| ■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 |
|
Presentation about Noh masks
Noh mask and Senmen (fan surface) are important study objects related to religion and celebrations from ancient times, from the viewpoint of not only Japanese art history, but also Japanese cultural history. OTANI Yuki (Research assistant of the Department of Art Research, Archives and Information Systems) presented her research titled a Consideration on the Beshimi Mask Owned by Aizu Museum.
This beshimi mask is from the Inaba family, the lord of the Usuki domain in Bungo Province. It has some inscriptions, such as “made by Sakai Sōzaemon”. The okina mask owned by the Nagataki Hakusan Shrine in Gifu and the okina mask owned by the Itsukushima Shrine in Hiroshima are objects related to the beshimi mask from the Inaba family. It is interesting that they were devoted to the same petitioner of the beshimi in a similar period. OTANI studied the form of these beshimi masks as masks for devotion in the Muromachi period and considered them to be made in the transitional period to the Chorei Beshimi type. In this presentation, we invited Mr. ASAMI Ryusuke of the Tokyo National Museum as a commentator. He talked about the importance and challenges of the Noh masks study. He also pointed out the issues of regionality and acceptance of this mask’s craftsmanship.
Following this, ONO Mayumi (Head of the Japanese and East Asian Art History Section) conducted a presentation titled Ōgiya Sōkyū, a painter mentioned in Kanemikyōki. Kanemikyōki is a diary of YOSHIDA Kanemi (1535-1610), a shinkan (priest) of the Yoshida Shrine in Kyoto. It is a precious historical source that tells us of the movements of court nobles and sengoku warlords. Among the people related to YOSHIDA, she focused on Kanō Sōkyū (Ōgiya Sōkyū), a painter mentioned more than 10 times in this diary. She found a relationship between court nobles and Ōgiya that was unknown earlier. Kanemi presented senmen made by Sōkyū to the houses of Oda, Toyotomi, Maeda, and others. Furthermore, YOSHIDA built a close relationship with Sōkyū by inviting him to dinner and banquets. With these facts, ONO added a new consideration to the importance and role of the painter Ōgiya.
Photographic survey
Replica of Ekin byōbu displayed at Ekingura
Twenty-three byōbu (folding screens) painted by Hirose Kinzō (1812–76), known as Ekin, have been passed down in Akaoka Town, Konan City, Kochi Prefecture. They are certified by Kochi Prefecture as Tangible Cultural Properties for Protection. They are usually stored in Ekingura (Ekin Museum), which is a facility for storage and exhibition. Ekin byōbu are attractive because the dramatic scenes of popular kabuki plays were depicted with a dynamic composition using vivid color pigments. Eighteen of them were originally devoted to the Suruda Hachimangū Shrine located in the north of Akaoka Town. They have been shown at the Suruda Hachimangū Grand Festival since the end of Edo era. In addition, the Ekin Festival has been held in Akaoka Town by local people since 1977 at the shopping district, where they are displayed. Ekin byōbu are popular as special cultural properties that share the same regional background, though the festivals were halted for the last two years due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Five byōbu were discolored due to an accident in 2010. The Tokyo National Research Institute for Cultural Properties (TOBUNKEN) investigated how to conserve and restore them. Additionally, measures were taken to stabilize them. (Please refer to our monthly report: https://www.tobunken.go.jp/materials/ekatudo/246667.html) Later, a project for the conservation and restoration of the other 18 byōbu, which have deteriorated over time, has been started by the Ekingura Management Committee and the Akaoka Ekin Byōbu Preservation Association. TOBUNKEN has been investigating the painting materials of Ekin byōbu along with this project. We visited Ekingura on April 15th and 16th, 2022, and investigated them with high-resolution color photography of the 18 byōbu, whose restoration has been completed. All byōbu will be fully restored by the end of FY 2022. A research report is planned for publication after the completion.
Letter from KUBOTA Shigeko, a pioneer in video art, to MIKI Tamon, enclosing photos of exhibited artworks at her first personal exhibition (December 1963 at Naiqua Gallery, Tokyo)
The Tokyo National Research Institute for Cultural Properties (TOBUNKEN) made three archives of documents, the Muramatsu Gallery Papers, TAKAMI Akihiko Papers, and MIKI Tamon Papers, available as a research outcome of the Department of Art Research, Archives and Information Systems in FY 2021.
The Muramatsu Gallery Papers consist of their exhibition materials (including scrapbooks of exhibition invitation postcards and photo albums to record exhibitions) from 1966 to 2009. The TAKAMI Akihiko Papers are the exhibition materials of art galleries from 1990s to 2000s. The MIKI Tamon Papers are a group of materials including exhibition invitation postcards from the first half of the 1960s.
Surveys of personal exhibitions at art galleries constitute an important basic process for studying post-war contemporary artists. However, investigating what artworks and how they were exhibited is extremely difficult. This is because art magazines and newspapers rarely published personal exhibitions of budding, but still unknown artists. Therefore, it is only possible to specify the venues and schedules of exhibitions through publication media.
The three archives being released include many photos of exhibitions and exhibited artworks. These act as support tools for researchers to overcome “difficulties” in investigating contemporary arts, as indicated above. These archives can be browsed at the TOBUNKEN Library (advanced reservation required). We hope that many researchers utilize these archives to advance their research.
*TOBUNKEN Library Visitor’s Guide (https://www.tobunken.go.jp/joho/english/library/library_e.html)
Information on the archives is available at the bottom of the Japanese page (https://www.tobunken.go.jp/joho/japanese/library/library.html (Japanese only).)
Seminar on MATSUZAWA Yutaka Archive at TOBUNKEN
The Tokyo National Research Institute for Cultural Properties (TOBUNKEN) held the Seminar on MATSUZAWA Yutaka Archives – the 9th Seminar held by the Department of Art Research, Archives and Information Systems both in-person and online. TOBUNKEN invited experts in charge of recording and organizing the activities of MATSUZAWA Yutaka (1922-2006), a pioneer of conceptual arts, and experts and researchers who work on finding new value in these materials.
This seminar is also a part of a research project, “Research and Compilation of Materials on Modern and Contemporary Art”, and a Grants-in-Aid for Scientific Research from Japan Society for the Promotion of Science, “Study on Art Collective in Post-1968: Based on Matsuzawa Yutaka’s Archive” (principle investigator: KIKKAWA Hideki).
The following presentations were provided: in order of presentation:
The 100 anniversary of birth, MATSUZAWA YUTAKA: From the Investigation by the Art Museum to the Exhibition by Ms. KINOUCHI Mayumi and Ms. FURUIE Mitsuha (Nagano Prefectural Art Museum),
MATSUZAWA Yutaka’s Exchange with Latin American Arts – Based on the Materials of CAyC (Centro de Arte y Comunicación) by Dr. INOUE Emiko (Hunter College, the City University of New York), and
About the Data Center for Contemporary Art (DCCA): Archive Project by MATSUZAWA Yutaka by KIKKAWA Hideki.
After the above presentations, the four presenters and seminar participants (11 in-person and 33 online) exchanged opinions. The discussion involved people from General Incorporated Foundation – Matsuzawa Yutaka Psi Room Foundation (Executive director: Mr. MATSUZAWA Haruo), artists with direct relationships with MATSUZAWA Yutaka, and related parties from museums and archives. Topics varied from the significances and possibilities of the MATSUZAWA Yutaka Archives as research materials to challenges for archive preservation.
We at TOBUNKEN explore and fulfill our mission to pass down cultural property archives, not only the MATSUZAWA Yutaka Archives, recognized as valuable research materials that lack a guaranteed of long-term conservation for the next generations.
Database screen showing the ability to refer museum information from links on the screen
The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic affecting the world has had a huge impact on museum exhibitions. First, museums across Japan were forced to temporarily close because of a governmental request in February 2020 to voluntarily refrain from large-scale events. Following, repeated declarations of a State of Emergency and Quasi-State of Emergency forced museums to cancel and postpone many exhibitions. The Tokyo National Research Institute for Cultural Properties (TOBUNKEN) has been collecting information about exhibitions held in Japan since 1935 and stores them in a public database (https://www.tobunken.go.jp/archives/information-search/art-exhibitons/?lang=en). Since May 2020, TOBUNKEN started collecting information of exhibitions impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, which it published as a database (Japanese only.) (https://www.tobunken.go.jp/materials/exhibition_covid19)
This database tabulates the status of exhibitions handling cultural properties, including cancelation, postponement, and early closure primarily for museum members of the Japan Association of Museums (https://www.j-muse.or.jp/en/index.php). Before the pandemic, the information was collected based on printing materials such as leaflets and catalogues, annual calendars, and museums’ websites. However, the information is updated on a daily basis under the pandemic’s unpredictable situation; to every extent possible, we collected data widely from SNS such as Twitter and Facebook in addition to museum websites, including the duration of temporary closures and schedule changes. Collected data included 1,406 pieces of information that show the impact on museums over the last two years. During the COVID-19 pandemic, changes occurred: planned exhibitions (or rotating exhibitions) using their own collection were planned or held, instead of cancelling or postponing special exhibitions. More operations using SNS and online contents occurred.
Even now though many museums are free from requested or forced temporary closure, they must still take preventive measures against COVID-19, such as advance registration systems, visitor number limitations, and museum sterilization. It is predicted that exhibition operations will continue to be affected. TOBUNKEN will continue to collect information and analyze long-term impacts on museums.
The seminar conducted in person
Cover of Works and Essays on Arts of Ryusei 1920 (owned by TOBUNKEN collection)
Still Life, with its poem, 1918 (not existence, shown in Works and Essays on Arts of Ryusei)
KISHIDA Ryusei (1891-1929), a painter who was active in the Taisho period, studied in the Aoibashi Yōga-kenkyūsho (research institute of Western-style paintings), which was founded by KURODA Seiki. KISHIDA then presented his paintings mainly in Sōdo-sha, an artwork association founded by him and his fellows. KISHIDA pursued his unique painting style by actively accepting elaborate paintings by old masters such as Albrecht Dürer and Jan van Eyck, and then paid attention to Chinese and Japanese traditional paintings. This was in contrast to other contemporary Japanese paintings, which were strongly influenced by modern French paintings. The momentum to reevaluate Kishida’s paintings is now boosted. For example, the National Museum of Modern Art, Kyoto newly housed the entire personal collection of KISHIDA Ryusei in 2021.
YOSHIDA Akiko of the department discussed Kishida’s unusual expression of a human hand on his still life paintings in her presentation titled the Design of “Hand” by KISHIDA Ryusei – Focusing on His Still Life- at the seminar held on February 24th, 2022. A motif of hand was painted on Still Life (with Hand that has been erased) (painted in 1918, private collection.) However, the hand was later overpainted onto the screen, which makes it invisible to the naked eye. In the other case, a hand holding an apple was painted with a poem on the Still Life, with its poem (painted in 1918, destroyed in fire) in the same period. However, this artwork was lost forever. These two paintings, which cannot be seen in the way they were viewed when they were painted, raised arguments and attracted public attention in magazines and newspapers regarding their submission to the fifth Nika Art Exhibition (the former failed.) In her paper Eliminated Hand: Still Life Paintings by KISHIDA Ryusei of 1918 (published in Bijutsushi 183 vol.67 no.1, 2017), the presenter discussed the relationship with his art theory which was being developed by KISHIDA in the same period when he had painted these still life paintings, and the relationship with his artwork in 1916, when he had started painting still life in the earnest. In this presentation, she discussed the background as to why the “hand,” as a characteristic part of KISHIDA’s portraits, attracted attention as an independent motif and suggested that the review on KISHIDA Ryusei by WATANABE Kichiji / Kihciharu*, who was an aesthetician and had accepted German Aesthetics in that period as a pioneer, had influenced him.
The seminar was conducted in person at TOBUNKEN’s meeting room with sufficient precautions against the spread of COVID-19 infection. We invited Mr. TANAKA Atsushi (Director, OKAWA MUSEUM OF ART) as a commentator. We also had participants from outside of TOBUNKEN, including Ms. KOBAYASHI Mioko (Cultural Design Section, Culture, Commerce and Industry Division, Toshima City), Mr. TANAKA Jun’ichiro (The Museum of the Imperial Collections Sannomaru Shozokan), and Ms. YAMANASHI Emiko (Director, Chiba City Museum of Art.) The commentator provided information that impacted the core part of presentation, and active discussion occurred in the Q&A session. Hints were also provided on further research on his still life paintings in which unsolved questions remained, including the basic issues in the screen revision of Still Life (with Hand that has been Erased). The seminar was extremely fruitful.
*Watanabe’s first name can be spelled out two ways, and it is uncertain as to which one is correct.
Presentation in the seminar
Kumano Honjibutsu Mandala owned by the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts (before restoration)
Tokyo National Research Institute for Cultural Properties (TOBUNKEN) has been conducting the projects to restore the Japanese artworks located outside of Japan through the Cooperative Program for the Conservation of Japanese Art Objects Overseas for a long time. Since FY2021, we started restoring the Kumano Honjibutsu Mandala and Byōbu Screens Featuring the Thirty-six Poetesses owned by the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts. Please refer to the article on our website: https://www.tobunken.go.jp/materials/ekatudo/886806.html.
Kumano mandala is suijaku mandala (Shintō-buddhist syncretic mandala), picturing the Shintō and Buddhist deities enshrined in Kumano Sanzan (Kumano three main shrines) in Wakayama Prefecture, and representing their own religious vision. Around 50 kumano mandala have survived both in and outside of Japan. At the 7th Seminar held by the Department of Art Research, Archives and Information Systems on January 25th, 2022, MAIZAWA Rei of the department reported on the Kumano Honjibutsu Mandala owned by the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts, and introduced its composition, design and style in detail. Several paintings are known to have the similar composition with hachiyōrenge (a design after lotus flower with eight petals) in the center and the deities inside its petals. The one owned by the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts is considered to have been painted in the 14th century, at the end of the Kamakura period. It is precious, because it was painted at an earlier stage than the other kumano mandala.
Following MAIZAWA’s presentation, Dr. YAMAMOTO Satomi from Waseda University and Dr. ABE Mika from Nagoya University made presentations, respectively, titled Representation of Ashura in the Six Realms Paintings of Medieval Japan and A New Interpretation of the Six Realms Paintings in the Shōjuraikōji Temple with Rokudōshaku. The Rokudō-e（illustrations of Six Realms）owned by the Shōjuraikōji Temple in Shiga Prefecture is known as a masterpiece of the paintings describing Buddhist tales in the medieval age. It is considered to be made based on Ōjōyōshū (a Buddhist text which means ‘the essentials of rebirth in the pure land’) written by the Japanese Buddhist monk, Genshin, in 995, as a core but also on various texts and images. Dr. YAMAMOTO focused on the Ashura described on it. She pointed out that it is reflected on the image of Ashura described in battle paintings, war chronicles, as well as Rokudōshaku (preach text used in Buddhist ceremonies) made in the same period. Dr. ABE compared the contents of Rokudōshaku books with the composition and the expression of the Shōjuraikōji Temple painting in details and then suggested a possibility that this painting can be a ceremonial principal image of Nijūgozanmai, a ritual for rebirth in the pure land, paradise. Both suggested new interpretation of the foundation and history of the Shōjuraikōji Temple one. Therefore, the following Q&A session was very active.
These three presentations will be published in the Bijutsu Kenkyu for the coming fiscal year or after.
Online discussion
Information about exhibitions for Japanese art held abroad provided by the Sainsbury Institute (TOBUNKEN Research Collections database)
Exhibition Catalog, “Tokyo: Art & Photography,” Ashmolean Museum
On December 2, 2021, the Tokyo National Research Institute for Cultural Properties (TOBUNKEN) held an annual meeting online with the Sainsbury Institute for the Study of Japanese Arts and Cultures in the United Kingdom about our collaborative project, “Shaping the Fundamentals of Research on Japanese Art.” We have been carrying out this joint project with the Sainsbury Institute since 2013. The meeting began with Professor Simon Kaner, Executive Director of the Sainsbury Institute, expressing his gratitude for the ongoing activities during the current challenging period of COVID-19. He also mentioned that this project had been highly valued as an important international collaborative project by the institute’s management board.
During the past year, in addition to the ongoing updating of databases, we started translating the historical articles from the annals of art where Japanese originals are already included in Nihon Bijutsu Nenkan (Yearbook). The translations are now published as “Art News Articles” on the TOBUNKEN website in a searchable format (https://www.tobunken.go.jp/materials/nenshi-en). Please refer to the November 2021 monthly report (https://www.tobunken.go.jp/materials/ekatudo/927811.html). The English translations are currently available online for 2013–2015. More articles will be translated and published online in due course to disseminate information on Japanese art globally.
The Sainsbury Institute has contributed information on exhibitions of Japanese art held abroad to the TOBUNKEN Research Collections database (https://www.tobunken.go.jp/archives/?lang=en). As parts of our information sharing and research exchanges for the project, Ms. Miwako Hayashi Bitmead of the Sainsbury Institute has also contributed a review of the exhibition, “Tokyo: Art & Photography.” It is held at the Ashmolean Museum for our periodical, Bijutsu Kenkyū (The Journal of Art Studies), issue 436, to be published in March 2022. Her review provides us with insight into the exhibition as well as the situation outside of Japan, as opportunities to visit overseas art exhibitions have been reduced dramatically. It is highly recommended.
Recently, more activities can be conducted online, and we all have been taking advantage of these. Yet, presenting at a venue in person is still indispensable for researching artworks, delivering lectures, and exchanging ideas with a wide range of audiences. Though our plans are dependent on the situation, our intention is to resume the research exchanges that were conducted before the pandemic in the coming year or so.
Photographing
Investigation of coloring materials by X-ray fluorescence spectrometry
The Kuroda Memorial Hall houses and exhibits the paintings of KURODA Seiki and others. His oil paintings, the key collection, now count to 149, and belong to the Tokyo National Museum, of which the Kuroda Memorial Hall is currently a part of.
Tokyo National Research Institute for Cultural Properties (TOBUNKEN) photographed KURODA’s entire collection of oil paintings housed at the Hall, with high-resolution color, infrared and fluorescence imaging, from October through December 2021, in collaboration with the staff of the Tokyo National Museum. Furthermore, using X-ray fluorescence technologies, we analyzed the coloring materials used for the paintings: “Wisdom, Impression, Sentiment”, “Reading”, “Maiko Girl” and “Lakeside”.
KURODA Seiki studied oil paintings in France at the end of the 19th century. He learned the academic style, and acquired the Impressionist vision, weighing the sketches from outside. Following his return to Japan, he became a part of the mainstream Japanese modern painting world. His style changed with his position and circumstances – while in France, soon after returning to Japan, and after creating his niche in the Japanese art world. It is significant to have photographed his oil paintings with the same modern methods and lighting, including high-resolution color, infrared or fluorescence images that had never been taken before. We will uncover the techniques he used to actually paint these works, by comprehensively evaluating the information of brush touch, as highlighted by the high-resolution color imaging; the existence of drawings beneath and the color overlap as exposed by infrared and fluorescence imaging; and the details of the coloring materials used, as analyzed by the x-ray fluorescence imaging. The images photographed will prove to be essential in the research to understand the heart of the oil paintings by KURODA Seiki, who was an artistic leader of modern oil art in Japan.
Some images of his oil paintings have been made public on the TOBUNKEN website (https://www.tobunken.go.jp/kuroda/english/works.html), as well as in the reports including “Kuroda Seiki, Wisdom, Impression, Sentiment, Artwork Archive for Art Studies, volume I” (2002) and “Kuroda Seiki Lakeside, Artwork Archive for Art Studies, volume V” (2008). We plan to publish the outcomes of the latest photographing and research on our website.
Lecture by KOBAYASHI Tatsuro
Lecture by YASUNAGA Takuyo
The Department of Art Research, Archives and Information Systems conducted a public lecture titled “Look at Form, Read Form” on November 5th, 2021. The “Public Lecture” is conducted every autumn over the course of two days, and a wide range of audiences are invited to attend lectures presented by researchers on their work. However, this year, as with the preceding year, we shortened the period to one day with only two lecturers from our institute to follow COVID-19 prevention measures. The audience was limited to 30 people, and they were selected by raffle. In the venue, temperature checks were conducted and the speakers and audiences were requested to wear masks and sanitize their hands.
The following two lectures were conducted by members of our department: “Emergence and its Meaning of Amida Paintings All in Gold – Representation of Time Spirit in Transition Period” by KOBAYASHI Tatsuro, Head, Japanese and East Asian Art History Section; and “‘Hanshan and Shide’ Painted by Yosa Buson at Myōhōji Temple in Kagawa – Study for Restoration Utilizing Image Materials” by YASUNAGA Takuyo, Senior Researcher.
“KOBAYASHI discussed the Amida pictures of the Kamakura period—painted and plated in all gold—in light of the transition of the time spirit. Special emphasis was placed on how Amida emerged alongside the doctrine of original enlightenment (hongaku), which dominated Tendai Buddhism.” YASUNAGA introduced the ongoing restoration work of “Hanshan and Shide”—an Important Cultural Property owned by the Myōhōji Temple in Marugame city, Kagawa Prefecture—which was partially damaged by age. The old monochrome films shot decades ago by Tobunken have been used for this restoration with the high-definition images that Tobunken pictured recently.
Questionnaire survey responses from the audience show that 85% participants were “satisfied” or “generally satisfied” with the lecture.
Summary of the Seminar
Nearly 30 years have passed since Japan ratified the World Heritage Convention. Japan currently has 25 properties inscribed on the World Heritage List, including “Amami-Oshima Island, Tokunoshima Island, Northern part of Okinawa Island, and Iriomote Island” and “Jomon Prehistoric Sites in Northern Japan”, which were recently added to the list in 2021. FUTAGAMI Yoko, Head, Cultural Properties Information Section, conducted a presentation about the recent international and domestic activities based on the World Heritage Convention, including the nomination, inscription, and protection.
Many nominated properties that were not recommended to inscribe on the World Heritage List by its advisory bodies, were eventually decided to be inscribed on the List at the extended 44th session of the World Heritage Committee conducted in Fuzhou, China, with both in-person and online attendees in July 2021. For example, “Frontiers of the Roman Empire – The Danube Limes (Western Segment)” nominated by Hungary and other states, was also decided to be inscribed on the list. This happened even though ICOMOS / International Council on Monuments and Sites, as an advisory body on cultural properties, concluded that it was “impossible to evaluate” because its boundary of the property was significantly modified soon before the session due to Hungary’s withdrawal from its nomination. Hungary noted discrepancies between the outcomes of the thematic study that ICOMOS performed in the past and their recent advice based on the mission triggered by its nomination, and the related states failed to reach agreements regarding how to deal with the advice provided. These hiccups may have influenced the Committee Member states to turn against ICOMOS. FUTAGAMI explained these issues related to the nominations to the World Heritage List, as well as the introduction of improvement measures, such as Preliminary Evaluation on the nomination dossiers at the extended 44th session of the World Heritage Committee.
In addition to the movements of the World Heritage Committee, since 2020, domestic discussions have been conducted in Japan at the Subdivision of World’s Cultural Heritage of the Council for Cultural Affairs regarding the nomination and protection of world heritage properties. FUTAGAMI presented information about its discussion points based on the materials published on the Internet.
Active discussions were conducted during this seminar on the challenges for domestic activities in the light of World Heritage nomination and protection. It provided a good opportunity for us to recognize the need for outreach on a wide range of related information.
“(Japanese)” at the end of the article is linked to its Japanese article.
Since 1936, the Tokyo National Research Institute for Cultural Properties (TOBUNKEN) has annually issued the “Year Book of Japanese Art (the Year Book),” which covers activities in the art world in the given year in Japan. Although this book can be downloaded from “TOBUNKEN Publications repository > Yearbook of Japanese Art,” you can also directly search for specific information on the TOBUNKEN web database.
“Art News Articles database,” one of the databases constructed based on the Year Book, is a useful material that allows you to track movements in the art world through major exhibitions, art competitions, and events related to museums and cultural properties since 1936. We are happy to announce that the English version of “Art News Articles” with articles dating back to 2013, 2014, and 2015 were published. They were translated by Ms. Miwako Hayashi Bitmead, Japanese Arts Database Officer of the Sainsbury Institute for the Study of Japanese Arts and Cultures (SISJAC) in the United Kingdom. SISJAC and TOBUNKEN have conducted joint research since 2013 and this English publication was created with their cooperation. As the translation progresses, more data will be available.
The English version of this database will be helpful for disseminating information all over the world about the history of the movement in the Japanese art world until now. We believe that it can be also used as a vocabulary glossary for further outreach activities. Japanese and English versions of articles are mutually linked to ensure that each version can be easily referred. We are also planning to improve the database to mutually refer to both English and Japanese at a vocabulary level. We hope that you can find it useful and will use them regularly.
Exhibition catalogues: “Love, Fight, Feast “(left) and “Tosa and Sumiyoshi Schools II—The Development of the Yamato-e Painting Style and the Outstanding Characteristic of Each School” (right)
Lecture at Kuboso Memorial Museum of Arts, Izumi
International Symposium at the Rietberg Museum (YouTube distribution screen)
The exhibition “Tosa and Sumiyoshi Schools II—The Development of the Yamato-e Painting Style and the Outstanding Characteristic of Each School” was held from September 12th through November 7th, 2021 at the Kuboso Memorial Museum of Arts, Izumi, well known for its precious collection of Japanese and East Asian antiquities. The art works of the Tosa and Sumiyoshi Schools, from Tosa Mitsuyoshi’s work in the Momoyama Period till the modern period, were gathered and exhibited there. The exhibition was curated to highlight what each painter inherited and what each one innovated. During the exhibition, EMURA Tomoko from the Department of Art Research, Archives and Information Systems gave a lecture titled “Sumiyoshi School Paintings Overseas: Examining Shutendōji Handscrolls in Grassi Museum of Ethnology in Leipzig” at a lecture meeting held on October 16th, with Mr. KAWADA Masayuki, the director of the museum. EMURA introduced the Cooperative Program for the Conservation of Japanese Art Objects Overseas by Tokyo National Research Institute for Cultural Properties (TOBUNKEN), as well as Japanese arts overseas. She discussed Sumiyoshi Hiroyuki’s Shuten-dōji handscrolls, considered to be painted in 1786. This exhibition also featured the Shuten-dōji handscrolls painted by Hiroyuki’s son, Sumiyoshi Hironao (owned by Nezu Museum), following his father’s works. EMURA clarified the contrast between their works.
In the same month, on October 23rd, EMURA delivered a keynote lecture titled “A Great Tale of Exterminating Ogres: Shuten-dōji Handscrolls of GRASSI Museum für Völkerkunde zu Leipzig” at an international symposium marking the occasion of the special exhibition “Love, Fight, Feast – The World of Japanese Narrative Art,” held at the Rietberg Museum in Switzerland from September 10th to December 5th, 2021. The exhibition shows Japanese narrative scrolls owned by European museums. In her lecture, she explained the overall contents of Sumiyoshi Hiroyuki’s Shuten-dōji handscrolls and their characteristics as they were first exhibited there. This symposium was held online, connecting the museum in Zurich with Tokyo, Dublin (Ireland) and New York (USA), and broadcasted via the Internet.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=36FC6IOS_o0&t=1160s
It was unfortunate that we could not gather in person at the same venue due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but it was still a precious opportunity to discuss with many researchers and to exchange opinions. EMURA plans to publish her research about Sumiyoshi Hiroyuki’s Shuten-dōji handscrolls, which she talked about in her lecture, as an article in the Bijutsu Kenkyu (the Journal of Art Studies), No. 453.
SHIMAZAKI Kiyomi in a classroom; photo taken in 1950s.
He taught arts as an elementary school teacher, while playing a key role in Sōzō Biiku Kyōkai
Presentation at the seminar
Have you ever heard about an organization called “Sōzō Biiku Kyōkai”? This private organization was founded in 1952 to pursue new art education that respects and nurtures children’s individual personalities. Artists such as KITAGAWA Tamiji and EI-Q, and the art critic KUBO Sadajiro played key roles in its founding. These educational activities have grown and expanded, and have resulted in the establishment of the organization’s branches all over Japan. Thus, these activities have had a huge impact on post-war art education in Japan.
Ms. NAKAMURA Maki (part-time employee, Kanagawa Prefectural Museum of Cultural History and temporary staff, Tokyo Keizai University Historical Data Office) was invited by the Department of Art Research, Archives and Information Systems to the seminar held on September 24th, 2021 on the materials left behind by SHIMAZAKI Kiyomi (1923-2015). SHIMAZAKI was an art educator and served as the Bureau Chief of the Sōzō Biiku Kyōkai. Ms. NAKAMURA gave a presentation titled “Art Education in Japan after World War II, tracked with the activity records of the ‘Sōzō Biiku Kyōkai’ – referring to the materials left by SHIMAZAKI Kiyomi.” She had interviewed SHIMAZAKI in the past, and after his death, has been engaged in organizing and studying the large amount of materials he had left behind. She explained that this organization has made immense contributions, not only by helping art education to evolve, but also by supporting artists, popularizing print arts, and nurturing art collectors.
In the discussion following her presentation, Dr. KANEKO Kazuo, Professor Emeritus at Ibaraki University, delivered a commentary on the positioning of the Sōzō Biiku Kyōkai in post-war art education in Japan. Following this, participants from the institute and other facilities actively discussed how to conserve and utilize the materials of SHIMAZAKI Kiyomi. In the discussion, we also recognized the difficult situation related to the art education archives, for example, the fact that no institute so far has accepted these materials permanently.
Ms. NAKAMURA brought some of the actual materials to the seminar and participants had an opportunity to see them in person. We hope that this seminar provided the participants an opportunity to understand the importance of these materials.
Lecture by Mr. NAKANO Noriyuki
Lecture by Dr. IMAIZUMI Shoko
To obtain fundamental data for their research, protection, and utilization, the documentation of cultural properties and artifacts through both texts and photographs is an important activity for museums, fine art museums, and municipal governments managing cultural properties. The Department of Art Research, Archives and Information Systems is actively discussing methods for documenting cultural properties as well as the compilation of a database to organize and utilize these documentations. To this end, we conducted a seminar titled “Documentation of Cultural Properties for Protection and the Principle of Image Compression,” on September 21st, 2021, in the seminar room at the Tokyo National Research Institute for Cultural Properties while following the appropriate countermeasures against COVID-19 infection.
Mr. NAKANO Noriyuki (Senior Specialist of the First Cultural Properties Division, Agency for Cultural Affairs) delivered a lecture titled “Documentation of Cultural Properties for Protection.” He explained the importance of documenting cultural properties to ensure their protection and reiterated the areas of special care that must be taken into consideration during the documentation process, based on the abundance of materials with actual cases. In addition, Dr. IMAIZUMI Shoko (Associate Professor, Graduate School of Engineering, Chiba University) delivered a lecture titled “Concepts and Basic Technologies of Image Compression” as the second session in the series on “Digital Image Compression from the Basics of Images to Moving Images.” She explained digital image compression, the processes involved, and finally, the basic technologies and techniques of major compression formats for still and moving images, such as JPEG and MPEG.
The significance of documenting cultural properties continues to increase as it is crucial to securing opportunities for research and appreciation in the current situation wherein it is difficult to access cultural properties due to the COVID-19 pandemic. We will continue to actively disseminate useful information for documentation, preservation, and publication of cultural properties by providing lecture-style and hands-on seminars.
Lacquer Door Panels of Wat Rajpradit - mother-of-pearl with underpainting is seen in both the upper and lower parts, and cedar material decorated with colored lacquer maki-e is found in the middle portions.
Front Cover of the Report
Tokyo National Research Institute for Cultural Properties (TOBUNKEN) has been conducting a joint study to preserve the cultural heritage of Thailand in collaboration with the Fine Arts Department, Ministry of Culture of Thailand (FAD), since 1992. As a part of this joint study, we have been providing technical support through related parties in Thailand, including the Temple and FAD, for the restoration project related to the lacquer door panels at Wat Rajpradit, the first-grade royal Buddhism temple built in 1864.
Restoration of cultural heritage requires devising a plan based on detailed research on materials, techniques, surrounding environment, and deterioration status of each cultural heritage, and the restoration work needs to proceed according to the plan. Hence, relevant scientific investigation on the cultural heritage in question is crucial. Lacquer door panels at Wat Rajpradit were believed to be made in Japan because they have designs of flowers and birds, landscapes, and figures wearing Japanese kimonos, and they feature work in mother-of-pearl with underpaint techniques, which were often used in lacquerware exported from Japan in the mid-19th century. However, there was neither concrete evidence nor clues regarding their producers and their positioning in the history of such techniques. Therefore, numerous experts in various fields from TOBUNKEN and other organizations conducted scientific investigations and research studies on the designs expressed in mother-of-pearl with underpainting and colored lacquer maki-e. According to these studies, the material ingredients, techniques, and design elements found in the lacquer door panels strongly suggest that they were made in Japan.
The report “Study of the Japan-made Lacquerwork found in Thailand – Lacquer Door Panels of Wat Rajpradit,” published in Japanese in March 2021 assists in understanding these research outcomes and provides an overview of the interdisciplinary research on cultural heritage. This report is accessible in the TOBUNKEN Library, public libraries in Japan, and some libraries in overseas museums that have collections of Japanese artworks. We hope that you will read it.
Damaged “Hanshan and Shide”
Investigation
Photographing
Myōhōji Temple, located in Marugame city, Kagawa prefecture, is known for the fact that Yosa Buson (1716-1783), a painter and haiku poet of the Edo era, visited it in 1768 and left many of his paintings there. His painting “Hanshan and Shide,” an Important Cultural Property, is damaged and Hanshan’s face is partially lost. Fortunately, the previous image including Hanshan’s face undamaged was retrieved from the monochrome films that were shot in the Myōhōji Temple by the Tokyo National Research Institute for Cultural Properties (TOBUNKEN) in 1959. It was recently found that the films showed the painting in its undamaged form.
TOBUNKEN conducted an investigation, photography project, and research study to reproduce this damaged painting placed on sliding doors (fusuma-e) as digital images based on the existing monochrome films and new images produced through this project.
Four researchers from the Department of Art Research, Archives, and Information Systems—SHIRONO Seiji, EMURA Tomoko, YASUNAGA Takuyo, and MAIZAWA Rei—visited the Myōhōji Temple from August 24th to 28th, 2021 for this research investigation and photography with sufficient infection control measures against COVID-19. The investigation targets were “Hanshan and Shide,” “Cycad,” “Landscapes,” “Bamboo,” and “Jurō (God of longevity),” all works of Yosa Buson. All paintings were shot in color, while “Hanshan and Shide,” “Cycad,” and “Landscapes” were also shot using infrared (IR) imaging. Furthermore, experts of sliding door making and cultural property conservation measured “Hanshan and Shide” sliding doors because the reproduced image of “Hanshan and Shide” will be mounted on sliding doors and placed in the main hall of Myōhōji Temple.
There are still challenges such as finding a way to convert the monochrome image into a color image. We would like to explore new ways to utilize the image materials accumulated by TOBUNKEN through this reproduction experience.
On July 7th and 21st, 2021, we surveyed and photographed cultural properties at Baijōsan Kōmyōji Temple in Minato Ward, Tokyo.
On July 7th, SHIRNO Seiji, EMURA Tomoko, YASUNAGA Takuyo, and MAIZAWA Rei (who belong to the Department of Art Research, Archives and Information Systems) conducted an optical survey of Rakan-zu (a painting of Arhat, an enlightened Buddhist high priest). In the previous fiscal year, we also surveyed and photographed the same painting and presented an overview, such as its history, at the eighth workshop of the Department of Art Research for fiscal 2020 (https://www.tobunken.go.jp/materials/ekatudo/883416.html). In this latest survey, we used fluorescent photo shooting to check the storage conditions and expressions in more detail, such as the difference between the original portion and the portion touched upon later, which are difficult to detect with naked eye.
On July 21st, EMURA Tomoko, YASUNAGA Takuyo, and MAIZAWA Rei examined a painting of TAKEDA Unshitsu (1753-1827), a priest from Iiyama, Shinano Province. Unshitsu, the 26th head priest of Kōmyōji Temple, was a man of letters who excelled in poetry, writing, and drawing. He organized a poetry and writing association and interacted with many writers in the Edo period, including HIROSE Taizan and TANI Bunchō. Kōmyōji Temple has various works of Unshitsu, such as landscape paintings, paintings based on historical anecdotes, various written documents, as well and Sansuichō , a collection of his paintings. These are very valuable for learning about the activities and achievements of Unshitsu.
Founded in Kasumigaseki in the Kamakura period, Kōmyōji Temple relocated the building to its current location in the early Edo period. This ancient temple has a bell with an inscription, “Enpo 6” (1678), and a stone monument with an inscription, “Meiwa 9” (1772). Based on this survey, we will continue to conduct research on Rakan-zu and Unshitsu. We at the Tokyo National Research Institute for Cultural Properties will continue to actively conduct research on cultural properties that still remain in the community.
|
Gunsen kitsuun zu,
(Immortals eating clouds)
by TAKEDA Unshitsu, Bunsei 8 (1825)
|
|
Survey scene
A portion of the painting
|
Pic 1 “Saddle with European Figures”, Tokyo National Museum Collection (H-1470), donated by SAWA Nobuyoshi in 1873. (from ColBase)
Pic 2 “Yamato-e Painting Study” 1-3 Cover 1.
KOBAYASHI Koji, Head, Trans-Disciplinary Research Section, Department of Art Research, Archives, and Information Systems, gave a presentation titled “Emergence and Transformation of ‘Namban Lacquer’ in Modern and Present Japan – Through its Discourse” in the fourth seminar held by the Department of Art Research, Archives and Information Systems on July 16th, 2021.
The presenter has been working on a comprehensive cultural property study, from the viewpoint of material and cultural history, about Namban Lacquer, which was produced in Kyoto in the early half of the 17th century and exported to Europe and Americas. He made this presentation as he believes that it is necessary to carry out recognition process tracing and explore reference studies to identify when the scholarly interest in “Namban lacquer” started and what path it has followed to the present.
Interest in “Namban lacquer” emerged as a result of the influence of the “Namban” trends in literature, drama, painting, and other fields around the Taisho era, inspired by the study of Japanese Christian history, which started in the early Meiji era. This interest led to the active collection of “Maki-e lacquer depicted Namban patterns” (pic 1) from the early Showa era until the beginning of World War Ⅱ (WWII), which depicted Namban (western) people on Japanese traditional objects. The interest in these “Namban lacquer for domestic use” continued even after WWII. However, when many of the “Namban lacquer for export” that had been exported to Europe started to be imported back into Japan after the 1960s, the interests of lacquer art historians and the exhibit trends were transformed from lacquer for domestic use to lacquer for export, and these trends persist in the present era. While these trends have been mentioned more broadly so far, this presentation delved into further details. For example, the study’s focus on Namban lacquer export was first pointed out by OKADA Jo in the paper titled “On Makie Lacquer Depicted Namban Patterns” in “Yamato-e Painting Study”(pic 2), a fine art history journal published exclusively during WWII. The fact that the interest in lacquerware emerged and expanded to popularity, shifting from domestic use to export, was corroborated by concrete evidence in lacquer exhibits in exhibitions held before and after WWII. Furthermore, he explained that the term “Namban-style export lacquer” used in parallel with the term “Namban lacquer” was proposed by researchers in countries such as UK or the Netherland, where Japanese lacquer was exported throughout the Edo era, while the term “Namban lacquer” was generally used in countries such as Portugal or Spain, to where they were exported mainly in the early Edo era. This means that these two terms are not used in a contradictory sense, but can be understood in comparative ways.
Mr. KOIKE Tomio of the Seikado Bunko Art Museum, Dr. HIDAKA Kaori of the National Museum of Japanese History, and Mr. YAMASAKI Tsuyoshi, President of the Kanazawa College of Art, graciously participated in this seminar as commentators and facilitated a thorough discussion on this presentation, including insufficient points of explanation or contents of recognition. In fact, there are wide varieties of research materials on modern and present periods and we expect there to be more documents and items that are still undiscovered. He will continue to explore further and achieve a more persuasive understanding of the history of research on Namban Lacquer.
We are also continuing to develop databases for our internal work. The image shows the database we are developing to manage the photographic survey records by ODAKA Sennosuke, which are viewable online (
www.tobunken.go.jp/materials/odaka).
The Tokyo National Research Institute for Cultural Properties has released more than 30 databases related to cultural properties and made them available online. These databases contain a variety of data, such as painters’ diaries, monochrome photos of cultural properties taken in the 1930s, and art magazines published in the 1890s.
We operate two types of databases, one for releasing data to the public over the internet and the other for creating and storing data. The databases for public use do not require much functionality. However, they do require stability so that they can operate 24 hours a day, while security updates must be implemented frequently. On the other hand, the databases for internal work require advanced features such as special data manipulation for proofreading or batch replacement of specific character strings.
We have been operating databases for public use and databases for internal work since around 2014. During that time, various events have impacted the development and operation of these databases, such as software upgrades, hardware updates, the use of database services built by other organizations and personnel changes. At the 3rd seminar of the Department of Art Research, Archives and Information Systems in fiscal 2021, we reviewed the current status of the databases and examined how the development should be pursued. Following these discussions, we will not only continue to make these data bases available to the public, but also strive to develop new databases and improve user convenience.
