Tokyo National Research Institute for Cultural Properties - Publications
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Development of a Restoration Method for "Filmon Endless Sound-Belt"
Get PDFThe Filmon endless sound-belt,the subject of this report,is a celluloid sound recording media manufactured in 1937 by Nihon Filmon Co.,Ltd.at what is now Komae-shi,Tokyo. The sound belt was developed in Japan to overcome the short recording time possible on SP records,which at that time was the mainstream recording media in the world. It is an extremely short-lived recording media that disappeared in about 3 years with the development of magnetic tapes for recording. Although short-lived, the sound belt made long recordings at one stretch possible,which could not be done with SP records. Thus,valuable recording of kiyomoto, nagauta and other types of Japanese music have remained.
The Department of Intangible Cultural Heritage of the National Research Institute for Cultural Properties, Tokyo and The Tsubouchi Memorial Theatre Museum Waseda University have embarked on a joint study and digitization of the Filmon endless soundbelts in collections of the Institute, the Museum and other museums as well as in private collections. This report discusses the method that has made it possible to restore and to re-listen to deteriorated (hardened, deformed) or severed Filmon endless sound-belts.journal articl
On the Publication of the Restoration Report / The Cooperative Program for the Conservation of Japanese Art Objects Overseas
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Record of Workshop: Conservation of Japanese Art Objects on Paper and Silk at Museum fur Asiatische Kunst, Staatliche Museen zu Berlin
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Record of a Colloquy on Shunie at Todaiji Nigatsudo
Get PDFThe theme for the 6th public lecture of the Department of Intangible Cultural Heritage held on October 22, 2011 was shunie, a religious ritual celebrated every March at Todaiji Nigatsudo. Shunie, popularly known as Omizutori, has a very old history, having been started in 752; it has continued since then even during times of conflict. SATO Michiko, Researcher Emeritus of the Institute, began to investigate the shunie from 1966 and has published many reports. As part of the public lecture, a colloquy was held between the former chief priest HASHIMOTO Shoen of Todaiji and Ms. Sato. In the colloquy, Mr. Hashimoto expressed his devout thoughts from the point of view of someone who has actually celebrated shunie, while Ms. Sato gave insight into her thoughts regarding her more than 40 years’ investigation of a ritual in which women are prohibited from participating. A record of that colloquy is presented.departmental bulletin pape
The Fallacy of Love: How to Interpret and Write about the Life and Work of Chong Son
Get PDFArchival biographical accounts of painter are neither objective nor reliable, as they are a mixture of facts, fictions, hearsays, and anecdotes. The painter's monograph is one of the most popular forms of writing in modern art history. Most monographs follow the ‘life and work of a painter' model. In addition to the unreliability of biographical accounts, arbitrary and extremely subjective perspectives of art historians often lead to misunderstanding the painter's life and work. Chǒng Sǒn (1676-1759) is a case in point. He is one of the most eminent painters in late Chǒson Korea (1392-1910) and is considered the founder of Korean true-view landscape painting, which explored the scenic beauty of the capital city of Hanyang, the Han River, the East Sea, and the famous Diamond Mountains. Departing from previous painting practices and traditional Chinese styles, he created a new type of painting celebrating the virtues of his native land. Ch'oe Wan-su's monographs on Chǒng Sǒn have played a central role in creating the myth of the painter. Ch'oe has acclaimed Chǒng as a national hero who discovered the beauty of Korea and most successfully represented Koreanness in painting. According to Ch'oe, Chǒng's true-view landscapes show his pride in native Korean nature and culture, embodying the essence of Koreanness. Chǒng Sǒn's image, as formed by Ch'oe, is that of a lofty-minded and intellectual literati painter who aspired to visualize various aspects of true Koreanness in his landscapes. This ultra-nationalist approach has distorted our understanding of Chǒng as a painter and his daily practice. Chǒng Sǒn was born into a poor yangban family and, due to his extreme poverty, he chose the life of a professional painter over being a government official. He began his career as a local painter making commemorative paintings for his neighbors, most of whom were high-ranking court officials and members powerful yangban families. Chǒng areputation as a painter gradually grew and he later rose to national prominence as a distinguished painter whose works were actively sought-after. His daily life was to deal with numerous commissions from patrons and clients. Highranking officials, members of the yangban class, merchants, foreign language interpreters, and even commoners were his clients. Their commissions were overwhelming to the degree that Chǒng was not able to find time to eat and sleep. He used his son and his student as ghost-painters to handle the constant requests for his paintings. He also employed fast brushwork in the treatment of rocks, mountains, and trees in order to finish the requested paintings on time. This is the way in which he lived and worked as a professional painter. The image of Chǒng Sǒn as a hard-working, stressed, and fatigue-laden painter stands in strong contrast to that of the painter whom nationalist art historians have deemed a cultural celebrity. Their nationalist approach shows their personal affection towards the painter that is no more than a fallacy. They have used uncritically biographical accounts of Chǒng that were, in fact, exaggerated and embellished in writing about the life and work of the painter. The myth making of Chǒng Sǒn has had an enormous impact on the ways in which we understand and evaluate the painter's artistic achievements. New perspectives and viewpoints are needed to gain a better understanding of the real Chǒng Sǒn.journal articl
Light Attraction of Wood-boring Anobiids and Tests with a Vaporized Pyrethroid at Historic Buildings in Nikko
Get PDFIn the extensive insect trapping surveys in 2009 and 2010,several wood-boring Anobiids were captured in historic buildings in Nikko World Heritage area. Among them,Priobium cylindricum was the major and the severest deteriogen of Sambutsu-do of Rinnohji temple,
and Trichodesma japonicum was the major wood-boring insect affecting Nitenmon of the temple.
Together with insect monitoring using adhesive tapes, this year (2011) effects of lightening and pyrethroid vapor were tested.
Regarding Priobium cylindricum, the adult beetles were strongly attracted to the adhesive tapes lit up with LED lights or by sun light. Also, adult beetles of Trichodesma japonicum were captured or found around the area where slight beams of sunlight came in
from outside through gaps on doors. Therefore, adult beetles of these species are thought to be effectively captured by light attraction.
Vaporized pyrethroid (profluthrin)was applied at Nitenmon and the circumstance was compared with the one at another building (Ro-mon of Takino-o-jinja of Futarasan-jinja) where no chemical was applied. In a laboratory observation, pyrethroid vapor was effective on an adult beetle of Trichodesma japonicum; the beetle was knocked down in a glass jar containing a small piece of pyrethroid-impregnated paper. But there were not very obvious knock-down effects on insects on site,probably because of the high ventilation rate of the wooden historic building.journal articl
Detection of Inner Deterioration of Wooden Columns by Drill Resistance and by Gamma-ray
Get PDFThe feasibility of the combination of two inspection methods, drill resistance method using Resistgraph apparatus and two-dimensional scanning method using gamma-ray transmission, to detect inner cavity of a column generated by insect and fungal attack in historic wooden buildings was investigated. Based on the results of former studies that evaluated the basic performance of the methods,the two methods were applied to octagon columns of zelkova wood about 630mm in diameter in a hall of a temple in Kyoto city. Seventeen columns showing symptoms of bio-degradation were selected out of all the 134 columns by visual inspection. Twelve columns out of the selected 17 were inspected by Resistgraph and 4 of them were inspected also by a gamma-ray scanner. The distribution of inner cavity in the cross section at two heights of the columns estimated by the gamma-ray scanner was confirmed by the change in drill resistance at the corresponding heights. It was clarified that by the combination of two methods a nondestructive evaluation of inner defects of wooden columns can be realized at higher accuracy. Some improvements of the apparatus and procedures are still required for practical application.journal articl
Research on the Biodeterioration Factors and Countermeasures for Coating Layers in the Restoration of Kirishima Shrine
Get PDFIn the process of restoration of traditional coating layers on the buildings of Kirishima Shrine, significant deterioration of the newly coated layers by fungi was observed, especially during humid and hot seasons,from June to August. By measuring temperature and
relative humidity around and inside the buildings, it was confirmed that relative humidity was very high (between 80 to 90% RH)especially during the hot seasons. Though fungicide had been applied to the materials for the coating, significant fungal growth was observed on the coated layer,probably because of animal glue in the layer and very humid condition of the location, on a mountain side. Some other fungicides were tested on newly coated layers of gofun and of odo. As a result,a few kinds of fungicides were found to be effective in preventing fungal growth for at least one hot season. However,careful consideration is necessary to ensure longer effects by such treatments.journal articl
