Tokyo National Research Institute for Cultural Properties - Publications
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Development of Non-invasive Measurement Systems for Evaporation on the Surface of Cultural Properties
Get PDFIt is important to understand the water content and evaporation on the surface of mural paintings in order to prevent exfoliation of pigments, deposition of salts, fungi growth and so forth. However, there have not been many researches on such measurements
because non-invasive measurements in high-humidity environment are difficult.
In this study, a measurement system was first constructed using two small dataloggers. Measurements were conducted on the surface of the stone at Kumamoto Prefectural Ancient Buried Mound Museum. Evaporation on the surface of the stone was
identified from the gradient of absolute humidity calculated from measured values of temperature and relative humidity. One of the drawbacks of this method is that the data-logger is poor in humidity resistance and inaccurate in a high-humidity environment.
Temperature and humidity sensors which have better humidity resistance were selected to develop a new measurement system for application at humid sites. The new measurement system is composed of a control board Arduino Mega 2560, which controls
the digital signals from sensors and records the data on a micro SD card. A prototype system was constructed and evaluated in this study.journal articl
Ai-Mitsu’s Landscape with Eye (Part II)
Get PDFPart II What observations can be made from the present study?
An infrared photographic investigation of Landscape with an Eye was carried out in 2010 by Shirono Seiji of the National Research Institute for Cultural Properties, Tokyo. Two types of techniques were used, near-infrared reflection photography (light radiates from the object’s surface and the reflected light is captured), and near-infrared transmission photography (light radiates from the back of the work and the transmitted light is captured). Infrared light permeates more than visible light, and since materials such as pencil lead and charcoal absorb infrared rays, those areas show up on an infrared photography as black. Thus underdrawings and other elements of lower layers of a painting beneath the surface layer can be discerned. A comparison of the underdrawing imagery that emerges in such photography and the completed painting allow us to surmise the production process involved.
The reflective near infrared photographs reveal to a degree the shape of a lump prior to the painter’s application of pigment in the sky area. The finished painting has a sense of volumetric mass, but in the underlying pigment layers, in other words, in the initial stages of the painting process, free and generously curving lines made up the form, and thus we can imagine that he gradually decided on the overall shape.
Another noteworthy point can be found in the horizon line on the right edge of the composition that can be considered an important element in titling this work a landscape. In the lower pigment levels it is not a horizontal line, but rather is an unclear depiction that seems to be connected to the round form. In other words, during the production of this painting, it can be thought that more so than a landscape, it was an indeterminate shape that can only be called an object.
Examination of the near infrared transmission photography reveals that in the initial production states an extremely unusual shape is depicted that differs from that in the finished version (in the photograph, the section that appears as dark black is not what was first painted, but rather is the top pigment layer that unfortunately was painted in pigments that include charcoal, and thus must be deducted from our consideration). While it is hard to determine exactly what this shape is, at the very least, the lion theory introduced in Part I of this paper does not seem possible.
The most noteworthy element in this photograph, the eye in the center of the composition that can be considered the crux of the finished work, is not visible in the photography. In other words, this means that the eye was not painted until a much later stage of the production and indeed was painted in the surface layer of the painting. In essence, in the first stages of composition, Ai-Mitsu did not necessarily intend to depict a mysterious image that looks like an eye radiating piercing light in the midst of chaos, and rather the eye image emerged as he groped through the painting process.
Dali influenced many of the painters of the day in Japan who had been taken by surrealism, and thus we can see paintings that include symbolic messages in their horizon line compositions. In those cases, the theme was determined before the painting process began, and then the composition was considered based on that theme. Once the image had been conceived, underdrawings were created and painting proceeded in a calculated fashion. By comparison, the groping painting method seen in Landscape with an Eye is quite special. Another example of this same painting method by Ai-Mitsu can be found in his Flower Garden (1940). The single butterfly that flies amidst the confused foliage in this work leaves a vivid impression. It has been recently confirmed that the butterfly did not appear in a picture postcard produced at the time of the painting’s display. In other words, Ai-Mitsu first proceeded with the depiction of the confused grasses and flowers, and at the end depicted the butterfly. If that is the case, then in the same way, just before finishing the Landscape with an Eye, it can easily be imagined that Ai-Mitsu struggled with the confused lump in the state of the landscape without the eye.
Another noteworthy element of the production process of Landscape with an Eye is the collection of curved lines that can be seen in the lower pigment layers that seem to have emerged from amidst the pure gestures that surpassed the painter’s intentions. These curved lines are reminiscent of the lines in Max Ernst’s The Kiss (1927), although in Ernst’s case it seems as if images of people and other forms emerge from the accidental, while in Ai-Mitsu’s case the imagery cannot be easily identified. It would seem that in order to avoid explanatory depiction, he would destroy anything that seemed like it might emerge as a concrete image. In other words, the layering of pigment in order to grasp the sense of mass of an object, and the freely curving lines that seem to emerge from the painter’s own body rhythms, came to be layered on this single canvas. Therefore, in the end we cannot determine if this lump is a lion, or a lump of flesh or a tree stump. Ai-Mitsu may have been aiming at that state between meaning and meaningless, the state of being just unable to identify a concrete image. It is said that the Landscape with an Eye took more than two months to paint, and during that time he seems unable to have decided whether this misshapen lump of unknown form should have a concrete meaning, whether lion or tree stump, and he seized its existence alone in his hands, leaving it in the state of indeterminate form. This extremely unsettling sensation can be found in the climax of Sartre’s Nausea (1838). It recalls the scene where Roquentin is seated on a park bench,and feels nauseous as he looks at the roots of a chestnut tree.
Since Ai-Mitsu did not know of Sartre, this comparison is nothing more than an arbitrary association. And yet, in the immediate post-war era Sartre’s existentialism gathered support from many cultured members of Japanese society, and there was a group of painters who sought to depict images of people who are aware that they have been hurled into the irrational world and exist in rivalry to it. The most important of these painters were Tsuruoka Masao and Asô Saburo who had formed the Shinjingakai with Ai-Mitsu during the war. In light of such facts, Ai-Mitsu’s Landscape with an Eye can be then seen as foreshadowing their postwar works. For example, Tsuruoka emphasized depicting objects rather than immaterial subjects, while Asô asserted, “I believe that realism is something whereby the power of the gaze and dissection are the same.”
These comments by Tsuruoka and Asô from the postwar era can be seen to greatly overlap the production policy carried out by Ai-Mitsu in Landscape with an Eye. If, for that reason, we position Landscape with an Eye as a “Japanese Surrealist painting,” then we are in the dangerous position where its connection with the earnest search for realism that faced the reality of postwar society can tend to be overlooked. In that sense, I question whether or not it is good to consider Landscape with an Eye as a “Japanese Surrealist painting,” and I cannot easily answer that question in the affirmative. All the more so, this work stands out as an extreme example amidst the groping for realism that
sought to see reality as it is during the difficult era of the latter half of the 1930s, and the assertion that Tsuruoka and Asô continued the awareness of this issue means that this work can be considered to live on in history.journal articl
Standing Image of Jizo Bosatsu at Jinkoin, Kyoto
Get PDFJinkôin is a Shingon sect temple located in the Kita ward of Kyoto. Kamo Yoshihisa, the head priest of the Kamo-wake-ikazuchi Shrine, established the temple at the beginning of the 13th century. The author conducted a survey of the Standing Image of Jizô Bosatsu at the temple in October 2010. This article presents the basic data on this previously little-known work.
The survey revealed that there are inscriptions next to the right foot and left foot of the figure. The inscription includes the priest’s name, Chôyô, and the date 1312 (Shôwa 1), thus clarifying the date of production and the name of the person involved in its creation. Further, nine small wooden standing images of Jizô fell from the split edges of the image’s construct, and other small wooden images of bodhisattvas were found in the sculpture’s interior. Judging from the sculptural style, this work is thought to have been carved by an Inpa school sculptor and is an extremely important example of the basic Inpa school style of Buddhist images created at the end of the Kamakura period.
During Japan’s medieval period it was common for Buddhist stupas and sutra storage areas to be built inside Shinto shrine compounds and for the Shinto deities and Buddhist gods to be worshipped as a single unit. Chôyô, the head priest of the Kamo-wake-ikazuchi Shrine, is surmised to have become a priest on the basis of his Buddhist beliefs. This work is known as a good physical manifestation of medieval Japan’s unique amalgamation of simultaneous Buddhist and Shinto worship. In this sense, the work can be said to be extremely important.journal articl
Material for Art Research, An Explication of the Guimet Version Illustrated Handscrolls of the Legend of Tenjin (Dajoitokuten-engi-emaki)
Get PDFA set of six handscrolls, the Illustrated Handscrolls of the Legend of Tenjin, Sugawara no Michizane (Dajôitokuten-engiemaki), is today in the Musée Guimet, Paris. It is unclear when the set arrived in France from Japan, but the set is said to have been in the personal collection of the museum’s founder, Émile Guimet (1836–1918). While the handscrolls have been introduced on numerous previous occasions, those introductions have been partial and information about the scrolls has been confused. Given this confusion, and the need for revision of some information about the scrolls, this Bijutsu Kenkyû issue provides a full transcription of the text portions of the scrolls, along with images of the entire set of scrolls. This article is the explanatory information accompanying those published images and text transcriptions.
The inscription written in ink at the end of the final scroll of the set provides the following production information. There was an “old version” (kohon) of this setof six scrolls, but as it was damaged, this set was made to replace it. Upon the revival of the temple, the Guimet set of scrolls was presented to Yakusuijô-ji temple (probably a temple affiliated with the Tenmangû shrine in Kaiden, the predecessor to the present-day Nagaoka Tenmangû) in Kaiden village, Otokuni district, Yamashiro province, on the 25th day of the 11th month of 1538 (Tenbun 7). The principal donor and producer of the set was a person named Chô, head priest of Zôfukuji, a temple that is no longer extant and likely a Zen temple. The congregation of the local Tenmangû shrine also donated a small amount toward the scrolls’ creation. Nakakôji Munetsuna, lord of the Kaiden Castle, nominally brushed the text portions of the scrolls. In fact, a priest named Gôyû (aged 52) of Jakushô-in, Kaiin-ji temple, in a village neighboring Kaiden and today extant as a Shingon temple in Nagaoka-kyo city, wrote out the text in place of Munetsuna. And yet, the texts on the 4th scroll of the set were written by Nose Yorinao (aged 23), a member of a powerful local family of a village neighboring Kaiden.
Thus, this set of scrolls was prepared and dedicated by a mix of people from Shinto and different Buddhist sects, members of the laity and religious figures, old and young. In terms of period, this time was marked by the close interactions between small and medium-sized local landowners in this region, and this set of scrolls is vivid proof of the Otokuni district organization. Given the district’s former connections with Sugawara no Michizane, a set of illustrated handscrolls depicting the Tenjin-engi was an appropriate medium for bringing together people in this area.
The texts in the scrolls that contain a total of 41 sections are characterized by the fact that their content accords with the example dated by inscription to 1459 (Chôroku 3), handed down at the neighboring Jôgû Tenmangû (Takatsuki city, Osaka prefecture). This factor indicates that it is highly likely that both the Guimet set and the 1459 set were based on the “old version” that was at Kaiden’s Tenmangû shrine. The “old version” at the Kaiden Tenmangû shrine, which was managed by a descendent of the Nakakôji family, who were part of Sugawara no Michizane’s clan, was thus influential in the area.
The paintings in the scroll appear to have been done by a painter with some level of basic training, and are finely brushed in a rich array of colors. Regardless of these factors, there is a sense of loose, unskilled artlessness about the depiction of the architecture and other elements, suggesting that a technically proficient professional painter created the work in an amateurish style. Judging solely from extant works, the majority of the Tenjin-engi paintings created in the medieval period reveal an artless, amateurish painting style. Thus the “old version” that was said to be at the Kaiden Tenmangû was probably of this same lineage. If the Guimet set is actually a continuation of this stylistic trend, then this too speaks of the authority of the “old version.” At the very least in the area around the Kaiden Tenmangû, there is an example by Shiba Shinkan dated to 1446 (Bun’an 3) at the Sata Tenmangû (Moriguchi city, Osaka prefecture), while there is also an example by Tosa Mitsunobu dated to 1503 (Bunki 3) at Kitano Tenmangû (Kamigyo-ku, Kyoto). More so than these paintings by highly skilled professionals from Nara and Kyoto, the amateurish paintings of the “old version” were more persuasive as a model for the local people. Thus models and standards were not limited to only exquisitely rendered works.journal articl
Material for Art Research, The Guimet Version Illustrated Handscrolls of the Legend of Tenjin (Dajoitokuten-engi-emaki): Transcription of All Text Passages and Reproduction of All Scroll Sections (Part I)
Get PDFSee WATADA’s résumé above.journal articl
Study of Documents of Yamaguchi Sagi-ryu Komaiutai, Kyogen Song for Dance, in the Collection of the Department of Intangible Cultural Heritage
Get PDFSagi-ryu is a school of kyogen that disappeared from most part of Japan after the Meiji period but is inherited by amateur performers today in Yamaguchi prefecture and Sado, Niigata prefecture. Sagi-ryu of Yamaguchi is designated as an intangible cultural heritage of Yamaguchi prefecture and is now selected as cultural property “requiring documentation and other measures.” Many repertories were transmitted in Yamaguch during the Meiji period, but today very few songs are transmitted. The Department of Intangible Cultural Heritage (the Department of Performing Arts at the time) recorded Sagi-ryu kyogen of Yamaguchi at Yamaguchi city on March 18, 1958. Although the repertories recorded are not many, the recordings are very precious since many of the repertories recorded are no longer transmitted today. There are many scripts and scores of Sagi-ryu written since the Edo period remaining in Yamaguchi. Study was made to see how much of the recordings made by the Department retain the traditional style of performance of Yamaguchi Sagi-ryu kyogen by comparing the recordings with the scores.
As a result, it was found that the singing of Taguchi Mitsuzo, who was 83 years old and the oldest member at the time of the recording, is fairly faithful to the scores. Taguchi learned kyogen directly from SHUN’ NICHI Shoichi, the last professional Yamaguchi Sagi-ryu kyogen artist, during the Meiji period. On the recording Taguchi is singing “Setsubun” and “Nanatsugo” but a part of the former and the last half of the latter are different from the scores. Since Taguchi was not engaged in kyogen performance for some time after he became a member of the municipal assembly during the Taisho period and since it is supposed that there was almost no opportunity for performances of “Setsubun” and “Nanatsugo” at the time the recording was made, it is thought that the styles of performance became unclear in parts.
Nakanishi Jiro, who was 65 years old at the time of the recording, had not learned directly from Shun’nichi nor was he a pupil of Taguchi. The melody and rhythm of “Saru-uta” was changed into a form different from either that of Okura-ryu or Izumi-ryu. Since it is also hard to think that “Saru-uta” was actually performed at the time of the recording, Nakanishi, like Taguchi, probably made the recording according to what he remembered.
“Fumininai” performed by Kono Haruomi, who was 61 years old, is performed even today. The melody of his song is the same as that of today and also matches the score of the late Edo period. On the other hand, although the melody of the song sung in “Chidori” is the same as that of today, the melodic pattern is slightly different from that of traditional kyogen style. The melody of “Suehirogari” is also different from that of Okura-ryu or Izumi-ryu.
Although it is not certain when such changes began, it may be possible to think that Yamaguchi Sagi-ryu began to move toward its own unique direction when kyogen ceased to be performed with noh in Yamaguchi and began to be performed by itself. It is assumed that even though the traditional style was retained at the time Taguchi made the recording, changes became larger in the succeeding generation.departmental bulletin pape
Effect of Enzymes on the Molecular Weight or Strength of Consolidants Used in the Conservation of Mural Paintings
Get PDFIn the treatment for the conservation of mural paintings, HPC (hydroxyl propyl cellulose), MC (methyl cellulose) and purified funori extracted from red algae have been used as consolidants. In this treatment the plaster wall is repeatedly cleaned and consolidated.
Nowadays,some enzymes are applied in a novel cleaning method to decompose and remove fungi or stain from mural paintings. This method aims to release and break down the components of the fungi or stains. After that,the painting surface is wiped with water and consolidated for support again.
In this study, the effect of enzymes,which may remain on mural paintings even after cleaning, on consolidants was investigated. Six enzymes were chosen for cleaning: Proteinase K for decomposition of protein;Achromopeptidase and Lysozyme, which are cell wall lytic enzymes for decomposition of biofilm formed by bacteria;Lysing Enzymes, ZymolyaseⓇ and Yatalase™,which are cell wall lytic enzymes for decomposition of fungi or yeast.
As a result of analysis of the changes in the characterization of purified funori and MC, it was found that these consolidants were affected by some of the enzymes. Purified funori was affected by Protainase K,Lysozyme,Lysing Enzymes,ZymolyaseⓇ and Yatalase™. It aggregated and produced a white substance after 24 hours’reaction with each enzyme. Especially Lysozyme responded to funori significantly, causing high aggregation in a few seconds. ZymolyaseⓇ, Lysing Enzymes and Yatalase™ reduced the molecular weight of the polymer components in funori after 7 days. This means that polymers in funori were broken down to smaller sizes. Both 400cps MC and 4000cps MC, when they reacted with Lysing Enzymes,ZymolyaseⓇ and Yatalase™ respectively,yielded white turbidity after 5 days. When MC was reacted with Proteinase K,a strong smell was produced. In addition, Achromopeptidase and Lysing Enzymes reduced the molecular weight of MC after 24 hours’reaction.
From these results, it is suggested that Achromopeptidase is appropriate for cleaning mural paintings when funori is used as a consolidant,while Lysozyme is suitable when MC is used as a consolidant.journal articl
Kokuzo Bosatsu (Skt: Akasagarbha, National Treasure, Tokyo National Museum): An Art Historical Analysis of its Painting Methods
Get PDFSubtle coloration changes and extremely finely wrought kirikane cut gold and silver leaf techniques produced aesthetically lovely expressions on Japanese Buddhist paintings in the late Heian period. An important example of these techniques can be found on the Kokuzô Bosatsu (Skt: Âkâ´sagarbha, National Treasure, Tokyo National Museum), thought to have been painted in the mid 12th century. The National Research Institute for Cultural Properties, Tokyo (NRICPT) and the Tokyo National Museum (TNM) conducted a joint research project on this painting, utilizing the high-definition digital photographic technology of the NRICPT. Analysis of the findings of that research raised the following three art historical points.
1) Regarding the Silver Paint Used on the Painting
Previously it has been thought that one of the characteristics of this work was the widespread use of silver paint in the composition. However, in the case of the large circle that envelops the entire figure and the flowers on its halo, enlargement of the areas previously thought to be silver reveal that the areas are not uniform in nature. This indicates the need for further confirmation of whether or not those areas actually include silver.
2) Color Variations in the Gold and Silver Leaf
Professor IZUMI Takeo has previously indicated that there are three variants of gold and silver leaf used on this painting and the current study confirmed his findings. In addition, this study clarified that there are instances of gold and silver leaf being used in a layered fashion. The fact that this layered method and the standard unlayered individual metal leaf method were both used within the same small area of the painting indicates the artist’s high level of awareness regarding the subtleties that can be obtained with gold and silver leaf application.
3) Paint was Brushed on Top of the Metal Leaf
This study clarified that paint was applied to the silk, gold or silver leaf attached, and then further paint applied on top of the metal leaf. This indicates the artist’s full awareness of how to unify the expression of the paint pigments and the gold and silver leaf. This feature thus suggests the need for a reconsideration of the traditional evaluation of late Heian period Buddhist paintings as “decorative” and “planar” in expression.journal articl
Culture-Independent Analysis of the Bacterial Community in Kitora Tumulus under Intermittent UV Irradiation
Get PDFThe plaster walls and ceilings with polychrome mural paintings covering the interior of the stone chamber in the Kitora Tumulus had been seriously affected by microbial deterioration. Moreover, some parts of the mural paintings drawn on the thin plaster layers had become detached from the stone surface. For these reasons, it was decided to relocate the mural paintings and restore them in an air-conditioned facility. Almost all of the plaster with paintings on the walls and ceilings was relocated in 2008, and relocation of almost all of the plaster without paintings was also completed in 2010. Intermittent UV irradiation has been applied to control microbes on the remaining plaster since 2009. Although significant fungal growth on the plaster was suppressed effectively,dark colored fungi such as a black anamorphic basidiomycetous fungus Burgoa sp. were observed at some points on the walls and ceilings. In the present study, culture-independent,molecular based analysis was performed to monitor current bacterial colonization on the stone surface of walls and ceilings under intermittent UV irradiation.
From the result of clone analysis,it was found that many sequences of clones prepared from four samples collected from the stone surface of walls and ceilings in October 2011 were related with the genus Promicromonospora in the phylum “Actinobacteria”. Kigawa et.al.reported last year that actinobacteria were isolated as one of the major species from these same samples.
To assess the changes of the microbial community under intermittent UV irradiation control in the stone chamber, continuous microbial monitoring and identification with phylogenetic characterization of isolates are still necessary.journal articl