| ■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 |
|
‘Year Book of Japanese Art, 2007 Edition’
“Reviewing Exhibition Catalogs”Symposium
‘The Yearbook of Japanese Art, 2007’ edition was issued on March 25, the 64th volume since it was first published in 1936. Needless to say, this yearbook is a collection of materials that records trends in “art” in the corresponding year, with a focus on domestic movement; this book looks at the basic material of Japanese art.
Meanwhile, on March 20, the aforementioned symposium was hosted by the Japan Art Documentation Society (Venue: Umene Memorial Library of Wako University). The keynote report was followed by five presentations, including my presentation, entitled ‘Yearbook of Japanese Art and Exhibition Catalogs’. I reported on how the “exhibition catalogs” have been treated as materials in the “Yearbook of Japanese Art”, which has a history of over half a century, along with some issues regarding the current problems. Starting in 1984 the exhibition catalog in the Yearbook has been treated as “document materials”; starting in the 1999 edition, it has shown the documents included in the exhibition catalogs by providing one chapter on documents included in “art exhibition picture records”. This is to demonstrate that the exhibition catalogs include precise materials and data from an academic viewpoint. These catalogs have increased in tandem with the increase in establishment of new museums and art galleries since the 1980s. For example, the newest “2007 edition” includes 325 “picture records” from among 1888 exhibition data cases; 943 documents were selected from those records and are shown in the catalog. The importance of “exhibition catalogs” in terms of research is widely recognized: When editing the ‘Yearbook of Japanese Art’, I reported on how we can overcome the difficulty of closely investigating the documents as data and proceeding with a new edition while aiming at a comprehensive collection.
Nowadays everyone easily uses a camera and takes pictures. But in the days when photography such as adjustment of focus, exposure, development was entirely left to manual operations, photographs were very valuable: Those photo data became clues to examining the corresponding age, including the background behind the photograph.
In 2006 and 2007, Mr. Kaneko Mitsuo, a descendant of Kuroda Seiki’s wife Teruko, donated the photos and mementos of Kuroda Seiki that Mr. Kaneko had kept stored to the National Research Institute for Cultural Properties, Tokyo. The Institute’s Department of Research Programming investigated and arranged the logs of these materials and relevant items, and held an exhibition entitled “Photos Taken of Kuroda Seiki” in the Kuroda Memorial Hall last year. This project revealed the Kuroda image in a public place and included images such as a large-sized portrait of Kuroda Seiki in a court dress taken by Ogawa Kazumasa, an Imperial art specialist.
This year, “Photos Taken of Kuroda Seiki II” was held in the Kuroda Memorial Hall from March 19 (Thu) to July 9 (Thu), with themes including “family portraits” and “painter’s atelier” for the second time. Kuroda painted the woman who later became his wife in Lakeside, and he painted his family as models in many works. In addition to the portraits of his natural father, adoptive father, and mother, he used models; his niece Kimiko appeared in Sunlight shone through trees, another niece appeared in Yukiko, 11 year-old girl, his wife Teruko in Portrait of a woman (charcoal/paper, 1898) and Portrait of a woman (oil painting/canvas, 1911-1912). When comparing the photos of these people and the pictures painted by Kuroda, we find that the works were not simply portraits of which main purpose is resemblance, as the title Lakeside implies, but they also provide an opportunity to consider reproducibility and fictitiousness in paintings and photos.
The photos focus on the painter in his atelier and his concentration while he was producing the works. From the work hanging in the atelier we can understand the painter’s interests, and from the photos with models we can also grasp his relationship with them.
To prevent the originals of these photo materials from deteriorating by exhibition, pictures with the original texture preserved and reproduced to full-size photographs are exhibited. This demonstrates the results obtained by research and development of digital image formation technology that can conserve photo data and show it to the public. We will continue to promote the studying of Kuroda Seiki while considering the conservation of the data itself, and plan to exhibit/release the results in Kuroda Memorial Hall.
Roma scroll tentatively attached and dried (partial)
One of the works that we are restoring this year is Mushi Uta-awase Emaki (Insect Poetry Contest hand scroll), owned by the Roma National Museum of East Asian Art (Italia). This is a lovable picture scroll that shows various insects struggling to master waka poetry, but it was clear that there were some parts missing and some pages were out of order. We looked for a similar scroll and found a complete example with the same content stored in a personal residence. When the circumstances were explained to the owner, he willingly consented to the examination, and we could see the actual work on Thursday, February 5. Although some questions remained, it was revealed that both scrolls had been very close; the privately owned scroll had been created by directly copying the Roma scroll (in its initial complete state), or perhaps there was an original that was common to both. As such, those pages that were out of order in the Roma scroll were corrected due to this evidence, and the missing parts were handled appropriately with confidence. On the same day, we brought the results to the shokakudo in Kyoto City that was performing the restoration work, and there we held final discussions on restoration. For the scroll, work on the actual sheets was nearly completed, and then tentatively attached and dried. In the near future, it will be returned to the rolled mount, and restoration will be complete. Then the scroll will be open to public view in the Tokyo National Museum in late May before it is returned to Italy.
“Phoenix Hall of Byodo-in Temple, the Wall Behind the Buddha Investigation Material List: Color Image Edition”
The Institute examined the wall-behind-Buddha in the Phoenix Hall in 2004 and 2005, in cooperation with Byodo-in Temple in Uji-city, Kyoto. This examination was carried out along with the repair of the national treasure seated Amitabha Tathagata and canopy in Phoenix Hall, which was carried out for five years starting in 2003. In this project, entitled “Heisei Large Repair”, the halo and pedestal, as well as the Buddha, were brought out from the Hall, and the wall behind the Buddha, which usually cannot be seen in detail, became visible. The examination included the color, fluorescence, and near infrared photography of this wall, as well as a pigmentation survey. This was the first time that the entire wall behind the Buddha was photographed since its founding. On January 23, a news conference was held at Byodo-in Temple and it was reported on newspapers and NHK news.
The material list that will be issued includes a near infrared image edition in 2009, and a fluoroscopic image/ fluorescent X-ray analysis data edition in 2010. There are various opinions on the subject and date of the painting of the wall behind the Buddha, so we hope that a series of reports will provide useful information on the future study of art history.
Hie Sanno Sairei-Zu folding screen
Commemorative symposium lecture by Ms. Emura
Interactive display in exhibit room
In commemoration of the repair of “the Hie Sanno Sairei-Zu folding screen” completed under the Cooperative Program for the Conservation of Japanese Art Objects Overseas in 2007, the Houston Museum of Fine Arts, which owns the screen, is holding an exhibit of the repaired screen entitled “Art Unfolded: Japan’s Gift of Conservation” from January 17 to February 22. Before starting repair, the Museum wanted to exhibit the materials/tools and processes that were used for the actual repair, along with the repaired work, so that Japanese culture and traditional techniques could be comprehensively understood. Our Institute cooperated with preparation activities. In the exhibit room, the Chinese papers, paints for repair, brushes, round knives, and other tools have been placed in an exhibit case with a touch panel sensor: This makes an interactive display that enables viewers to touch the case and view a video explaining the stored items and repair processes. This display was very well received because it gave a deeper understanding of the conservation and restoration of Japanese cultural properties which were little known overseas. At the same time, the Museum played a video showing the actual Hie Sanno festival in cooperation with the Otsu City Museum of History, along with “Weaving Gold Brocade: Mounted Strips Decorating Calligraphic Works and Paintings” in cooperation with the Kyushu National Museum. It deeply introduced Japanese traditional culture.
On January 19, a symposium was held commemorating the exhibit (aid: Japan-United States Arts Program, Japan Foundation). Following greetings by Mr. Ohsawa Tsutomu, the Japanese Consul General in Houston, Mr. Takahiro Nakamura, Conservator for the Association for the Conservation of National Treasures, Kyushu Section, gave a lecture entitled “Treasured Japanese Tradition: Conservation of the Hie Sanno Sairei-Zu Screens”; Mr. Nakamura was in charge of the actual repair. Tomoko Emura presented a lecture on the characteristics of the work from the viewpoint of art history, entitled “A Divine Procession: The Hie Sanno Sairei-Zu”.
More than 150 people gathered in the Hall of the Museum, and symposium was a valuable opportunity in terms of both reports on the results of the research and engaging in international cultural exchange.
Siku Quanshu
The bibliotheca of the late Suzuki Kei, Professor Emeritus at Tokyo University and a member of The Japan Academy, was donated to the National Research Institute for Cultural Properties, Tokyo (Prof. Suzuki died on October 18, 2007 at the age of 86). Among his books, all 1500 volumes of “Wenyuange Edition Siku Quanshu”, over 500 volumes of Si Bu Cong Kan Chu Bian Suo Ben and Da Qing Li Chao Shi Lu were offered by his bereaved wife Teruko, and brought to the Institute on December 11. As is widely known, Siku Quanshu was compiled by order of Qianlong, Emperor of China, and is highly valuable because it is the largest Chinese classical encyclopedia. This Institute praises the academic contributions of Professor Suzuki, who was the leading authority on Chinese picture history. We will consider the use and conservation of precise materials and proceed with formatting so that they can be used by many researchers. We also plan to issue a volume tentatively entitled Catalog of Books Donated by Professor Suzuki Kei next year.
Session 1 Discussions
Mr. Mark Barnard (The British Library) presenting in Session 3
All symposium presenters and chairpersons
For three days from December 6 to 8, 2008, the National Research Institute for Cultural Properties, Tokyo hosted the 32nd International Symposium on the Conservation and Restoration of Cultural Properties entitled Capturing the Original: Archives for Cultural Properties in the Heiseikan Auditorium of the Tokyo National Museum. The purpose of this symposium was to consider how “original” cultural properties may be transmitted to posterity without affecting their essential value. Presentations were given and discussions were held by 25 persons, including 5 persons from overseas (USA, UK and Taiwan).
In Session 1 (“Confronting Objects/’Originals’”) on the first day, the fundamental stance towards cultural properties was re-examined, seriously considering those objects deemed to be “original”. In Session 2 (“’Originals’ beyond Objects”) on the second day, various matters that remind people of “originals”, either those that remain or materials related to them, were chosen as topics. In Session 3 (“Handing over ‘Originals’”) on the final day, ways of operating archives for cultural properties that support and transfer the originals were examined, based on the discussions up to that point.
A total of 281 participants attended the symposium during the three days. There was great interest in the theme of the symposium, which especially sought to capture “originals” from the standpoint of archives for cultural properties. Although focus was placed on Japanese and East Asian art, western aesthetics, contemporary art, and intangible cultural properties were also considered. The Department of Research Programming, which is in charge of the Institute’s archives, served as secretariat for this symposium. There were numerous matters to be considered regarding how cultural properties should be documented while focusing on the original. The Department will continue to deal with these big topics. A detailed report of the presentations and discussions will be published next year.
The Department of Research Programming concluded an agreement on collaborative investigation with the Nara National Museum (an optical survey of Buddhist art and a contract on the creation of high-definition digital content), as part of the research project Survey Research on Applications of High-definition Digital Images. From Tuesday, November 4 to Friday, November 7 of this year, we performed non-destructive analysis using fluorescent X-rays, high-definition full-color recording, high-definition fluorescent recording with visible light excitation, and reflective near infrared recording in the Nara National Museum. Our targets were the pedestal that is stored in Kasuga Taisha Shrine and used in reading the picture scroll Kasugagongenkenki, and the pedestals of Sakyamuni Buddha trinity and the Buddha of Healing, stored in the Golden Hall of Horyu-ji Temple. The purpose of this survey was to examine the materials and production processed used and create high-definition digital content based on the above optical survey. In this survey, we acquired various types of information that were not likely to be confirmed by the naked eye because of changes brought about by aging in every case. We are considering reporting our findings in discussions with the Cultural Department of Nara National Museum.
Presentation of Professor Aoki Shigeru
(on the 2nd day)
On October 8 and 9, 2008, a public lecture was held in the basement seminar room of the Institute. Both presentations on the first day were related to the topic of the search for the origin of Buddhist art: Katsuki Gen’ichiro of the Department of Research Programming spoke on “the search for the origin of Hāritī (the protector of children),” and Nakagawara Ikuko of the Nagoya University on “the donors depicted in the cave temples of Kucha region and their religion.” On the following day, Tanaka Atsushi of the Department of Research Programming gave a lecture on “artists in photographs, with focus on Kuroda Seiki” in which he considered a artist’s creations and lives based on photographs. Aoki Shigeru of Bunsei University of Art spoke about “the year 10 of the Meiji era: the Seinan War and the Map of Ueno Park” in which he traced the course of the history of Ueno based on the Ueno Park Survey Map, a copperplate engraving.
The number of attendees was 150 on the first day and 127 on the second day. Responses to questionnaires showed that the presentations were well received.
Exhibit of Fukuda Miran’s Lakeside in Kuroda Memorial Hall
As mentioned in the monthly report of last July, October 9 we started to exhibit the “Lakeside” painted (in 1993) by Fukuda Miran, a contemporary artist, in Tokyo National Museum’s Kuroda Memorial Hall. This exhibition was in conjunction with the international symposium, Capturing the Original: Archives for Cultural Properties that will be held on December 6 – 8. This exhibit will continue until December 25. This event, entitled Lakeside Versus Lakeside, exhibits the work Fukuda Miran created based on Lakeside, the representative work Kuroda Seiki, a western painter in Meiji era, along with the original, which is in the permanent exhibition in Kuroda Memorial Hall. Fukuda Miran – a spirited contemporary artist – creates works using the fine arts of all ages and cultures as base materials, and is known for his creative activities that shake up the original images. Fukuda’s Lakeside extends the background of Kuroda’s Lakeside for painting, possibly upsetting the image of the celebrated picture that is so familiar in schoolbooks and stamps. It also prompts viewers to look at the original work from a new angle. Visitors looked puzzled, but nevertheless seemed to enjoy the contrast of Kuroda’s Lakeside and Fukuda’s Lakeside, which are exhibited facing each other across the hallway.
On October 8, we held an internal workshop at the Department of Research Programming with an eye toward the international symposium with the presentation of Mr. Morishita Masaaki, a visiting researcher of the Institute. In the presentation Issues Surrounding Art Museums and Originals: Contemporary Art, Mr. Morishita introduced activities which surpass the artwork concept of objects produced by traditional artists, mainly focusing on contemporary art in England. It highlighted one issue of contemporary museums: how those activities are to be conveyed.
While the works tend to be abstracted, we are deeply interested in the activities of the International Network for the Conservation of Contemporary Art (INCCA), which attempts to showcase the contemporary scene, particularly by recording interviews with writers and others as contemporary models for conserving works of art.
On Kuroda Seiki street, Grez-sur-Loing
The Department of Research Programming is continuing the study and translation of letters in French addressed to KURODA Seiki (around 250 letters) stored in this Institute, as a part of the research project “Documentary Material Research on East Asian Art”. We are planning to issue a report “Collection of letters in French to Kuroda Seiki” (tentative title) in the next year, by adding a diary in French written by Kuroda (in 1888) stored in the Tokyo National Museum to the letters. As a field study, we visited places where KURODA stayed such as Paris, Grez-sur-Loing village, Barbizon village in France, and Brussels and Blankenberge in Belgium. The visit was conducted from September 10 to 15, and we identified the spots and executed investigation. The results will be announced in the above report.
Mr. Choi Tae Yong, Director General for Planning and Coordination of the Cultural Heritage Administration (left), and Director General Suzuki of the Institute
Shirono Seiji, the Institute's photographer, (left) explained the special roentgenography to Mr. Choi Tae Yong, Director General for Planning and Coordination (center) and Mr. Cho Hyun-Jung, Information Management Office (right), both of the Cultural Heritage Administration, Korea.
On August 22, Mr. Choi Tae Yong, Director General for Planning and Coordination and Mr. Cho Hyun-Jung, officer of the Information Management Office, both of the Cultural Heritage Administration, Korea, and Mr. Choi Byoung Mi of the Korean Cultural Center at the Korean Embassy in Japan visited the Department of Research Programming. The purpose of their visit was to investigate cases overseas on matters of the management of cultural heritage archives and digitization of cultural properties and to hold discussions with persons in charge of such matters. After talking with the Institute’s Director General Suzuki, they visited the Library of the Department of Research Programming and observed the data input work. They also visited the Image Laboratory where Shirono Seiji, the Institute’s photographer, explained the newest special roentgenography showing the differences in fluorographic images of silk made in Japan, Korea and China. The visitors listened with great interest to the results of studies using high technology and exchanged opinions. The Republic of Korea is now promoting the construction of cultural heritage archives and the digitization of data on a national basis, and the information provided by the Institute seemed to be of great use to them.
Discussing restoration plans at the studio
”Peacocks and Pine Tree” in the collection of the Art Gallery of Greater Victoria, Canada, which is being restored this year, is a large folding screen believed to have been made in the first half of the 17th century. There are numerous damages on the folding screen and materials considered inappropriate for the restoration of traditional works of art, such as synthetic coloring materials, adhesives and western paper had been used for reinforcement in the past. To return the screen to a good condition as much as possible, a discussion of the details of the restoration plan was held at Bokunindo (Shizuoka city), the restoration studio, on August 4 (Mon) by the persons in charge there and four from the Institute – Kawanobe Wataru, Deputy Director of the Center for Conservation and Restoration Techniques; Kato Masato, researcher of the Technical Standard Section of the Center; Tanaka Atsushi, Director of the Department of Research Programming; and Emura Tomoko, researcher of the Department. Restoration of the folding screen is scheduled to be completed by the end of this fiscal year.
Annual Report of the National Research Institute for Cultural Properties, Tokyo (2007)
Profile of the National Research Institute for Cultural Properties, Tokyo (2008)
The Annual Report (2007) and the Profile (2008) of the National Research Institute for Cultural Properties, Tokyo have been published. The Annual Report comprehensively describes what the Institute has achieved in its activities last year. In the wake of the unification of institutes within the National Institutes for Cultural Heritage, the annual plan, the project report and materials related to the Institute have been revised for the 2007 report.The Profile presents the research organization of the Institute as well as its various activities scheduled for the current year in two languages (Japanese and English) and in a visual form for easy understanding.
A copy each of the Annual Report and the Profile are distributed to national and prefectural museums and to libraries of universities with divisions on cultural properties study.Copies of the Profile as well as those of the TOBUNKEN News are distributed to the general public at the Institute and Kuroda Memorial Hall. The Annual Report and the Profile are available as PDF files for perusal on our website.
Children’s brochure
What is the National Research Institute for Cultural Properties, Tokyo?
This fiscal year, the National Research Institute for Cultural Properties, Tokyo published a brochure for children entitled What’s the National Research Institute for Cultural Properties, Tokyo? The aim of this brochure is to introduce the Institute to elementary school children and junior high school students. A cartoon character named “Tobunken no Empitsukun” introduces cultural properties and the activities of each of the Institute’s departments and centers in an easy to understand way. This brochure is scheduled to be distributed to the children of public elementary and junior high schools in Taito-ku. Of course, they are also available at the Institute and at Kuroda Memorial Hall for visitors.
PDF copies of the children’s brochure can be downloaded from the Institute’s website at the following URL: http://www.tobunken.go.jp/~joho/japanese/publication/
kids/2008.pdf The website for children will continue to be developed further.
Discussion with Mr. Takahashi (the presenter)
A monthly workshop of the Department of Research Programming was held on July 23. Mr. Takahashi Hideharu (Chief of the Art Section, Aichi Prefectural Museum of Art) was invited to present a lecture on “Torn Trousers,” a work by Fuji Gazo (1853-1916) who played an important role in encouraging Kuroda Seiki to become a painter. The work was accepted by Le Salon during Fuji’s study in France, but little was known about its later history except that it had been bought by an American. Thus, for many years no researcher encountered the actual work. Therefore, the presentation by Mr. Takahashi is about one of the most significant discoveries in recent years not only for researchers of Kuroda Seiki but for those of Japanese modern art in general. The presentation included a detailed report about the American collector who bought the work, historical facts about the discovery, and the present state of the work. The work is scheduled to appear, in a color print, on the 358th issue of The Bijutsu Kenkyu (The Journal of Art Studies) which is scheduled to be published in early November), together with an expository article by Mr. Takahashi.
Since 1977, exhibitions have been held every year to provide opportunities to appreciate the works of Kuroda Seiki. This year, the exhibition was held at Kobe City Koiso Memorial Museum of Art. Following the opening ceremony on July 18, the exhibition was opened to the public on July 19th (it will be open until August 31). Approximately 160 oil paintings and sketches including “Lakeside” and “Wisdom, Impression, Sentiment,” both designated Important Cultural Properties, are exhibited. It is the largest exhibition of Kuroda’s works to be held in the Kyoto-Osaka-Kobe area in about 30 years. Kobe City Koiso Memorial Museum of Art is an art museum dedicated to Koiso Ryohei, the Western-style painter who studied under Fujishima Takeji at The Tokyo Art School and later taught there. Koiso set himself a goal of inheriting the academic tradition of Western-style painting in Japan, whose foundation had been laid by Kuroda and other painters. At the Museum, visitors will now enjoy a precious opportunity to have an overview of this tradition by appreciating Kuroda’s works along with those of Koiso (which form the Museum’s permanent exhibition).
The Institute is currently engaged in the work of tracing the history of the Institute since the founding of its predecessor, The Institute of Art Research, in 1930, with the publication of “75 Years of the National Research Institute for Cultural Properties, Tokyo” in fiscal year 2009 in view.
In July, investigations were held at the homes of the families of the late Umezu Jiro (1906-1988), a former member of the Institute who specialized in the research of picture scrolls in Japan, and of the late Ogyu Chikaharu (1884-1944), another former member who was in charge of the management of Kuroda Memorial Hall. Although some materials on Umezu have already been donated to the Institute and made available to the public, new materials were found during this investigation to supplement them. Previously, the Institute had had only limited information about Ogyu, including the facts that his wife Sumi was the sister of Kuroda Seiki, the Western-style painter who willed that the establishment of the Institute and that he studied Western-style painting at The Tokyo Art School. However, during this investigation several dozens of his Western-style paintings (though small in format), some photographs (including one of a portrait of Kuroda’s sister) and other valuable materials that reveal the artistic style of Ogyu, who studied the plein-arist style of paintings of Kuroda and other artists, and his acquaintances were found. Since Ogyu’s family was related to the Sakai family (lord of the feudal Tsuruoka clan), he painted a portrait of Sakai Tadaatsu (15th lord of the clan) and his wife in the Meiji period. It was found that this portrait is now in the collection of the Sakai family. These findings will be incorporated into the profiles of former members of the Institute to be included in “75 Years of the National Research Institute for Cultural Properties, Tokyo.” Investigations like these are expected to serve as basic materials for the history of the achievements of researchers of cultural properties, about which not much has been investigated until now.
36 Views of Mt. Fuji: The Great Wave off Kanagawa by Fukuda Milan (1996)
The Department of Research Programming is working steadily to prepare for the international symposium entitled “Capturing the ‘Original’ -Archives for Cultural Property” to be held this coming December. On July 7, a meeting of the organizing committee was held with the attendance of Professor Asai Kazuharu of Aoyama Gakuin University, Professor Kato Tetsuhiro of Kwansei Gakuin University, Mr. Kuroda Taizo of Idemitsu Museum of Arts, Professor Sano Midori of Gakushuin University and Mr. Matsumoto Toru of The National Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo as special advisors. They expressed valuable opinions on the holding of the symposium. Negotiations and adjustments have been nearly completed with each speaker at the symposium. For information on the aim of the symposium and detailed program, please visit the section of the Institute’s website dedicated to the symposium “http://www.tobunken.go.jp/info/sympo08/index.html” Ms. Fukuda Milan has given permission to use her work (36 Views of Mt. Fuji: The Great Wave off Kanagawa) as PR image for the symposium. Ms. Fukuda is a modern artist who, since the 1990s, has produced works based on past works by artists all over the world and of all ages. Her artistic activities are devoted to modulating the conventional images of these “originals.” Her 36 Views of Mt. Fuji: The Great Wave off Kanagawa is also based on a famous ukiyoe print by Hokusai, but shows the original after reversing it 180 degrees from right to left. Due to this treatment, the work gives an impression that is still familiar, but mysteriously strange. Another work of Ms. Fukuda, based on the famous painting Lakeside by Kuroda Seiki, will be exhibited alongside the original at Kuroda Memorial Hall from October 9 (Thur.) to December 25 (Thur.), as a feature related to the symposium. Visitors will surely enjoy the collaboration by the original and its “copy.”
An explanation was given on the “Powers Of Information,” a touch panel-type digital archive, from Professor Takano Akihiko, Director of the Research and Development Center for Informatics of Associations at the National Institute of Informatics.
As a part of the construction of the cultural property archives, the Department of Research Programming is now preparing for participation in the cross search site of art libraries “ALC (Art Libraries’ Consortium)” and the associative search site “Imagine.”
On June 9, Tanaka Atsushi, Yamanashi Emiko, Tsuda Tetsuei, Nakamura Setsuko and Katsuki Gen’ichiro visited Professor Takano Akihiko, Director of the Research and Development Center for Informatics of Associations at the National Institute of Informatics, and Project Associate Professor Marukawa Yuzo to exchange opinions about future efforts for the dissemination of related to cultural property.
These two individuals were once involved in the establishment of “Imagine” and provided technical support for the launch of “Cultural Heritage Online,” a portal site operated by the Agency for Cultural Affairs. Advice from these two individuals who are also versed in the field of cultural property study were highly suggestive for those engaged in the construction of cultural property archives.
