Tokyo National Research Institute for Cultural Properties - Publications
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Strain Change on Surface of Wood and Urushi Layer under Humidity Controlled Warm Air Treatment
Get PDFHumidity controlled warm air treatment is a method to disinfest insects in wood and other organic materials used for historical buildings and/or art works.The infested object is warmed with humidity controlled air until its temperature reaches higher than 55°C and kept in this condition for several hours.
In the present study,a 300 mm cube block of keyaki (Zelkova serrata),one side surface of which is uncovered and the others covered with Japanese lacquer ”urushi”layer was treated according to a pre-set program of the warm air treatment in an environmental chamber. Temperature and strain on the surfaces with and without urushi layer were measured using thermocouples and strain gauges,respectively.The measured strains were compared with theoretically calculated strains,based on the linear coefficient of expansion and the shrinkage rate for a change in moisture content for wood. Tensile or compression strains were observed perpendicular or parallel to wood grain, respectively. Absolute values of measured strains increased with increase in temperature and diminished as temperature decreased.Maximum tensile strains were 1200-1600 μεfor both wood and urushi surfaces, and these values were four or five times larger than the maximum absolute values of compression strains. These maximum strains were approximately one-third of annual strain changes measured on parts in traditional wooden buildings.
The measured strain was divided into two components caused by temperature change and by moisture content change.The former was the value of strain gauge attached on the surface and covered with aluminum foil for moisture isolation.The latter was obtained by substituting the temperature-caused strain from the strain without foil. The temperaturecaused strain was as similar as the theoretically calculated strain.The MC change-caused strain was significantly smaller than the theoretically calculated strain,even if the humidity condition was set to change the MC of 1.5%.The study suggests that the strain caused by MC change could be kept at smaller levels for both surfaces when temperature and humidity are controlled appropriately.journal articl
Construction of a Network regarding Conservation and Exchange of Information on Cultural Property in Emergency Situations
Get PDFIn 2014, a project was started to promote a domestic cultural heritage disaster mitigation network aimed at the realization of effective activities for disaster reduction and salvage. The present report focuses on the promotion of the network system in the
regional community and discusses ways to cooperate in case of emergency from the point of view of conservation of disaster-stricken cultural properties as well as to collect and disseminate relevant information.journal articl
Technical Assistance for the Protection of Damaged Cultural Heritage in Nepal＿2016 Networking Core Centers for International Cooperation in the Conservation of Cultural Heritage Project
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The Report on the Cooperative Program for the Research of a Japanese Art Object in the Dresden State Art Collections, Porcelain Collection : The Birdcage Vase
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Molecular Analysis of the Epiphytic Microbial Community Formed on Surfaces of Decorative Stone Sarcophagus at Sekijinsan Tumulus
Get PDFSekijinsan Tumulus in Hirokawa, Fukuoka prefecture is a keyhole-shaped burial mound with a decorated stone sarcophagus that was built in the first half of the 5th century. Recently, green epiphytic organisms have spread widely on the western side of the sarcophagus surface, preventing preservation and exhibition to the public. The aim of the present study was to analyze the epiphytic microbial community by using molecular techniques to determine the algal, fungal and bacterial community structures on the sarcophagus surface.
The algal gene sequences closely related to those of nitrogen-fixing Tolypothrix distorta and salt-tolerant Halospirulina were detected. The environmental factors of limited nitrogen source,solar radiation,and dry and salty conditions were considered to have contributed to the ability of these algae to grow on the sarcophagus surface.Moreover, algal gene sequences closely related to that of Cyanidium were detected. The genus Cyanidium is a red algal extremophile which typically grows in acidic hot springs. It is known that organisms related to such an evolutionarily old red alga are able to grow on the stone sarcophagus surface. In fungal community structure analysis, sequences closely related to Mariannaea elegans and Trichoderma virens were commonly and frequently observed. In bacterial community structure analysis, Arthrobacter russicus, Sphingomonas leidyi and Brevundimonas vesicularis were commonly detected.
In the present study,by using a molecular biology approach,the community structures of microorganisms on the stone sarcophagus surface were clarified. However, these community structures are expected to change even under natural conditions,depending on the surrounding environment that is influenced by annual and seasonal fluctuations or the growth of trees. With these changes, it is important to conduct ongoing surveys while continuing studies on biological control methods.journal articl
Report on a New Insect Monitoring Method in Wooden Historic Buildings in Nikko
Get PDFSurveys by use of adhesive tapes have been conducted since cases of damage of wooden historic buildings in Nikko,Tochigi prefecture, by Anobiids,wood-boring insects, were found in 2008. In the present report,the results of investigation of an insect trapping method based on the principle that flying insects are collected by use of collision panels was conducted in wooden historic buildings in Nikko.The purpose of this investigation was to examine the feasibility of this method as a new survey method in wooden historic buildings. An insect trapping survey using conventional adhesive tapes was also conducted in the same wooden historic buildings. The method that makes use of flight interception traps (FIT)allowed identification of insects more easily than adhesive tapes because no adhesive was attached to insects. It also allowed capture of some Anobiids alive.
As a result, it was found that Sculptotheca hilleri was the most abundant insect captured on adhesive tapes. As in the survey in 2010, the loft of Shinkyusha in Toshogu Shrine was the place where the highest number of S. hilleri was trapped.Though there is
room for improvement of the method that makes use of FIT,it is feasible as a new method for surveying of insects in wooden historic buildings. Wood-boring insects captured alive can be used as “test insects”for observation of the ecology and elucidation of the life history of these insects for which no rearing method has been established as well as for testing chemical treatments. Finally, this method is applicable to future studies on measures for damage by insects in the field of cultural properties.journal articl
Report on SP Records Made by Pathé in the Collection of the Tokyo National Research Institute for Cultural Properties: With Focus on the Nagauta “Shin Urashima”
Get PDFA report on the recording of the nagauta “Yoshiwara Suzume” was made in Research and Reports on Intangible Cultural Heritage No. 9 published in March 2015. The present report is on the recording of “Shin Urashima” among the SP records made by Pathé in the collection of the Tokyo National Research Institute for Cultural Properties (manufacture number: 34625 - 34631; Institute’s inventory number: 17-216A – 17-218B). This piece was composed in 1906 by Kineya Kangoro V, who was involved in the recording by Pathé, when he was at the time of maturity. It is thought that Kineya Chiyo, the wife of Kangoro’s elder brother, Kineya Rokuzaemon XIII, is the singer and Kineya Eiko, Kangoro’s wife, is the shamisen player. Since the Pathé recording is thought to have been made in October 1911, a few years after the first performance of the piece, it may be said that the original is preserved in the recording of “Shin Urashima.”
“Shin Urashima” has become one of the very popular repertories of nagauta since its first performance. That several versions of its score have been published and that Matsunaga Wafu IV, known as a nagauta expert, was fond of it and the audience liked his performance may be given as factors for such popularity. On the other hand, the fact that many performers were fond of this piece meant that singers felt free to change the melody of parts which were not accompanied by shamisen (for instance, issei at the beginning and funauta at the end of the piece), making authentic transmission of the piece unclear. In this report, analysis is made particularly of the melody of those two parts as sung by Kineya Chiyo to see how it is different from the melody in today’s performances and published scores.
The present author had the opportunity to interview the family of Kineya Kyosen, the daughter of Kineya Kangoro V and Kineya Eiko. Based on this interview, report is also made about Kyosen’s father who was known as a famous composer and how he introduced methodology of western music into his compositions as well as about the activities of her mother and of her aunt, Kineya Chiyo, as female performers.departmental bulletin pape
Materials for Art Research: Reading Goseda Yoshimatsu’s Letters to Kuroda Seiki
Get PDFThrough a thorough reading of the 25 letters from Goseda Yoshimatsu (1855-1915) to Kuroda Seiki (1866-1924) now in the Tokyo National Research Institute for Cultural Properties (TNRICP), this article aims to use the focus on their exchange to clarify the background details of the sales of Yoshimatsu’s older works. The Western style painter Goseda Yoshimatsu was active in the first half of the Meiji period, while Kuroda Seiki was active during the latter half of that period. Their only know opportunity for contact was during the brief time that they were both in Paris. Given that they were thought to have not been in contact, the 25 letters sent by Yoshimatsu (with probably more sent but not preserved) are considered to be somewhat of a mystery. Another mystery is why there are a relatively large number of paintings by Yoshimatsu among those by painters active in the Meiji period today in the collection of the Tokyo Bijutsu Gakko (present-day Tokyo University of the Arts). These letters by Goseda are an important tool in the solving of these two mysteries. In terms of the dates of the letters, seven of the letters were sent in 1908 (Meiji 41), five in 1909 (Meiji 42), nine in 1910 (Meiji 43), one in 1911 (Meiji 44), one in 1914 (Taishô 3), and one that is undated but surmised to have been sent in 1909. Thus the content of these letters date to Yoshimatsu’s final period and are important for understanding his overall activities during that period. The first section of this article provides an overview of the impression received from these letters. The fact that few of the words written in these letters are messy belies the previously indicated belief that he was a drunkard. Further the negotiations advanced through these letters include areas meant to pique Kuroda’s interest, thus indicating Yoshimatsu’s negotiation skills and social understanding.
The second section focuses on Yoshimatsu, and begins by providing evidence of his life's hardships, which form the immediate background for this group of letters. Sales records of Yoshimatsu’s artworks indicate his income fell greatly in 1907 (Meiji 40), and it was Kuroda who suggested a specific means of overcoming this dilemma. He proposed that Yoshimatsu sell his older works that he owned to the Tokyo Bijutsu Gakkô. We can imagine that he was poor because he was having difficulties selling his newer works. While this gives the negative impression of having to pay back loans, we can surmise that the sales of older work did not necessarily have a bad connotation for Yoshimatsu. If we can only discern a negative or passive meaning, then surely we must think that he would not have maintained the will to sell the works over several years. Rather we can discern that Yoshimatsu had some internal desire for his own works to be handed on. This could have been because he learned from his experiences in France that the national art academy has reference works, and that various museums have works that they store and display.
The third section focuses on Kuroda, and considers the reason for collecting Yoshimatsu’s works from Kuroda’s point of view. Since the establishment of the Western painting division of the Tokyo Bijutsu Gakko, there was the need to provide students with reference works that demonstrated a certain level of skill, and yet at the same time, few appropriate works were available. Thus Yoshimatsu’s works were acquired to fill this gap, and emphasis was placed on the works from his Paris period. We can easily surmise that these works were good examples of the types of French painting that Kuroda championed at the time. Then if we look at the group of works collected by Kuroda, we can see that their focus gradually shifted towards works from the early Meiji period. It is surmised that this was in order to construct a history of Meiji period Western style painting. These paintings were collected in the Meiji 40s (1907–1912), just when an actual history of Western style painting in Japan from the beginning of the Meiji period was being formulated. Kuroda was in a suitable position to be the editor for such a history, in spite of his own shallow personal relationship with early Meiji period western style painting. Hence he may have set out to collect large numbers of works from a wide array of artists, and we can consider that this may be why he ended up collecting a large number from Yoshimatsu. This collection of Yoshimatsu’s works owned by the Tokyo Bijutsu Gakko then became the core group used for the evaluation of Yoshimatsu throughout the Shôwa period (1926–1989). Both Yoshimatsu and Kuroda mutually and intentionally contributed to the formation of the collection, and this group of letters is meaningful for its description of the details of that process.journal articl