Tokyo National Research Institute for Cultural Properties - Publications
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Antifungal Activity Tests of the Basic Materials Used for Oil Paintings
Get PDFAs previous studies have presumed that outbreak of molds on oil paintings selectively develop depending on color, the present study investigated the difference of development under antifungal testing using pigments and mediums.
The results have shown that pigments containing cobalt and zinc as major components have higher antifungal ability compared with oil painting samples that are applied only with mediums. Furthermore, this study suggests that mediums used in oil paintings are resistant to molds, and thus application of corresponding vehicles could alleviate antifungal activity.
Previous experiments using commercially available paints have proven that the types of mediums and mixing ratio change depending on the pigment used. Nonetheless, evaluation of each pigment regarding their antifungal ability was understudied, even within the area of study. However, this research enabled to show that some types of pigments could facilitate or inhibit mold development.
As pigments are usually mixed when applied to oil paintings, further research could be done on the antifungal ability of mixed pigments. Additionally, this research was conducted using fungal strain isolated from real oil paintings, but different results have been shown from many of them. Therefore, additional experiments using different bacterial strains could be conducted in order to further understand the relation between types of pigments and their antifungal ability.journal articl
Material Analysis ofMetal Objects Excavated from Watanuki-Kannonyama Tomb
Get PDFThe Watanuki-Kannonyama Tomb with a keyhole shape in Takasaki City, Gunma
Prefecture, was built at the end of the 6th century. A large number of different kinds of metal objects were excavated from the tomb during 1967-1968. After excavation, conservation treatment was performed and X-ray fluorescence analysis was applied for some objects, but the chemical composition could not be obtained. In 2019, a material analysis using the latest X-ray fluorescence spectrometer was conducted for 44 metal objects, and the chemical composition could be estimated accurately.
It has become clear that five types of base materials are used: copper, bronze, iron, silver, and gold. Copper, iron, silver, and gold had a purity of 99% or more. As for bronze and gold, no surface treatment was found. On the other hand, surface treatments have been found on some copper, iron and silver objects.
The most common surface treatment for copper objects is amalgam gold gilt. One piece of a copper object with both amalgam gold and silver gilt was found, and is noted as a valuable example.
No iron object was found with amalgam gilt. Instead, there are some objects which have a gilt bronze or silver sheet on top of the surface of iron.
Some silver products are used without any surface treatment. Amalgam gilt has been found on the surface of silver objects. A thick amalgam gilt over 9 μm was found from a silver object.
More than hundreds of metal objects have been excavated from the Watanuki-Kannonyama Tomb. Further material analysis will continue and it is expected that the details of metal composition will become clear.journal articl
Development of an Evaluation Method for Insecticidal Effects in Humidity-Controlled Warm-Air Treatment
Get PDFThe present study investigated the upper lethal temperature of Lyctus africanus using artificial feeds containing Lyctus africanus eggs and larvae. Using the feeds, the insecticidal effect was evaluated during the examination of the humidity-controlled warm-air treatment in historic wooden buildings. Concurrently, trap investigation using sticky tapes was conducted before and after the application of insecticidal treatment. Thus, construction of an evaluation method of two different procedures was inevitably necessary for this study.
During the examination of the upper lethal temperature, artificial feeds with eggs and larvae were placed under the room temperature of 40 - 60 ℃ for 0.5-5.0 hours. As a result, the insects did not annihilate in temperatures under 48 ℃, but completely annihilated in temperatures over 56 ℃, even if they were exposed for only 0.5 hour. During the humidity-controlled warm-air treatment in historic wooden buildings, feeds were placed in the center of zelkova lumber. Annihilation was confirmed after nurturing for a certain amount of time. The results from the trap investigation showed that Hadrobregmus pertinax, wood-boring insect, was present before the treatment, but hardly any was caught after the treatment. The methodologies conducted in this research are possibly effective in evaluating insecticidal effects during humidity-controlled warm-air treatment.journal articl
Analyses of Microbial Community on the Small Pieces of Wall Paintings in the Torazuka Tumulus
Get PDFThe present research conducted microbial community analysis on small fragments collected from the Torazuka Tumulus to clarify the structure of microbial communities on wall paintings without biodeterioration by using molecular biological methods.
As a result of quantitative PCR using the DNA solution extracted from the small pieces of wall paintings, the number of fungal 18S rRNA genes within all samples were less than that of bacterial 16S rRNA genes.
The results from the next-generation sequencing of viruses have shown that the following phyla have appeared frequently in all samples: Proteobacteria (relative abundance 27.9%-50.9%), Bacteroidetes (8.8%-46.9%), Planctomycetes (3.2%-15.1%) and Acidobacteria (2.2%-3.7%). Genus Reyranella in phylum Proteobacteria and genus Chryseolinea in phylum Bacteroidetes have shown the highest relative abundance within all samples.
Results from the clone library analysis have shown that the genus Exophiala had the highest relative abundance within all samples. As Exophiala has also been isolated from the Takamatsuzuka Tumulus, Kitora Tumulus, and Lascaux cave, it was suggested that stone surfaces such as burial mounds are favorable habitats for Exophiala.
In the future, it is necessary to clarify the interaction between the bacteria and fungi from small fragments using the culturing methods. Furthermore, basic research such as the abundance of bacteria and fungi in stone chambers, and their interaction with biological communities, including soil animals, is needed. These studies are expected to provide important knowledge to understand local conservation methods for wall paintings in the Torazuka Tumulus.journal articl
Takemura Kôai and Female Nihonga Painters in the Meiji Period
Get PDFTakemura Kôai (1852-1915) taught painting at Tokyo Women's Normal School, the Kyoritsu Women's Occupational Institute and the Private Women's School of Fine Arts, and is thus recognized today as an arts educator. This has meant that research on Kôai has been conducted in the context of drawing education and women’s education. On the other hand, she also worked as a Nihonga painter and a member of such groups as the Japan Art Association. Her diary, today in the Kyoritsu Women's University Library, provides not only her life story but also information on female painters in the Meiji period.
This article uses her diary to clarify her career as a painter, a subject that has previously been rarely examined. The author then considers the activities of female painters in the Meiji period through her activities, and provides thoughts on how the activities of female painters developed from the Meiji to Taishô periods.
Takemura Kôai was born on January 25, 1852 (Ka'ei 5) in the Sendai domain residence in Shibaguchi, Edo. Her name was Chisa or Sada. In addition to her pseudonym of Kôai, she also used some others, such as Unrin, Hakuitsu, and Gyokuranken. She liked paintings from an early age, and learned Kanô school methods from Kanô Tan’itsu and Kanô Kazunobu, the southern style from Yamamoto Kinkoku, the blended northern/southern style from Haruki Nanmei and his son Nanka, and Western style painting from Kawakami Tôgai.
In 1876 (Meiji 9), she began working at Tokyo Women's Normal School, first as an assistant to the English teacher, and then from around 1877 as a drawing teacher.
In April 1880, Kôai saw a work by Maruyama Ôkyo at the 1st Kanko Bijutsukai exhibition, and this led to her criticizing the painting style of the day, which overemphasized spirit resonance and ignored realism. She came to believe that one should aim for a painting style based on sketching from nature that still maintained a rich spirit resonance or vitality. This awareness can be found in Kôai's works throughout the rest of her life. When she heard Ernest Fenollosa's lecture in 1884 (Meiji 17), she seconded his critique of literati painting. Conversely, she took a critical stance towards Fenollosa’s lectures on art education based on her own experience.
In 1889 (Meiji 22) she became a member of the Japan Art Association and participated in its painting study meetings. The following year she won a bronze prize for her Scene of Children's Education exhibited in the association's exhibition. The painting was purchased by Prince Arisugawa Taruhito. She continued to exhibit works in the association’s exhibitions, winning several awards. Many of her paintings were acquired by members of the imperial household.
In 1898 (Meiji 31) Kôai retired from the Tokyo Women's Higher Normal School and that June exhibited Lilies in a Valley in the 1st Japan Painting Society (Nihongakai) exhibition. Her painting was praised as a work in tune with the improvements in Nihonga then being advanced by the Japan Painting Society. The multilayered arrangement of motifs in this work creates a sense of depth while the depiction of lilies waving in the breeze and butterflies fluttering above give a real sense of movement.
In 1902 (Meiji 35) she entered a painting of Mount Myôgi in Gunma prefecture in the 32nd Japan Art Association exhibition. This work is thought to be based on sketches of the mountain made by Kôai when she went climbing there the previous year.
Kôai began to produce numerous landscapes from that time onwards. This shift in subject is thought to have been based on her increased ability to travel and sketch after she retired from Tokyo Women’s Higher Normal School. Kôai is also thought to have tried to emphasize the legitimacy of the older school of painting that she was part of in the midst of the growing divide between old and new school thoughts in the painting circles of the day.
In 1910 (Meiji 43) she exhibited a painting of a thrush and another of lilies, Picture of Lily, in the Japan-British Exhibition, and was awarded a bronze prize. The modulated lines of the outlines in Picture of Lily, along with its tonal use of colors and motif arrangement, add a sense of depth to the work. By contrast, gold paint was used for the plant leaf veining and brushed on the butterfly wings as a decorative touch. Thus while Western painting methods taught her the figural depiction and spatial representation lacking in Nihonga, her ongoing stance was that her basic forms came from traditional Nihonga.
In 1913 (Taishô 2) she moved to Kamakura, where she died at the age of 64 on June 8, 1915 (Taishô 4).
When we look back on Kôai's life work we can see that female painters in the Meiji period had essentially four demands made upon them.
First, there was the demand for painting teachers. In Kôai's case she had about 130 students in total, with many of them members of the peerage. In the Meiji period there were many women who studied painting as part of their self-cultivation and as a hobby. There were many female painters who served as their teachers.
Second, there was demand for teaching Nihonga to foreign women. Kôai's diary indicates that she taught Nihonga to many foreign women including a French diplomat’s daughter.
Third, there was also demand for schoolteachers. In the Meiji period girls' education was promoted and girls' schools were established nationwide. However, the dearth of female teachers created opportunities for many female painters to serve in schools as drawing teachers.
Finally, there was a need to entertain female VIP visitors. Female painters often did impromptu paintings as part of the entertainment for important female guests, such as the empress dowager and empress.
These factors indicate the social need for female painters, and from them we can discern that, to a certain degree, there was a cultural background for female painters to be able to support themselves through their painting.
In the Taishô period large numbers of girls and women also learned painting from female painters. While there were some who sought to become painters, many of these girls and women studied as part of their self-cultivation and as a hobby. Thus we can consider that the livelihood of female painters in the Meiji and Taishô period depended on the presence of these female students.
Further, female painters in the Meiji period occasionally held exhibitions and other female painters performed impromptu paintings at these events, indicating the extensive network of women involved in painting. Female painters began to form groups in the Taishô period, and we must note that the female painter’s networks that were the premise of establishment of such groups already existed in the Meiji period.
Thus we can see that the rise of female painters in the Taishô period was built on the basis of the activities of female painters in the Meiji period.journal articl
Influence of Cross-sectional Shape and Pupa Killing Methods on Painting Silk
Get PDFThe present study aims to clarify the differences of traditional painting silk and
commercial painting silk from the cross-sectional point of view. Traditional silk which was made by hand-reeling method had thinner cross-section than commercial silk which was made by auto-reeling machine on the results of scanning electron microscope observation. It also showed loose fibroin bunch as compared with commercial silk which showed thick fibroin bundle. It is suggested that this difference influences the degree of transparency on the painting silk based on digital microscope observation, especially in the case of reverse paintings.
On the accelerating test with UV, moist heating method and electron irradiation methods, traditional silk showed lower color changes than commercial silk, and the result was presumed to occur by influence of the pupa killing method. Drying cocoon as commercial method, salted cocoon as traditional method and raw cocoon were tested by UVand moist heating accelerating ageing. Salted cocoon showed lowest change of tensile strength as a result.
The present study also reports about the measuring data of the width and height of silk thread which was used in 4 paintings in the collection of Yamato Bunkakan. Silk thread prepared in Song dynasty showed wide cross-section, and Japanese silk thread showed thin cross-section than contemporary commercial silk.journal articl
Investigation of Insecticidal Effect under Humidity-controlled Warm-air Treatment
Get PDF“Humidity-controlled warm-air insecticidal treatment” enables elimination of insects living inside wood by gradually increasing the temperature up to 60 degrees Celsius and regulating the humidity without altering the water content of the wood.
To investigate the insecticidal effect of this process conducted at Aizen-do Hall, two methods were examined: evaluation of insecticidal effect and insect trap investigation using adhesive tapes.
Lyctus africanus was selected as a test insect. A specialized artificial feed containing eggs and larvae was developed. Later on, this feed was enclosed in the center of zelkova lumber and mounted in an environmental chamber.
As a result, after rearing the insect under treatment for a certain period, no adult bugs developed from the artificial feed. For this reason, this research revealed that the use of artificial feed is an effective measure for investigating insecticidal effect under high-temperature treatment. Trap investigation was conducted during the most abundant season for the Anobiid species, and the number of species and individuals were studied. As a result, wood-boring insect, Oligomerus japonicus, which was frequently caught before the treatment was not caught afterward. This insecticidal treatment is thought to be effective towards O. japonicus living internally in wooden materials.journal articl
Analysis of Nutrients Extracted from Paper Documents Damaged by Tsunami, Their Origin and Treatment
Get PDFThe number of paper documents damaged by tsunami that accompanied the Great East Japan Earthquake in 2011 is enormous. Those documents have been covered with mud which contains uncertain nutrients. The present paper reports on those nutrients which were extracted from mud on damaged papers.
After extraction with appropriate solvents, triglycerides, sugars and amino acids were quantified by gas-chromatograph / mass spectrometer. As a result, triglycerides were not found by the method which was used this time, but many segments were observed in the total ion chromatograph. A slight amount of sugars were found. Many amino acids which constitute organisms were also found. As a cluster analysis, they might be a mixture of decomposed kelps and shellfishes.
From the above observations, it may be said that paper documents damaged by tsunami are covered not only with mud and salt but also with proteins from organisms. For this reason, they need to be cleaned by neutral detergent.journal articl