Tokyo National Research Institute for Cultural Properties - Publications
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Special Issue “Covid-19 and Intangible Cultural Heritage” : Purport
Get PDFSince the first case of Covid-19 was reported at the end of January 2020, the number of those infected with the disease has continued. The government issued a “state of emergency” on April 7 in Tokyo, Saitama, Chiba, Kanagawa, Osaka, Hyogo and Fukuoka; this was expanded to all the prefectures of Japan after April 16.
In the field of intangible cultural heritage, performances of classic performing arts has been postponed or cancelled, and it has been difficult to hold practices for a long time. Folk performing arts, like festivals and rituals, has also been simplified or cancelled all together. All these incidents have had serious impact on areas that support these performances such as tools and materials.
Such a condition appeared to be a different type of disaster to cultural heritage in the eyes of the Department of Intangible Cultural Heritage which has been involved continuously in the investigation of disaster conditions of intangible cultural heritage and the activities for their revival as a section of the Tokyo National Institute for Cultural Property in charge of the rescue of cultural heritage damaged by the Great East Earthquake. The present special issue has been planned as a project to record and analyze the conditions and to consider what can be done in the midst of the corona viral situation.departmental bulletin pape
Topics of the Fifteenth Session of the Intergovernmental Committee for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage and Issues Raised through Discussions
Get PDFThe fifteenth session of the Intergovernmental Committee for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage was held online from 14 to 18 December, 2020, as a result of Covid-19 pandemic. The meeting had only three-hour session per day and the agenda was minimized as much as possible to the report of the Evaluation Body on its work, examination of the reports of States Parties on the current status of elements inscribed on the List of Intangible Cultural Heritage in Need of Urgent Safeguarding, and others necessarily discussed at the session. The first fully online session was finalized one day earlier than the original date.
During the session, 29 elements of intangible cultural heritage (ICH) were inscribed on the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity (Representative List), including the element nominated by Japan, “Traditional skills, techniques and knowledge for the conservation and transmission of wooden architecture in Japan.” Regarding the number of nomination files treated at each session in the course of 2022-2023 cycles, the Committee decided that each session can treat at least 55 files. The Secretariat pointed out that the number of submitted files are increasing year by year, and reflection on the listing mechanism is necessary if the States Parties consider that all submitted files per year should be treated in the following cycle.
Not only being held as a fully online session, it was also the first time that the Report of the ICH NGO Forum was included in the agenda. The Committee Members acknowledged the recent efforts of the ICH NGO Forum in implementing the Convention, and expected the additional roles of accredited NGOs, such as the sharing of experiences of good safeguarding practices, the follow-up of inscribed elements, and the assessment of periodic reporting. In the light of this circumstance, the author considers that it is a pity that Japan has no accredited NGO for the moment. It is strongly hoped that Japanese academic societies and/or groups of practitioners become accredited NGOs for better implementation of the Convention with their experiences.departmental bulletin pape
An Identification Method Based on DNA Barcoding for Anobiidae Beetles in Cultural Property Buildings
Get PDFIn order to solve the problems of the identification method that classifies anobiidae beetles based on the description of morphological and ecological characteristics, DNA barcoding, which uses identification based on DNA sequences, was conducted.
Using the results from DNA barcoding, five types of Anobiidae beetles that caused damage in Nikkoʼs cultural properties were successfully identified. After confirming that three species of the Anobiidae beetles were not registered in the database of the National Center for Biotechnology Information, USA, those beetles were newly registered based on the information obtained from this research. As DNA sequence was determined using only a small part of the segment, it has been indicated that identification is possible even with a small sample. This research has demonstrated that identification of species may be possible even with small segments, such as legs and wings, and even eggs and larvae that have poor morphological characteristics. Additionally, identification using DNA samples from excre-ments, such as exuvia and feces, may be possible and expected in the future.journal articl
Principal Article: New Figurative Korean Painting (Hangukhwa) in the 1970s and 1980s: From Hyperrealism to Minjoong Art
Get PDFAfter the mid-1970s, the formation of a unique figurative art created a new atmosphere in the Korean art world. This stream is represented by so-called Hyperrealism, which was mainly disseminated through consecutively held large-scale privately sponsored exhibitions such as The Grand Art Exhibition of Korea, Donga Art Festival, and Joongang Fine Arts Prize. These exhibitions all claimed to support “originality” and “figuration”. They initially were repelled by Informel, Dansaekhwa, and other abstract tendencies. These events were also called “new figuration” in order to distinguish them from the existing and unchanging conceptions spread by The National Art Exhibition of The Republic of Korea.
I highlight that the emphasis on this “new figuration” brought great differences to trends in Hangukhwa (Korean painting). Artists who sought direction from modern Hangukhwas based on traditional paintings were awarded not only in private exhibitions, but also in The Grand Art Exhibition of The Republic of Korea where they submitted numerous hyper-real Hangukhwas. While the combination of Hyperrealism and Hangukhwa might seem incompatible at first, we must then consider the meaning of this fusion. Such phenomena cannot be interpreted solely by focused discourses on the existing combination of ink wash painting and abstraction. Therefore, this study retraces Hangukhwa in terms of the flow of “figuration”. In other words, it compares and contrasts how the figural is expressed in traditional and modern Hangukhwas. This examination should begin with the hyper-real Hangukhwas. Thus the study analyzed and interpreted the Real-Scenery Landscapes and urban landscapes of the 1970s, the ink painting movement in the early 1980s, and Hangukhwa affiliated with Minjung Art in the context of art of the same period.journal articl
Investigation of the Influence of Air Environment on Lead Corrosion
Get PDFRecently, corrosion of lead composing art works has increasingly been reported. It is well known that lead is easy to be corroded if concentration of organic acid, such as acetic acid and formic acid, is high in surrounding air. Origin of such chemical substances is considered to be, for example, wood, wood-based material and adhesives used in exhibition rooms and storages of museums.
The authors had an opportunity to conduct investigations in a museum where corrosion of lead composing an art work was observed. In this study, the corrosion product was identified and the air quality in storages was analyzed.
From the result of analysis of air quality, it was found that the concentration of formic acid and formaldehyde is very high. Formic acid is produced by oxidation of formaldehyde; this might be one of the main reasons for high concentration of formic acid in the storage as well as emission from building components.
As a result of X-ray diffraction analysis, corrosion products were identified as
hydrocerussite and plumbonacrite, which are lead compounds exhibiting white. Taking into account the air quality, it is considered that high concentration of organic acid and formaldehyde might be the main factor of producing white materials on the surface of lead.journal articl
Evaluation of the Activity of Mold Colonies in Museums Using ATP Rapid Hygiene Monitoring
Get PDFThe prevention of mold outbreaks is one of the most important matters in museums. When mold-like stains are found on the surface of cultural properties or walls of storage rooms, the measures to be taken differ depending on whether the stains are mold or not, and if they are mold, whether they are newly developed or mold traces that occurred in the past.
In this study, we investigated the range of intensity of ATP luminescence, which
corresponds to low mold biological activity, using ATP rapid hygiene monitoring. The changes of ATP luminescence from 63 mold strains collected from museums were measured by periodic ATP rapid hygiene monitoring, while they were incubated on PDA for 147 to 239 days.
The luminescence intensity reflected growth curves of the tested mold colonies, and the range of luminescence intensity of the death phase was evaluated. Based on the data of the experiments, ATP luminescence levels higher than 104 RLU/cm2 can be evaluated as high in mold activity, those in the order of 103 RLU/cm2 can be evaluated as low activity, and those below 102 RLU/cm2 indicate the sample is not active mold or it is not mold.journal articl
Color Degradation of Textiles with Organic Dyes under Specific Portions of D65 Sources Using Optic Filters
Get PDFThe present study investigates the color degradation of textiles with organic dyes under specific portions of D65 sources using optic filters. After irradiation, curcumin dyed fabric and safflower yellow dyed fabric showed higher color difference compared with undyed fabric and carminic acid dyed fabric. Additionally, the results showed that exposure testing may be needed to determine the relationship between color difference of dye and the property of light source with combination of mordant metal.journal articl
Conservation and Restoration of Mural Paintings and International Cooperation at Lokahteikpan Temple in the Archaeological Zone of Bagan, Republic of the Union of Myanmar
Get PDFBagan is a Buddhist heritage site built between the 11th and 13th centuries by the first Burmese dynasty. The site houses more than 3,500 brick pagodas and temples, and the inner walls of some temples are completely covered with Buddhist wall paintings.
Recent activities for the conservation of wall paintings in the Bagan heritage zone have been conducted as an emergency procedure; hence, full-fledged conservation and restoration have not been conducted. However, the main causes of active deterioration are correlated with the interaction of environmental factors (Temp/RH), and sealant materials applied during previous interventions are becoming a serious problem.
The aim of the present project is to establish a working protocol that can be implemented on other wall paintings in the Bagan heritage zone and to continue undertaking local research surveys together with national and international experts.journal articl
Tests for Influence of Volatized Chlorine Disinfectants on Cultural Properties
Get PDFDisinfection of high-frequency contact surfaces is one of the measures required to be taken for the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in museums.
The components of disinfection effect of chlorine disinfectants (sodium hypochlorite and hypochlorous acid water), which have been verified to be effective in disinfecting SARS-CoV-2, are hypochlorous acid (HClO) and hypochlorite ions (ClO−). It is generally known that these compounds have strong oxidization and bleaching capability and corrode various metals. As a matter of course, direct treatment of cultural property should be avoided. However, when used near cultural properties such as on display cases, the influence of vaporized disinfectants and decomposition compounds on the cultural property materials are concerned.
In the present research, the effect of volatiles from chlorine disinfectants on cultural property materials was tested by modified Oddy test. The results show that the chlorine disinfectants generate volatiles that affect the materials of cultural properties. The use of chlorine disinfectants in spaces where cultural properties exist or in areas where air flows into the spaces is considered to be a harmful risk to cultural properties.journal articl