (Hatakeyama Memorial Museum of Fine Art). This time, especially focusing on the “A Budding Plum Tree” (Freer Gallery of Art), which is a six-panel screen that have been less known, the presenter has indicated that elements implying the change towards his later masterpiece “Red and White Plum Blossoms” screen are observed in it. The “A Budding Plum Tree” screen has many damages and bears traces of a lot of trial and error in his touch. Korin is believed to have learnt the black-and-white ink painting style during his stay in Edo and this experience could have affected the change in his painting style. The presentation was followed by a active discussion, where opinions were exchanged on possible relations with change of seals, shapes of his screens, and black-and-white ink painting style. A more detailed study on the “A Budding Plum Tree” screen is awaited.
The “A Budding Plum Tree” screen (Freer Gallery of Art) can be seen on the following website:
http://www.asia.si.edu/collections/edan/object.php?q=fsg_F1905.19
Tanaka delivering a lecture at Third Thursday Lecture hosted by the Sainsbury Institute for the Study of Japanese Arts and Cultures
The Sainsbury Institute for the Study of Japanese Arts and Cultures (SISJAC) located in Norwich, a suburb of London, UK launched the “Shaping the Fundamentals of Research on Japanese Arts” project in July 2013 jointly with the National Research Institute for Cultural Properties, Tokyo. Under this project, in Europe and the United States, exhibitions of Japanese art have been held and English-written information about Japanese art in the form of books and literatures have been collected. (Information on these literatures can be retrieved at the “References on Cultural Properties” of the “TOBUNKEN Research Collections” website of the Institute: http://www.tobunken.go.jp/archives/).
With the objective of confirming the progress of this project during this fiscal year and its continuation for the next fiscal year and beyond, Atsushi TANAKA, Deputy Director General, and Tetsuei TSUDA, Head of the Archives Section of Department of Art Research, Archives and Information Systems, visited the SISJAC from 16th to 21st February and had discussions with Mami MIZUTORI, Executive Director of SISJAC, and the data input staff.
Also, on 18th (Thursday) during the stay, at Third Thursday Lecture that is held by SISJAC on the third Thursday of each month, Tanaka gave a lecture titled “The Portrait, Painted in 1916,” talking on the portrait of Ryusei KISHIDA. The lecture was held in the wooden lecture room that was newly built attached to the medieval cathedral, adjacent to which SISJAC is located. There was an audience of nearly one hundred and the seats were fully occupied. The audience listened to the lecture with enthusiasm, showing a great deal of interest in the modern Japanese art.
A scene from the Study Meeting
On January 13th, the Department of Art Research, Archives, and Information Systems held a study meeting titled “Art Historian, Yukio YASHIRO: between the West and the East” to discuss from various perspectives the roles and achievements in the field of Western art history and Japanese/oriental art history of Yukio YASHIRO who played a key role in establishment of the Institute of Art Research (the predecessor of the National Research Institute for Cultural Properties, Tokyo). Art historian Shuji TAKASHINA was invited as a commentator. The study meeting consisted of the following programs: “Viewpoints towards the Western and Eastern art that linked Bernard Berenson to Yukio Yashiro” (Emiko YAMANASHI, Dept. of Art Research, Archives, and Information Systems of the Institute), “Sandro Botticelli seen through Oriental Eyes―Yashiro’s 1295 monograph” (Jonathan NELSON, the Harvard University Research Center for Italian Renaissance Studies), “Rereading Yukio Yashiro’s The Annunciation” (Michiaki KOSHIKAWA, Tokyo University of the Arts), “The Emaki (Illustrated Handscroll) Studies by Yukio Yashiro” (Dr.Akira TAKAGISHI, the University of Tokyo) and “Yukio Yashiro and the Chinese Art Studies during 1930 to 1945” (Maromitsu TSUKAMOTO, the University of Tokyo).
Dr. Nelson indicated that Yashiro had introduced a new method called “style analysis” by use of partial photos of a work into the Western art history through his book “Sandro Botticelli” and the method had come from the plates used in the Japanese art magazines in Meiji Period and their making process. Dr.KOSHIKAWA showed that The Annunciation written by Yashiro as a Western art historian after his return to Japan was a pioneering research in Japan concerning iconography in the Western Christian art, and also that he directly inherited Walter Pater’s aestheticism in this literary work. Dr.TAKAGISHI clarified Yashiro’s position as an Emaki researcher who had taken a great interest as a Japanese art historian in how the unique picture style of Emaki was positioned in the world’s art. Dr.TSUKAMOTO explained the current situation in which different historical perspectives of Chinese art had been established in the West, in Japan, and in China. He further remarked Yashiro’s visit to the International Exhibition of Chinese Art held in London in 1935-1936, which influenced Yashiro’s achievement in establishing the new historical perspective of Chinese art that had mediated the Chinese art boom in the West and the study of Karamono (Chinese articles) in Japan. The presentations were followed by discussion, where participants re-acknowledged the meaning of achievements of Yashiro who actively worked internationally, both in the East and in the West.
