| ■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 |
|
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.
An Anthony camera is exhibited in the former research room on the first floor of the Kuroda Memorial Hall.
Outdoor scenery is reflected upside down on the ground glass of the large-sized camera.
A slide projector, an 8 mm camera and a twin-lens reflex camera that were used by the predecessor of the Institute, The Art Research Institute, are also displayed.
A large-sized camera that had been kept in the Image Laboratory of the Department of Research Programming has recently been completely restored and is being shown to the general public from June 5 in the former research room on the first floor of the Kuroda Memorial Hall. This camera is a studio camera modeled after a camera produced by E. & H. T. Anthony & Company in the United States and imported in the early part of the 20th century. The predecessor of the Institute, The Art Research Institute, used this camera from the time of its inauguration and early days until the post-war period in order to photograph art works and such for research. It also contributed to preserving many cultural properties in the form of recorded images. In this exhibition, the camera is displayed with its lens facing outside so that visitors can see the outdoor scenery reflected upside down on the ground glass. In addition, other optical instruments that were indispensable in research and investigation, such as an 8 mm camera and a twin-lens reflex camera manufactured in pre-war France, are exhibited. Moreover, efforts are now being made to preserve glass plate negatives photographed with such cameras. At the same time, their digitization is in progress so that they can be made public and contribute to research.
The Department of Research Programming is preparing for an international symposium entitled “Capturing the Original – Archives for Cultural Properties” that is to be held in December of this year. On May 9, a seminar was held to which Professor Kato Tetsuhiro of Kwansei Gakuin University was invited. Yamanashi Emiko of the Institute made a presentation entitled “The Art Research Institute and Sir Robert Witt Library” on the establishment of the Institute and the environment of art history materials in Western European societies during the 1920’s, and Professor Kato made his presentation entitled “Being ‘The Original’ – Its Significance in Art Studies” in which he spoke on the way the issue of “the original” has been dealt with in the field of Western aesthetics. These were followed by a discussion on the meaning of “the original”. Professor Kato pointed out that the longing for being “the original” existed only in and after the 19th century even in the West and that, even with such a background, Alois Riegl who was active as an art historian at the end of the 19th century did not necessarily find the value of cultural properties in their original figures, but also recognized their age-value, and that Erwin Panofsky distinguished cultural properties themselves (original) from their duplicates, noting that duplicates lacked authenticity (“aura”). This led to further discussions on such topics as the difference in quality between the record and memory of “the original” and matters that should be conveyed in preserving “the original”. We wish to make the symposium a well-developed one by considering the theme from various angles and holding enlightening discussions. We also wish to make the symposium an opportunity to contemplate on our daily work which includes investigation and research on cultural properties, as well as accumulation and publication of materials.
Mitsutani Kunishiro, Portrait. Collection of the Tokyo National Museum
Mitsutani Kunishiro (1874?1936) is known as a western-style painter many of whose works were exhibited at the Bunten (exhibition by the then Ministry of Education) and the Teiten (exhibition by the Imperial Academy of Fine Artｓ) in Meiji, Taisho and Showa periods. Sketches he left were donated in 1938 to the Art Research Institute, the predecessor of the Institute. Most of them were landscape sketches called “Doro sansui” (road landscape) in the Meiji period and drawings for his works created during the Taisho period and displayed at exhibitions. Among them, one portrait drawn in pencil stands out prominently. In this sketch, the technique of cross-hatching is used where thin lines are crossed to flesh out the motif, and the face staring at us with one eye half-closed is full of self-consciousness. Since this work was innovative not only among Mitsutani’s works but also in the history of western-style paintings in the Meiji period, it had not been introduced until now. However, Mr. Tsunoda Takuro of the Kanagawa Prefectural Museum of Cultural History and Mr. Hirose Naruhisa of the Okayama Prefectural Museum of Art, in the process of their researches on Goseda Horyu/Yoshimatsu Studio that left a major mark on the western-style paintings in early part of the Meiji period, pointed out the possibility that this work may be positioned in that stream. They made a presentation on this topic at the seminar of the Department of Research Programming held on May 7. The date written on the bottom left corner of the drawing ? February 21 of the 25th year of Meiji (1892) – corresponds to the short period of only one year when Mitsutani learned as a pupil of Goseda school. This drawing may be positioned as a link between Goseda Studio and Mitsutani, and also as a work that may cause a stir in the art history of the Meiji period. This work, along with sketchbooks filled with similar portrayals using cross-hatching, will be exhibited in “All about the Goseda Studio -A Bridge to Modern Paintings in Japan” (August 9 – 31 and September 6 – 28, 2008 at the Kanagawa Prefectural Museum of Cultural History, and October 7 – November 9, 2008 at the Okayama Prefectural Museum of Art).
The National Research Institute for Cultural Properties, Tokyo has been cooperating in the conservation and restoration of Japanese art objects that are in the collections of museums overseas and conducting studies on the conservation and restoration of target works in collaboration with the museums that own these objects.
In the fiscal year 2008, conservation and restoration will be carried out in Japan for four paintings: “Matsu ni Kujaku zu Byobu” (Peacocks and Pine Trees; a 6-paneled folding screen; Art Gallery of Greater Victoria, Canada), “Hoshi Mandala zu” (Star Mandala; hanging scroll; Vancouver Museum, Canada), “Mushi Uta-awase Emaki” (Poetry Contest of Insects; hand scroll; Museo Nazionale d’Arte Orientale, Italy), and “Yujo Tachisugata zu” (Courtesan, by Miyagawa Choshun; Museo d’Arte Orientale “Edoardo Chiossone,” Italy), as well as for four craftworks: “Sumiyoshi Makie Bundai” (Writing table; Victoria and Albert Museum, England), “Kacho Monsho Makie Tate” (Leather shield; Ashmolean Museum, England), “Omi Hakkei Makie Kodana” (Pair of shelves for incense; Museum Velke Mezirici, Czech Republic), and “Rohkaku Sansui Makie-bako” (Cabinet with Mounting, European influenced shape; Museum fur Angewandte Wien, Austria; continued from the last fiscal year). Moreover, at the overseas restoration studio established in the Museum fur Ostasiatische Kunst in Cologne, Germany, conservation and restoration of “Kajuchoju Makie Raden Yobitsu” (Ornamental Coffer with flower and bird design, makie and raden technique) is in progress (3rd year of 3 consecutive years). In addition, from this fiscal year, at the restoration studio for paper in the Deutsches Technikmuseum Berlin, conservation and restoration of “Darumazu” (Bodhidharma; a painting in the collection of Museum fur Ostasiatische Kunst; to be continued for 2 years) will be carried out. In this overseas restoration studio, a workshop for overseas staff engaged in restoration is scheduled to be held in parallel with the actual restoration work.
“ALC (Art Libraries’ Consortium),” a cross searching site on art libraries
“So (Imagine),” an associative searching site
On April 22, the Department of Research Programming invited Mizutani Takeshi (The National Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo) and Marukawa Yuzo (National Institute of Information) to speak at a seminar on the dissemination of information on cultural properties and collaboration. Mizutani and Marukawa have constructed and are engaged in the management of “ALC (Art Libraries’ Consortium),” a cross searching site on art libraries, and “So (Imagine),” an associative searching site, respectively. The Institute and the Department of Research Programming, in particular, that is in charge of disseminating high quality information on cultural properties, held discussions with the future in view. We plan to make conduct activities toward a more effective dissemination of the accumulated results of research.
The former research room on the first floor that has been newly opened
Until now, works of Kuroda Seiki were shown in the Memorial Room and the Exhibition Room on the second floor of the Kuroda Memorial Hall. From April 24, the former research rooms on the first and second floors have also been opened to the public. In the former research room on the second floor, a slide show entitled “The Life and Art of Kuroda Seiki” (12 mins.) is being shown so that visitors may better understand Kuroda’s art. In the 2 research rooms on the first floor, a wooden desk, cabinet and photographs from the days of The Institute of Art Research are exhibited. The most recent publications of the National Research Institute for Cultural Properties, Tokyo can also be perused freely. These new additions enable the visitors not only to appreciate Kuroda’s works but also to learn about the history of the Institute and its present work.
Panel exhibition at the lobby (Photograph by Torimitsu Mikako)
The Institute holds a panel exhibition regularly at the lobby on the first floor so that visitors to the Institute may better understand the results of our projects and research. Presently the exhibit is that related to Screens Illustrating Views of Kyoto and Its Environs (collection of the Royal Ontario Museum) that was restored under the Cooperative Program for the Conservation of Japanese Art Objects Overseas in fiscal year 2006. The various processes in its restoration and the results of art historical study on this pair of screens are introduced. Nijojo Castle and the Daibutsuden of Hokoji Temple are depicted on a grand scale on the left and right panels, respectively. Because of this construction, this particular pair of screens is believed to have been made in the mid-17th century. It is a very valuable work of art from the point of view of art historical study because of the detailed depiction of over 1,300 figures and the existence of 77 paper tags indicating the names of temples and scenic places. It is our hope that this exhibition may enable an understanding of the role Japan plays in international contribution and cooperation.
http://www.tobunken.go.jp/~joho/japanese/project/panel/rakutyurakugai.html
The Institute is now editing materials for the publication of the main volume in 2009 on the history of the Institute and its investigation and research, a sequel to 75 Years of the National Research Institute for Cultural Properties, Tokyo – Archives. Since a brief history of former members of the Institute will be included in this volume, we are collecting information about their personal history and other related materials. In March we visited and interviewed the family of the deceased Toyooka Masuto who was engaged in editing the Toyo Bijutsu Bunken Mokuroku, a classified bibliography of journal articles on old Asian art, from the mid-30s to 1942 as a member of The Institute of Art Research, the predecessor of the present Institute. We were able to obtain information about his personal history and achievements outside the Institute and about former members of the Institute who were his colleagues. Such information shed light on the history of this Institute before World War II. Currently not enough investigation has been made on people who were engaged in the investigation and research of cultural properties. We hope to continue our efforts so that the main volume of the publication on the 75 years of the Institute may contribute to the study of the history of research on cultural properties.
Materials related to the art historian Tanaka Ichimatsu (1895-1983), who was the Director General of the Institute from 1952 to 1965, were donated by Mr. Tanaka Kazumi, the deceased’s family member, and the Idemitsu Museum of Art in March. Included among the materials are records of his research and photographs he collected. Even before World War II, Tanaka had investigated a great number of art objects and left carefully written reports with his own drawings attached. Among them are valuable reports on works of art that were lost during the War. Although these materials had been stored at the Idemitsu Museum of Art, with which Tanaka was closely related, they were donated to the Institute after his death in the hope that they may be made public and utilized more widely. We plan to make preparations for their utilization in the future. Since we have just begun to put them in order, anyone who wishes to see these materials are requested to contact the Department of Research Programming in advance.
Witt Library guest book, entry for January 18, 1924
At the office of Ms. Barbara Thompson, Witt Library
For six days from March 3, 2008 three members of the Department – Yamanashi Emiko, Emura Tomoko and Nakamura Setsukobv – visited libraries and research organizations in England to investigate the ways in which materials are collected and publicized. Visits were made, within this short period, to Sainsbury Institute for the Study of Japanese Arts and Cultures, Witt Library of the Courtauld Institute of Art at the University of London, The British Museum, British Library, National Art Library of the Victoria & Albert Museum, and School of Oriental and African Studies of the University of London. In addition to investigating their facilities, we exchanged opinions with researchers at each organization. Of these organizations, Witt Library, in particular, is one that is of special significance to the Institute since the first Director General of the Institute, Yashiro Yukio, is said to have felt the need for a library on materials related to art and obtained the idea for the founding of the Institute when he visited the Library, an extremely profitable experience in his own study of art history. According to the guest book at the Library, it was learned that Yashiro visited the Library nine times between 1924 and 1928. Such information was meaningful in understanding the situation surrounding the founding of the Institute and the significance of collecting and publicizing information on cultural properties. We hope to continue exchange in research and to make use of such opportunities in the utilization of materials and the management of libraries.
The Hikone Screen, a report
A report on the study of The Hikone Screen that was held jointly with the Hikone Castle Museum from 2006 to 2007 has been published. The work, which had been mounted as a framed work, was restored on full scale and remounted as a folding screen. Included in the report are photographs of the screen before and after restoration, and many high-resolution digital images, infrared images and luminescence images. Persons involved in the publication of this report made great efforts to provide as much information concerning this work of art as possible. For example, infrared images showing directions for the use of colors, which can be seen only underneath the paint layers, are compared with actual color images; data analyzed by X-ray fluorescence are compared with high-resolution data of corresponding points. We hope that this report may be utilized as fundamental material for the study of the screen. The report has been published from Chuo Koron Bijutsu Shuppan for the general public.
http://www.chukobi.co.jp/products/detail.php?product_id=336
