Tokyo National Research Institute for Cultural Properties - Publications
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Organic Acid Emission from Kiri-bako and Kiri and Influence on Lead
Get PDFWhite corrosion is often observed on artifacts decorated with lead. The authors investigated one such artifact (sample A) that suffers white corrosion. The sample is normally stored in two kiri-bako, wooden boxes made with kiri (paulownia spp.).
The purpose of the present study was to identify the primary environmental factor for white corrosion on sample A. For this purpose, the following tests were conducted.
Test 1: detecting emission gas from kiri-bako for sample A.
Test 2: analyzing gas emitted from kiri material to clarify whether kiri is the source of carboxylic acids.
Test 3: conducting the Oddy test using kiri material to observe influence on lead and other metal coupons.
Acetic acid emission from kiri-bako for sample A was confirmed by Test 1. Large
emission of acetic acid and formic acid from kiri material was found in Test 2. White corrosion was produced on lead coupon with kiri material on Test 3 after a week. This lead coupon was weighed and discolored. By XRD, the white corrosion was identified as plumbonacrite which may be followed by the formation of hydrocerussite. From these results, it may be said that one of the reasons for white corrosion on sample A is acetic acid emitted from kiri-bako.journal articl
A Landscape Handscroll Attributed to Gion Nankai (Tokyo National Museum)
Get PDFOne of the works today in the Tokyo National Museum, the Landscape Handscroll attributed to Gion Nankai (hereinafter referred to as the Handscroll) is an Edo period handscroll depicting the Kumano pilgrimage route from Wakayama to Nakahechi, Hongû, Shingû and Nachi Waterfall, prior to arriving at Kumano. Both the scroll title and the inscriptions, such as the waka poems brushed across the upper half of the work, were written in 1782 by a person named Kisai (喜斎), and hence the painting on the handscroll is known to have been produced prior to that date. The work cannot be firmly attributed due to the lack of either a signature or inscription by the painter. However, there is a colophon at the end of the scroll written in 1842 by a person named Shinsai (心斎). The colophon states that Gion Nankai produced this painting of the scenery he viewed during his numerous journeys to Kumano, and the painting was unsigned because it was left unfinished.
The attributed painter Gion Nankai (祇園南海, 1676-1751) was a Confucian scholar for the Kii domain (present-day Wakayama prefecture and southern Mie prefecture) who was adept at the three scholarly arts of poetry, painting and calligraphy. He is renowned today as an early Japanese literati painter. The majority of Nankai's extant works are ink paintings of plum trees or bamboo, with not many extant landscapes known. The rather vague attribution of the Handscroll to Nankai could be based on the fact that there are few comparable landscape works painted by him.
However, in recent years several landscape paintings by Nankai have been newly discovered, and this has meant that gradually his landscape depictions and painting styles have become more apparent. Working from the basis of those recent studies on Nankai, this article presents a detailed analysis of the brushwork and the expression used in this Handscroll -- aspects of his works that have rarely been introduced in the past -- and compares those elements with their counterparts in the newly discovered Nankai works. This process identified several similarities between this Handscroll and the newly discovered Nankai works. Further, analysis of the depiction of the Kumano pilgrimage path, the relative locations of various noted sites, and the altitude differences of the path in this Handscroll indicate that these features are quite geographically accurate. In other words, this painting must have been the work of someone relatively well versed in Kumano topography. Given these results, this article claims that it is highly likely that Nankai is the painter of the Handscroll.
If that is the case, then the Handscroll is quite an early example of a true view painting made by an early Japanese literati painter. Thus this painting is extremely significant and can be posited as having strongly influenced Ikeno Taiga (池大雅, 1723-1776), a literati painter from the generation after Nankai. Therefore, through its consideration of the historical positioning of the Handscroll, this article proposes a hypothesis on the meaning of the Handscroll within the history of Japanese literati painting.journal articl
Report on Kabuki Photographs Taken by Umemura Yutaka (8)
Get PDFThe Department of Intangible Cultural Heritage has continued to catalogue black and white negative films taken by Umemura Yutaka (June 15, 1923 to June 5, 2007), which were endowed to the Department in fiscal year 2007. An outline of the entire collection and Umemura’s achievements can be found in the initial report by Tsuchida Makiko in Research and Reports on Intangible Cultural Heritage, No. 3.
Umemura was a photographer who worked for Engeki Shuppansha, a theatrical publisher
dealing especially with kabuki. His photographs appeared mainly in the monthly publication Engekikai
for as long as 57 years, from the November 1950 issue, the first of the publication after World War II, until the May 2007 issue immediately before his death. He covered a wide range of photographing and the collections also include a significant number of non-kabuki negatives, such as stage photos of modern drama, snapshots of actors at interviews and even those featuring stage sets and properties.
Based on the work results in fiscal years 2017 and 2018, a list of 1,909 negative film folders (containing 50,966 negatives) dating between 1956 and 1996 is provided. Continuing on from the seventh annual report, the contents of the negatives are classified folder by folder on the date, venue, and program name of the performance photographed. The list body will be released on the website of the Department for want of space, and updated with the progress.departmental bulletin pape
Research on the Effect of Moist-heat Weathering and Properties of Animal Glues : Inspection by Surface Observation
Get PDFAnimal glue is traditional material produced by extraction from hide, bones, or other parts of animals. It has been used widely from ancient times. Its main component is gelatin, namely, polypeptide. This molecule is a straight-chain polymer composed of hundreds of amino acids. In addition to this main component, animal glue contains a few amounts of impurities, such as fat and salts.
In the production of traditional oriental painting, when animal glue is in the sol state, it works first as a surfactant to disperse pigments in water. Next, as it dries and the temperature decreases, it forms a gel that retains pigment particles on the support such as paper and silk. Finally, when it has dried, it adheres the pigments to the support.
The primary function of animal glue as a painting material is its ability to pass through these three phases. In comparison, other properties, such as fluidity, rigidity and flexibility, and the workability of animal glues greatly depend on the type of glue produced. Based on the production methods and properties, animal glues can be classified into 3 categories, namely, industrial animal glue, domestic animal glue, and classical animal glue.
In the present research, the authors studied the effect of artificial moist-heat weathering and properties of animal glue samples. To test the stability of animal glues, dried animal glue samples were artificially weathered on glass plates at 80℃ and 65%rh. These results were tracked with a spectrophotometer andadigital microscope. All the samples gradually changed colors and cracked.
Animal glues containing much fat tend to crack sooner, even though the cracks tend to remain minute. On the other hand, animal glues containing less fat tend to crack later, but the cracks tend to be large. Animal glues that require an especially long time to be extracted from such materials as deer antler and carp scales tend to crack especially late.journal articl
Surface Cleaning for Artifacts Using Gel Containing Organic Solvent
Get PDFVarious cleaning methods have been proposed in conservation treatments of cultural properties so far. In particular, East Asian paintings and calligraphy is often cleaned with water. On the other hand, in some cases it is not possible to deal with water alone depending on thestain; in that case, organic solvents have been often used. In the current Japanese cultural conservation, it has been reported that many kinds of pollutants which do not dissolve with water, such as synthetic resins, chemical adhesives, felt tip pens, oils, ballpoint pens, and adhesive tapes, are found. For cleaning such materials, conservators and workers use organic solvents. In thecaseof applying organic solvents to remove a stain adhering to objects that cannot be removed with water, there is a risk of a changein textureand impression on the surface due to repeated contact.
In using organic solvents, not only influence on cultural properties but also risks on workersʼ health need to be paid attention to. For workers, it is important to consider not only thework sitebut also themethod of using theorganic solvents in a liquid statein order to avoid contacting the organic solvents directly as much as possible and to lower the concentration of theorganic solvents in theair. Currently, in other countries, cleaning using Pemulen TR-2 gel which forms a gel containing organic solvents has been reported.
In the present report, theauthors conducted a comparativetest on theeffect of removing pollutants such as oils and theinfluenceon thework environment when Pemulen TR-2 gel and brush were used for cleaning. First, in the cleaning test, depending on the fouling substance, it became clear that using gel reduced the risk dueto thedripping of thesolvent and the number of contacts on the treatment site. In the working environment assessment test, the authors visualized and quantified the volatilized organic solvent, with a gas detection tube, and it was clarified how much the worker was exposed to the solvent. There was an overwhelming difference in the amount of exposure between the case of treatment with gel and thecaseof treatment with a brush. In this way, it was possibleto confirm the effectiveness of the gel containing organic solvent in the actual cleaning and the working environment.journal articl
Laboratory Experiment about the Influence of Dew Condensation on Mural Paintings
Get PDFIn recent years, it has been reported that the mural paintings of Torazuka Tumulus in Ibaraki prefecture might have faded. Dew condensation can be one of the reasons for this degradation phenomenon. In order to investigate the influence of dew condensation on mural paintings, laboratory experiments were conducted in the present study.
For the experiments, test pieces reproducing the structure of Torazuka mural paintings were prepared. A test piece was composed of a tuff stone, white substrate layer and red pigments. Two test pieces were set in a closed space where the relative humidity was kept at 100%, and one of the test pieces was cooled by using a Peltier module device to make dew condensation occur on its surface. Dew condensation on the surface of the test piece was identified by measuring weight and water content of the test piece as well as the water transfer in the vicinity of the surface of the test piece.
The influence of dew condensation on the substrate layer and pigment was investigated by comparing photographs taken before and after the experiments. However, no influence was recognized in these experiments.journal articl
Descriptions on Cultural Property Preservation in Prefectural Disaster Management Plans: A Review and Future Recommendations
Get PDFFrom a perspective of cultural property preservation, it is crucial that local disaster management plans contain descriptions of concrete measures to prevent, mitigate, and further respond quickly to damages and loss of local cultural properties caused by natural disasters.
Based on Daikibo Jishin Bosai-Gensai Taisaku Taiko (Policy Framework for Large-scale Earthquake Disaster Prevention and Reduction) issued by the Central Disaster Management Council in 2014, the present paper conducts a text analysis of prefectural disaster management plans.
The following is a summary of the recommendations: (1) to increase the accuracy of location data of cultural properties; (2) to improve information sharing across relevant departments ofalocal government; (3) to develop an evacuation plan for cultural properties; (4) to secure space for cultural property storage; (5) to develop manuals about cultural property preservation for local governments, owners, etc.; (6) to build a network around the cultural property protection department ofalocal government; (7) to accommodate the management of all the relevant local cultural properties (both designated and undesignated); and, (8) to enhance regional cooperation among neighboring governments, as well as to diffuse disaster prevention knowledge and to conduct training on cultural property related issues for the general public.journal articl