Tokyo National Research Institute for Cultural Properties - Publications
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Calligraphy and Everyday Life among Late Qing Officials
Get PDFUtilizing diaries, letters, and other collections of informal jottings, this essay describes and analyzes calligraphy in the everyday life of late Qing government officials. It deals with a number of issues, including the daily practice of calligraphy, calligraphies as gifts, fans and couplets as major calligraphic formats, the ways of maximizing the efficiency of calligraphic production to cope with an increasing demand for calligraphy caused by population growth, the taboo on selling calligraphy, and the relation between an economy of gifting and the acquisition of calligraphy. By these means, this article seeks to deepen our understanding of the cultural life of the Chinese elite toward the end of imperial China.journal articl
Materials for Art Research: Okada Saburôsuke and his Wife Yachiyo’s Critiques of the Artist – A Sad Encounter Between Art and Literature
Get PDFThe majority of the letters written by Okada Saburôsuke (1869-1939) were transcribed by someone else. This fact was well known by those around him, such as Ôsumi Tamezô, Furusawa Iwami and other artists. His wife Yachiyo (1883-1962), a novelist and drama critic, was one of his several transcribers. Three of the letters related to Okada in the correspondence addressed to Kuroda Seiki and today held by the TNRICP are written in Yachiyo’s beautiful handwriting.
This article focuses on Yachiyo, the Yachiyo who was harshly criticized by the world as the “ironfisted wife” and other statements regarding her position as the wife of a painter who “could not write a single character.” It traces the tenor of her critiques of her husband, from whom she had long periods of estrangement, such as those found in the newly discovered manuscripts of novels, and considers the relationship between the painter and the novelist as seen from the vantage point of their respective works.
Prior to marrying Saburôsuke, Yachiyo was known to the world as the drama critic with the pen name Kineijô, and she had also begun to write novels. Her first anthology of short texts, Kado no kusa, was published in April 1906 (Meiji 39) when she was 24 years old in the kazoedoshi (old Japanese system of keeping age). She married Okada on December 31st of that year. After their marriage, Yachiyo’s most active period as a writer stretched from the Meiji 40s through the Taishô period, and for her husband also, he created numerous works during that same more than a decade-long period which led to his being evaluated as a “major painter of Bijinga.”
These facts seen in isolation would seem to indicate that their marriage brought happiness to both of them. And yet, this was not actually the case. While the creative work left by both would seem to indicate a happier state of affairs, and while it would seem at first glance that she spent the ten-plus years after their marriage in apparent harmony, this was a time in which Yachiyo’s suffering deepened, and this suffering can be thought to have nourished her writing of novels. During this same period Okada’s painting subjects broadened and changed from clothed beauties to female nudes.
If we examine these facts in detail, we can see that In the Bath, entered by Okada in the 5th Bunten exhibition held in 1911 (Meiji 44), was a turning point for him. This was his first work since his Fragrant Flowers entered in the 8th Hakubakai exhibition held in 1903 (Meiji 36) depicting a female nude. With In the Bath as starting point, he then created a succession of major works featuring female nudes, namely Impromptu (6th Bunten, 1912), Woman Combing Her Hair (First Kokumin Bijutsu Kyôkai exhibition, 1913), Dusk (Female Nude by the Sea) (8th Bunten, 1914), Woman before Bathing (10th Bunten, 1916) and Field with Flowers (11th Bunten, 1917).
Turning once again to In the Bath, a female nude in the bath featuring Japanese models was a traditional subject that frequently appeared in ukiyo-e bijinga. Okada, trained in the classical nude expression of Western art, took that as the starting point for his female nude images. There are extant photographs of Okada working on this painting in the studio. In each of those photos Saburôsuke is seen seated in front of the easel with Yachiyo always photographed in profile standing next to him. Further, as if suggesting the creation process of In the Bath, there also appeared in the studio images of other female nude paintings and photographic plates. In other words, the photographs taken in his own studio in 1911 show the lineage of female nude images that the Western style painter Okada had learned from Western art, essentially, the genesis of the production of In the Bath. The fact that Yachiyo was there seems to suggest that there was some sort of connection between her presence and the production of the work.
Conversely, for Yachiyo, she could not be reconciled to Saburôsuke’s reserve after he achieved social standing, and finally chose separation as a means of handling the situation. Soon after her marriage her novelette Enogu-bako depicted one day in the relaxed life of a painter interacting with other artists. Seven or eight years after their marriage, she entrusted her own circumstances to the characters in her stories, and gradually Yachiyo herself was enveloped by a sense of alienation.
Saburôsuke, who would not permit Yachiyo to drop the Okada name even though he was faced with the reality of it all, cannot be thought to have allowed it to affect his painting production. However, for Yachiyo, her relationship with her husband, severed by a number of separations, deeply affected her works, and indeed was something that greatly swayed her life. While it is possible to read into this the oppressive nature of the marital relationship in terms of the times, if we only consider the facts, Yachiyo returned to the couple’s home in Shimoshibuya Dateato only a week before Saburôsuke‘s death, and spent the rest of her life there.journal articl
研究資料 黒田清輝宛 岡田三郎助書簡 影印・翻刻・解題
Get PDFThe Tokyo National Research Institute for Cultural Properties retains 13 letters from Okada Saburôsuke addressed to Kuroda Seiki. While this indicates the depth of their connection, the total number is extremely small, compared to the number of letters from other artists close to Kuroda.
Examination of these letters reveals script by several different hands, so clearly several different people acted as transcribers for Okada’s letters. The main reason that Okada asked others to write his letters for him was that he himself believed his handwriting was poor and thus did not want to write. However, there was an even greater, and more suitable, reason than just not wanting to write for the transcription by others of the eight letters written while he was in Kyoto and Nara.
In 1896 (Meiji 29), Okada set out for Nara to study ancient art, prior to traveling to France as a Ministry of Education overseas student, upon the recommendation of Okakura Kakuzô, then president of the Tokyo Bijutsu Gakkô. During his stay in Kansai Okada was gravely ill first with a cold and then typhoid, and was forced to recuperate in Kyoto. In other words, more so than bad handwriting, during his illness and recuperation he was not able to actually sit up at his desk and take up a writing brush. He was helped during that period by Ishida Masutoshi, Nakamura Katsujirô and his older sister, Nakano Suga. They wrote his letters for him during that time.
Given that these letters cannot be considered to have been penned by the author himself, in the case of Okada Saburôsuke, not only were the number of letters extremely few, they also have the special characteristic of being written by others. And yet for those reasons, when we consider Okada Saburôsuke’s letters, determining which of the contents were actually his thoughts and which those of his amanuenses provides an opportunity to consider the human network around Okada at the time the letters were written.journal articl
Scientific Analysis of Painting Materials on Ino Maps in the Collection of Tokushima University Library
Get PDFScientific analysis was conducted on painting materials used for 10 Ino maps, which were made based on surveying of Japan by Tadataka Ino (1745-1811). These maps, in the collection of Tokushima University Library, are divided into 3 groups:“Enkai chizu”(3
maps), “Dainihon enkai zuko”(4 maps), and “Buzen-koku enkai chizu”(3 maps).
Combination of microscopic observation, X-ray fluorescence analysis (XRF) and visible reflection spectrometry gives useful information on painting materials for each color used in these maps. Based on this information, the following may be said.
(1) Painting materials used in these Ino maps are the same as those used for Japanese paintings and other maps at the time.
(2) Same materials were used in maps of each respective group,indicating that the maps in a given group were made under similar circumstances.
(3) Among the groups,there were slight differences with regard to materials used for red and green. This indicates that circumstances differed somewhat when the maps were made.journal articl
Estimation of Acetic Acid Quantity from Temporarily-Used Wooden Boxes for Display
Get PDFChanges of acetic acid concentration was observed in display cases in a museum where temperature changes occur depending on the season. It was thought that there was a release of acetic acid from the temporarily-used wooden boxes for display.Changes in the concentration of acetic acid were in good agreement with the predicted values calculated from a one-week average of temperature in display cases when wooden boxes were not in use. Obtaining the difference between the predicted values from the measured values, it was revealed that acetic acid is released from the wooden boxes.journal articl
Application of Bioaerosol Measurement in Museums
Get PDFMicrobial air monitoring in museums is usually conducted by applying airborn mold samplers and agars to detect the presence of viable mold that directly poses risks for mold growth on cultural properties.Recently,bioaerosol measuring devices that detect biofluorescence have been developed. These devices provide results immediately with easy operation than if airborn mold samplers are used because there is no need for cultivation.
In the present study, bioaerosol measurement detecting biofluorescence and airborn mold measurement using a sampler were tested at various zones in a museum (ISO14644-1 Class 9) to ascertain how bioaerosol measurement can be applied for microbial air monitoring in museums.
From the results of bioaerosol measurement using Microbe Sensor BM-300C (Sharp Manufacturing Systems) at the storage, unpacking space, and truck yard of Mie Prefectural Museum, it was found that bioaerosol measurement using this device is practicable inside museum facilities.However,for measuring outside air,which may be a major source of airborn mold that flows into the truck yard, it is necessary to modify the device for summer because bioaerosol concentration will exceed the permissible concentration that the device can measure.
Other results obtained through simultaneous measurements of bioaerosol and airborn mold (BIOSAMP MBS-1000,PDA)at the previously mentioned zones showed that bioaerosol and viable airborn mold shifted almost parallel in each zone but that the ratio between bioaerosol and viable airborn mold was specific in each zone.Therefore, it is not possible to compare and evaluate viable mold concentration among zones in museums from the results of bioaerosol measurement alone.
From the above, it may be said that bioaerosol measurement cannot be a direct substitute for airborn mold measurement for microbial air monitoring in museums although it can be applied for (1) fixed point monitoring in museum storages to detect
abnormal bioaerosol concentration changes, which are equal to contamination events, (2) monitoring dusts fluttered by visitors in exhibition rooms to evaluate floor cleaning accomplishment and its frequency, and (3) evaluating underlying risks of accumulated
bioaerosol on cultural properties becoming nutrients (carbon source) for viable mold.journal articl
Films in the Collection of the Department of Intangible Cultural Heritage and Their Digitization (3): Rush Print of Yukimatsuri
Get PDFAs of March 2015, the Department of Cultural Heritage of the National Research Institute for Cultural Properties, Tokyo has a collection of 35 positive films that its organizational predecessor, the Department of Performing Arts, collected, filmed, or to which they were donated. Digitization of these films is being continued and their contents are investigated. In the past fiscal year, 2 reels of a film were digitized and their contents were investigated. The present paper introduces these reels.
The film whose reels have now been digitized is the black and white, silent 16mm positive rush film of yukimatsuri , a type of performing art expressing people’s wishes, fertility being one of them, held in Niino, Shimoina-gun, Nagano Prefecture, which is assumed to have been filmed at around 1960. Since there are many unclear points about this film, such as who is the filmmaker and who is the copyright holder, investigation will continue.
Of the two reels that have been digitized, one is 36 minutes 21 seconds long and the other is 17 minutes 45 seconds long. Details of yukimatsuri are recorded. It is hoped that these digitized reels will be of use in comparing the festival then and now and in considering its transmission.departmental bulletin pape
Consideration on the Degradation Form of Plaster Surfaces
Get PDFA plaster board was experimentally produced in order to reveal heterogeneous surface unevenness of Japanese historical plasters.Application of phenolphthalein on the homogeneous and smooth surface of the plaster led to the application of red-purple foliage pattern. This result shows the existence of chemical heterogeneity on the plaster with homogeneous appearance as well as on historical ones. It also indicates that the plaster will show heterogeneous surface unevenness due to differential dissolution after continuous interaction with water. From these discussions, it may be said that heterogeneous surface unevenness of Japanese historical plasters,including the case of so-called “Foliage-pattern Yagura”of Jufukuji in Kamakura City whose plaster surface looks as if it were artificially carved, does not always reflect original artificial modeling but more likely the result of
posteriori weathering.journal articl