Tokyo National Research Institute for Cultural Properties - Publications
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“Culture of Everyday Life” as an Intangible Cultural Heritage
Get PDFIn the 2021 revision of the Law for the Protection of Cultural Properties, a new system called “registration” was added to the system of protection in the field of intangible cultural heritage. Until then, there was only protection under the name of “designation” based on a strict standard. However, with the addition of a milder standard called “registration,” it became possible to target a wider range of cultural heritage than was conventionally done. In addition, a new category called “culture of everyday life” was added as target for protection.
However, “culture of everyday life” is a concept whose definition is ambiguous. It is essentially a word that points to quite a wide area, but the Agency for Cultural Affairs of Japan considers an extremely limited field of traditional culture as its target, including tea ceremony, ikebana, calligraphy, food culture (skills related with cooking, brewage, etc.), sencha tea ceremony, incense appreciation, Japanese dress, reiho or rules of decorum, tanka poem, senryu poem, bonsai, and nishiki carp. The present paper studies how the expression “culture of life” is used based on official documents published by the Agency and other organizations.
The expression culture of life is introduced in documents dealing with “contemporary cultural policies” of 1990. At that time, it was used to refer to culture related to life, such as clothing, food and housing. Then, in a meeting in 1995 on cultural policies the expression “traditional life culture” was used. After that, it seems to have been used to be specialized for use in referring to tradition.
From 2015, an investigation project was started by the Agency for Cultural Affairs on “traditional life culture.” It was then that various aspects of culture mentioned above, such as tea ceremony, ikebana, and others became the target of study. Then in 2021 “calligraphy” and “traditional liquor making” were selected as the first “registered” intangible cultural heritage.
However, the definition of “culture of everyday life” as a category is yet to be established. Many of the elements included in it are cultural heritage that have been passed down as traditional arts and performances of Japan. In the cultural system of “ceremonial culture” the expression “life art” is used. The present author thinks that a systematic understanding of culture of life and its definition are necessary. It is also necessary to communicate correct information to the outside world and to examine comprehensive ways for protection including the protection of tools and raw materials.departmental bulletin pape
Consideration on the Environmental Microbes Management Guideline for the Facility for Conservation and Restoration of the Takamatsuzuka Mural Paintings
Get PDFThis study analyzed the results of the environmental fungi surveys conducted for about 10 years in the restoration room for the Takamatsuzuka mural paintings in order to formulate a fungi management guideline. The methods used in the surveys were the drop plate (DP) method and the air- sampling (AS) method for airborne fungi, and the adhesive tape sampling of selected surface (AT) method for attached fungi found on the floor, walls, and frames that support the stone materials. In addition, the evaluation of the ATP swabbing method was conducted to compare with the AT method.
The results of each survey were mainly distributed as follows: the DP method, less than 1 cfu/30 min/plate; the AS method, more than 0 cfu/m3 and less than 5 cfu/m3; and the AT method, more than 0 cfu/25 cm2 and less than 5 cfu/25 cm2. On the other hand, the existing reference values of environmental fungi management guidelines for facilities for cultural properties are as follows: the DP method, 10 cfu/20 min/plate or less; the AS method, more than 50 cfu/m3 or less; and the AT method, 10 cfu/25 cm2 or less. This study suggested that the restoration room had maintained higher cleanliness than the existing reference values. Therefore, the target values of maintenance for the restoration room can be set at about half of the existing environmental management guidelineʼs reference: the DP method, less than 5 cfu/30 min/plate; the AS method, less than 25 cfu/m3; and the AT method, less than 5 cfu/25 cm2.
The result of the ATP swabbing method showed the presence of more potential stains than the AT method. The ATP swabbing method is useful as a new survey method to assess cleanliness.journal articl
Digital Data of Photographs of the Kabuki Stage by ISHII Masako (1)
Get PDFThe present paper is a catalogue of digitized photographs of the Kabuki stage taken by the photographer Ishii Masako. The Department of Intangible Cultural Heritage of the Tokyo National Research Institute for Cultural Properties has in its collection 85 items of digitized photographs of the Kabuki stage taken by Ishii Masako that have been recorded as CD photos and 110 items from the “Collection of Photographs for Transmission of Kabuki” that have been digitized and recorded as CD-ROM by the Organization for the Preservation of Kabuki (OPK). Because these digitized data were difficult to be used in their condition, they have been transformed into a usable system from 2020 to 2021 and a booklet entitled “Digital Data Inventory of Kabuki Photos by Masako Ishii” has been made to keep the data in order.departmental bulletin pape
Inventory of Donated Texts and Manuscripts, Oikawa Takao Collection
Get PDF『及川尊雄収集 紙媒体資料目録』（2021年３月、当研究所無形文化遺産部）刊行後に見つかった資料を加えた上で、当研究所に寄附された資料に絞り込んで、ひとまとまりの資料として捉えた方がよいメモ類などを再整理しました。併せて、資料の基本情報のみならず、内容に関連するキーワードを追加しました。紙媒体資料の全体像を示し、より幅広い研究活用に供することを図ったものです。----「前言」p.1boo
Acetaldehyde Emission Behavior and Its Reduction by Ventilation in a Prefabricated, Highly Airtight and Insulated Storage
Get PDFThe long-term measurement of air quality temperature and humidity and the prediction of air concentrations by numerical analysis were carried out to construct a favorable conservation environment for cultural properties in a highly airtight prefabricated storage where the air concentration of acetaldehyde exceeds the health guidelines (48 μg/m3). Monthly measurements of air quality showed high correlation between the acetaldehyde concentration and temperature. The apparent volumetric emission rate considering temprature dependence was identified from the measured values of acetaldehyde concentrations, and the prediction of annual change of acetaldehyde concentrations was conducted to estimate the effects of ventilation. The calculated results show that the acetaldehyde concentrations exceeded the guideline values from May to mid-November only with passive ventilation, indicating that active ventilation is necessary during this period. The numerical analysis showed that the acetaldehyde concentration recovered to the same values as without ventilation in less than half a day after the total heat exchanger was stopped due to the fast emission rate in summer. In summary, it was shown that characterizing problematic chemicals and understanding their emission behavior can be used to propose appropriate ventilation methods.journal articl
【Series】 Forum on Intangible Cultural Heritage and COVID-19 Report on Third Forum: “Traditional Performing Arts amid COVID-19 Pandemic: Seeking Good Practices for Safeguarding”
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Thoughts on Ikeno Taiga’s Landscape Paintings: Reading the Landscapes in Six Perspectives/Four Chinese Sages Handscroll
Get PDFIkeno Taiga’s Landscapes in Six Perspectives/Four Chinese Sages Handscroll is a small handscroll measuring 18.5 cm in height with an overall length of 427.7 cm. The present-day mounting contains two landscape handscrolls, Six Perspectives and Images of Shizhui (試錐図) (also known as Four Chinese Sages). They were mounted as a paper-mount handscroll with the paintings themselves accompanied by title cartouches and colophons. This handscroll was owned by Murayama Ryôhei (gô: Kosetsu, 1850-1933), the art aficionado who founded the Asahi Shimbun and took on the operations of the art magazine, Kokka. As such this scroll was published in Kokka No. 150 in 1902 (Meiji 35) under the caption “Landscape Handscroll by Ikeno Taigadô” (池野大雅堂筆 山水画巻), which was one of the earliest introductions of Taiga’s work in Kokka. Taiga’s inscription at the end of the scroll indicates that he presented the scroll to the Osaka connoisseur Kimura Kenkadô (1736-1802). The inscription is further accompanied by colophon inscriptions written by Kenkadô’s friends and colleagues, particularly those affiliated with the Kontonsha literary society. These factors all make this scroll useful for gaining an understanding of how literati art appreciation worked during that period.
This article presents basic literati painting research data on the Landscapes in Six Perspectives / Four Chinese Sages scroll, namely explication of format and style, the scroll’s painting subjects, and interpretations of its inscriptions and colophons. The information gained from this process indicates that the scroll was intentionally structured in its current form.
Taiga created the Landscapes in Six Perspectives paintings to depict and interpret six types of perspectival methods that the 12th century (late Northern Song dynasty) author Han Zhuo described in the “Lunshan” (論山) chapter of his book on landscape painting theories. While this “six perspectives” painting subject did not exist in China, Japanese literati sought out paintings like this scroll as a means of understanding Chinese painting methods. Taiga ended his inscription on the “Mystical Distance” (幽遠) image with the phrase “as noted by Han Zhuo” (韓純全識), thus indicating his knowledge of and basis in Han Zhuo’s theories. In fact, as indicated in the colophon by Oka Genpo, Taiga based his ideas on Li Yu’s preface for the first edition (1679, Kangxi 18) of the Mustard Seed Garden Painting Manual. For the three distances explained by Guo Xi, Taiga developed his paintings by interpreted that book’s “painting manual” motifs and the painting theory complementing them. For the three distances explained by Han Zhuo, he depicted them as paintings reflecting Li Yu’s “true landscapes” of scenes the viewer could actually wander through. After Taiga created this Six Perspectives painting theme, it became a standard repertory item for Japanese literati paintings. The inscriptions on this handscroll fully reveal Taiga’s active enjoyment of natural settings and his repeated climbing of Mt. Fuji. Thus we can see that he actually practiced Li Yu’s philosophy, and it can be surmised that the Six Perspectives were painted in the autumn of 1761 (Hôreki 11) given their stylistic similarities to True View of Mt. Asama that Taiga painted on the basis of sketches made as a mountain climbing diary.
Images of Shizhui (試錐図) is also called Four Chinese Sages given its depiction of landscapes of the four seasons accompanied by images of literati activities such as seeking seclusion and visiting a friend. While the source text for Images of Shizhui (試錐図) is unknown, we can surmise that it was painted in the style of the Zhuihuachao (錐画沙) which praises how Wang Xizhi wielded his brush. I clarified that each of the painting themes is clearly drawn from the then most recent collection of Wei and Jin literati anecdotes, the Shishuoxinyubu (世説新語補). In detail: painting 1 is Wang Xizhi at the Orchid Pavilion Gathering; painting 2 is Wang Huizhi Admiring Bamboo; painting 3 is Lin Bu Living in Seclusion and painting 4 is Wang Huizhi Visiting a Friend. I further indicated that if we can consider painting 3 as a conflation of Lin Bu and Tao Yuanming imagery, then it would reveal the longing that Japanese literati felt for Eastern Jin figures, and thus reflects the philosophy of the Ancient Rhetoric School (古文辞派) of Taiga’s period. I indicated that Kenkadô’s library may have included the Shishuoxinyubu (世説新語補). We can also read an “imitating the ancients”philosophy in the “after the style of Li Gonglin” (倣李公麟之筆) ink inscription on painting 1. In terms of the painting methods used in painting 1, Taiga imitated the sharp ink lines of Li Gonglin who was adept at monochrome line drawing, but I indicate that the painting clearly shows his familiarity with piercing, awl-like brush methods.
This scroll, which dates to around Taiga’s 39th year, can be seen as a step on the way to his creation at the age of 49 of two masterpieces, namely, the Red Cliff at Lake Dongting Handscroll and the Ten Conveniences, depicting the activities of a literati figure. This painting and these two masterpieces are all instances of Taiga being inspired by printed imagery and then depicting the literati landscape works that both he and Kenkadô dreamed of. Thus, we can say that this scroll was created from the passionate curiosity of these two men who both longed for the culture of Chinese literati gentlemen.journal articl
