Tokyo National Research Institute for Cultural Properties - Publications
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X-ray Fluorescence Analysis of “Sun and Moon Landscape of Four Seasons,” a National Treasure: A Special Example of the Use of White Pigment in Japanese Painting
Get PDFThe Sun and Moon Landscape of Four Seasons collected in Kongoji temple is a pair of six-folding screens that was newly designated as a national treasure in 2018. It is believed to have been produced in the 15-16th centuries.
Tokyo National Research Institute for Cultural Properties conducted an analysis of the coloring materials by X-ray fluorescence spectrometry. As a result, unusual use of white pigment was found from other Japanese paintings.
It has been found that the white pigment used in Japanese painting changes dramatically from Pb pigment (lead white) to Ca pigment (calcite) in the 15-17th centuries. In paintings drawn at the time of conversion of white pigment, there are worksusing both Pb material and Ca material as white pigment. Pb pigment is generally used to finish a wide area smoothly, and Ca pigment is used to express voluminous sense.
However, it was revealed that the opposite use of white pigment was done in the Sun and Moon Landscape of Four Seasons. Ca material was used for the part painted smoothly with white color, and Pb material was used for expression with voluminous sense. Such use of white pigment has never been reported so far and is regarded as a special example.journal articl
Generational Change in Modern Kyoto Painting Circles: Using the Ex-Doi Tsugiyoshi Materials as Clues
Get PDFThis article introduces two documents from the group of materials owned by the Japanese art history scholar Doi Tsugiyoshi (1906-1991). Doi was renowned for his research on pre-modern Japanese painting. His research archives include important materials related to modern era Kyoto painting. One of the two items introduced here was partially introduced by Doi, while the other was previously unpublished.
The first item is a record written by the painter Kôno Bairei (1844-1895), a leading figure in early Meiji period Kyoto painting circles. The document provides a chronology of his production of works under the direction of his former teacher Nakajima Raishô (1796-1871), and a list of the works that he painted in place of Raishô. Bairei wrote this document when he was 28 years old, in 1871. The list of 289 works consists of 1) those he assisted on, 2) those which he produced as surrogate for Raishô, and 3) those whose compositions he refined for his production as surrogate for his teacher. This list thus indicates that Bairei had completely mastered the style of his teacher and responded to rising demands for his mentor’s work. Bairei produced this whistleblower-like record almost immediately after Raishô's death. This publication date indicates that he sought to clear the record regarding his work for his teacher, namely, that he had not set out to be a ""ghost painter"". This method of transmitting a painting style without interruption from teacher to pupil was not limited to Raishô and Bairei, rather, it was a method common to members of the Kyoto painting community at the time.
The second item is the journal of the Kyôto shiritsu seinen kaiga kyôshinkai exhibition, which was held in 1891, 20 years after the first document discussed here. The exhibition was organized and operated by young painters living in Kyoto, and the judges awarded First Prize to Takeuchi Seihô (1864-1942). At the time there was discord among Kyoto's older painters, which in turn prevented younger painters from overcoming school differences and cooperating among themselves. This exhibition likewise saw numerous issues arise, primarily with the judging. This journal indicates that the judging questions were debated in public question sessions, and indicated how the young painters handed the succession of problems that arose While numerous incidents occurred, this exhibition proved to be a massive opportunity for advancement by the young painters. In later years the young painters of that time spoke of that event, stating how the event provided an opportunity for interactions among young painters that overcame school affiliations and opened new paths for them in their search for new forms of painting expression.
As has been previously indicated, the breaking up of the school affiliation system was an important key to the modernization of Kyoto painting circles. If we focus on the will of the young painters, the two documents discussed here indicate that huge changes occurred in their thinking. The struggles of Bairei's generation that stood at the cusp of the pre-modern to modern eras form the background for these changes. Their trial and error process can be seen as having prepared the ground for Seihô and others to turn towards new forms of painting that superseded school affiliation.journal articl
Investigation Report on Techniques for Preserving Cultural Properties with Focus on Musical Instruments 2
Get PDFThe Department of Intangible Cultural Heritage has continued investigation of techniques for
preserving cultural properties since 2017, particularly of manufacturing and restoring musical
instruments as well as those of making tools necessary for manufacture and repair and producing
raw materials, considering them to be of importance in supporting traditional performing arts of
Japan. The present report is a sequel to Investigation Report on Techniques for Preserving Cultural
Properties with Focus on Musical Instruments 1 and provides an outline of 15 investigation reports
conducted from June to November 2018.
Under the Law for the Protection of Cultural Properties there is a system in which persons and
groups of people holding such techniques are selected. However, in this investigation holders of such
techniques, whether they are selected or not, have been chosen limiting the contents of investigation
to the following 7 items, categorized them according to musical instruments and provided
information for each holder: (1) name of the person holding the technique; (2) year of birth; (3)
address; (4) date of investigation; (5) investigator; (6) outline of the person holding the technique; and
(7) opinion of the investigator.
This report includes subjects that were investigated upon request from the Traditional Culture
Division of the Cultural Properties Department, Agency for Cultural Affairs. With these, information
is shared with the Agency upon acquiring acknowledgment from the persons investigateddepartmental bulletin pape
History and Way of Thinking of Stelae Conservation in Japan
Get PDFIn the present paper, how stelae have been conserved in Japan will be discussed. First, transcribing the inscription contents of a stela on another media such as paper can be found at the latest in the 8th century. A rubbed copy was practiced in Japan at the latest in the 14th century. Producing a replica of a stela was examined already in the 18th century. In the present-day, a replica is not made by carving on a stone but normally by using a mold of other materials. Three-dimensional measurement is also utilized to pass on the value of a stela, recently. Intended conservation of stelae by establishing shelters was carried out in the 17th century, and restoration of a damaged stela can be observed in the 18th century. Historically, attempts have also been made to pass on information about the location or history of stelae as a link on their conservation. Therefore, when considering the conservation of stelae, it will be required not to try to keep only the outward form but the various information surrounding the stelae as well.journal articl
Research Note: Unkoku Tôgan: 400th Memorial Retrospective
Get PDFThe year 2018 marks the 400th anniversary of the death of Unkoku Tōgan (1547-1618), and a retrospective exhibition of this great Momoyama painter was held from November 1st to December 9th at the Yamaguchi Prefectural Museum. Unkoku Tōgan formed his own school of painting, served the Mōri clan in Yamaguchi, and his descendents continued in the role of official painter to the Mōri family. Thus Unkoku Tōgan had a deep connection with Yamaguchi, and in 1984 the same Yamaguchi Prefectural Museum held an exhibition on Unkoku Tōgan and Momoyama painting. Thus was their second exhibition featuring Unkoku Tōgan. Over the course of the intervening three decades, various previously unknown historical facts regardingTōgan Tōgan and Unkoku school artworks have come to light, this exhibition incorporated information from these new finds.
The exhibition was divided into four sections: 1-1. Tōgan, The Founder of the Unkoku School – The flag-bearer of ink painting; 1-2. The Founder of the Unkoku School –The Foundation of the School; 2. Unknown Birds and Flower Paintings; 3. Revealed the Actual Image of Tōgan; 4. The Greatest Painter of Landscape in Momoyama Era. Unkoku Tōgan has long been thought to have succeeded the great master Sesshū and established his own style of ink landscape. Fukuda Yoshiko, chief curator of Yamaguchi Prefectural Museum and the curator for this exhibition, emphasized the artistic diversity of Tōgan’s artworks and his wide array of activities, from samurai clansman to Zen Buddhist priest and rich merchant, through the display of both artworks and numerous historical documents. The exhibition catalogue is also noteworthy, including two articles by Yamamoto Hideo, the curator who organized the 1984 exhibition and today a senior fellow of Kyoto National Museum, and Fukuda Yoshiko, along with images of all displayed artworks, 43 other artworks by Tōgan (not exhibited), and reprints of historical documents regarding Tōgan. This exhibition should be recognized not only as a significant milestone in Unkoku School research, but also as a major contribution to the study of all early modern Japanese screen paintings and ink paintings.journal articl
Courtesan and Her Attendant : restoration report : the cooperative program for the conservation of Japanese art objects overseas : No.2015-1
Get PDFクラクフ国立博物館（ポーランド共和国）所蔵 Muzeum Narodowe w Krakowie, Poland宮川長春筆 絹本着色 掛軸装 １幅 Miyagawa Chōshun, color on silk, a hanging scroll平成 27 年度修復事業 2015 Japanese Fiscal Yearboo
Environmental Improvement in a Closed Library with a Stairwell Structure
Get PDFIn addition to the open library in the Institute, there is a closed library where around three hundred thousand books and magazines are stored. There is a concern that books in the closed library often suffer from mold growth, although the measured temperature and humidity is within an acceptable range due to air conditioning operating from 9 oʼclock to 18 oʼclock. To stabilize the environment in the closed library, a stairwell structure, which connects the 2nd and 3rd floors, was separated by installing a door in March 2018.
Temperature and humidity were measured by data loggers (HOBO UX100-003, Onset Corp.) which were settled in and around a stack. Obtained data of 2018 were compared to that of 2017.
It was found that variation of relative humidity became smaller in the stack. The
difference in absolute humidity between the east side and the west side around the stack disappeared. It was made clear that a stairwell structure is not suitable for environmental management and that each compartment should be sectioned architecturally.journal articl
Sesson Shûkei and the Rinzai Sect Genjû School
Get PDFThis article considers the previously only partially deciphered biography of Sesson Shûkei (16th century) through historical materials related to two Rinzai sect Genjû school priests with whom Sesson interacted.
The Rinzai sect Genjû school is theologically descended from Zhongfeng Mingben of the Chinese Linji (Rinzai) sect Yangqi (Yôgi) school. The Genjû school developed throughout the Kantô region during Japan's late medieval period and is known to have been highly influential at the time. And indeed, the development of the Genjû school was not unrelated to ink painting in the Kantô region. In particular, Barbara Ford has offered the interpretation that Sesson Shûkei modeled himself after Fukuan Sôki (1280-1358) and in effect followed in his footsteps. Evidence supporting this can be found in the Sesson works remaining at Jisôji in Aizu and Fukujûji in Miharu, both temples founded by Sôki.
Sôki was born in Hitachi province, and like Sesson, came from the powerful Satake clan. Ford has indicated that Sesson's reverence for Sôki led him to Aizu. After these insightful beginnings research has not advanced on the connection between Sesson and the Genjû school. This article reexamines Sesson's interactions with the Genjû school as seen in the records of two Zen priests, Keishô Shûzui and Daichû Sôshin, both of whom were based at Hôunji (present-day Tsuchiura, Ibaraki prefecture), a temple founded by Sôki that was the base of the Genjû school.
The Hôunji zakki binran (Hôunji) records compilation, bearing a colophon dated 1722 (Kyôhô 7), was assembled by Shirin Oku, the 17th abbot of Hôunji who feared the dispersal of the Hôunji documents. This compilation includes a record of Keishô Shûzui's visit to Hôunji and his recitation of poems in Hôunji's abbot's residence Eikôin. The connection between Keishô Shûzui and Sesson is known from Shûzui's 1555 (Tenbun 24) inscription on Sesson's Myna Bird and other materials, but the nature of their connection had not yet been determined. Ninsai rakusui dôjin kôgô, today in the Ishikawa Takeyoshi Memorial Library, Tokyo, is the only known collection of sayings by Keishô Shûzui. This volume records that he visited Shôjôji around the early Tenbun era. Shôjôji is the same temple that Sesson entered as a child. And while previously it had been thought that Sesson's interactions with Keishô Shûzui were in the Kamakura area from 1550 (Tenbun 19) onwards, we can now indicate that these interactions began in the early Tenbun era at Shôjôji in Hitachi province.
In 1512 (Eishô 9) Daichû Sôshin, who was born in the domain of the Hitachi province Oda family, entered the Sôgetsuin (a sub-temple of Hôunji), and was named head priest of Kôtokuji in Aizu in the first month of 1567 (Eiroku 10). Daichû Sôshin's book of aphorisms, the Daichû washô goroku (Dairyûji, Chiba) states that a painter named Sôkansai (相鑑斎) visited Daichû in Aizu in the 12th month of 1567, and that this Sôkansai had also been born in Hitachi province. According to Ogawa Tomoji's research, around 1567 Sesson was going back and forth between Miharu and Aizu. From these factors we could suggest the possibility that Sesson interacted with Daichû, whose circle of connections included Sôkansai and the Genjû school lineage.
Previous research on Sesson's biography had found it difficult to connect the dots of his known interactions. The records of these two Zen priests allow us to surmise Sesson's interactions with painters Baiinsai, Senka and Sôkansai and indicate that their connections were based on the Genjû school network.journal articl
