Horyuji Research Articles

Mechanical properties of white clay used as wall painting substrate material: measurement of strength and modulus of elasticity of simulated substrate material of wall paintings Hiten at Kondo, the main hall at Horyu-ji Temple

Preserving cultural artifacts while minimizing the energy consumption and costs associated with environmental control is crucial. This often requires predicting artifacts degradation caused by temperature and humidity. Here, mechanical damage can be predicted by comparing stress and damage criteria. Although the constitutive coefficients and damage criteria of various materials have been extensively studied, the mechanical properties of white clay remain unknown. This material is a crucial component of various artifacts including some important cultural artifacts and national treasures of Japan. Thus, this study aims to identify the strength and elastic properties of simulated white clay mimicking the substrate of the wall paintings Hiten at Kondo, the main hall at Horyu-ji Temple. Following existing literature, we created the simulated white clay by combining clay, paper fiber, and rice glue. We fabricated 36 distinct specimen patterns by varying the equilibrium humidity and material mixing ratios. We measured the tensile strength using splitting tensile tests and, compressive strength, Young's modulus, and Poisson’s ratio using compressive tests. The tensile strength, compressive strength, Young’s modulus, and Poisson’s ratio ranged from 0.0785–1.17(MPa), 0.358–3.67(MPa), 0.0394–0.274 (GPa), and 0.10–0.44(-), respectively, with variations depending on the equilibrium humidity and ratio of material mixing. We also formulated the results as functions that depend on the equilibrium humidity and material mixing ratios. These findings can be used to predict stress and damage to targeted wall paintings and to inform the preservation and restoration of cultural artifacts containing white clay.Graphical

The Effect of Wood on Japanese Architecture: The Sample of The Horyu-Ji Temple

Traditional Japanese architecture consists of natural wood, hay, earthenware, and similar types of materials. Japanese architecture has a linear structure. The main purpose of Japanese architecture is to be unified. Many of the materials used here have a higher moisture protection function than those made of plywood or spinning. The structure has a breathing mechanism that naturally preserves good air and moisture. The fact that Japan is rich in vegetation has a great effect on the formation of natural materials. There is a bond in Japanese architecture that respects the harmony between human and nature. Human beings are a part of nature. This article refers to the oldest wooden building in the world. The first world cultural heritage in Japanese architecture, and the temple of Horyu-ji, which has been standing for over 1300 years. The aim is to investigate the aesthetic, ethical awareness and ethnology of traditional wood used on Japanese architecture. While the structure and varieties of wood refer to the findings on the buildings, it is an attempt to approach the "lifestyle and values" of the wood form and structure.

Study of the conservation and exhibition of burned wall paintings in the main hall of the treasure house at Horyu-ji Temple

Horyu-ji Temple is the main temple and Buddhist monument in the Horyu-ji area designated a UNESCO world heritage site since 1993. In 1949, the main hall in the Horyu-ji Temple, Nara prefecture, Japan, suffered a fire. Paintings on the burned walls are now stored with other cultural property in the treasure house which has no air conditioning, and doors and windows that are always closed. There is a fear of mold and pest generation due to high relative humidity in the room, so the environment must be controlled to protect the wall paintings from biological damage. Furthermore, Horyu-ji is considering an exhibition of the burned wall paintings in the treasure house, and we therefore need to consider the impact of visitors’ heat and moisture on the generation of mold and pests on the wall. I investigated environmental control methods using a blower in the attic space by numerical analysis. The analysis was performed in two case scenarios. One case involved preserving the walls in a closed treasure house and the other supposed an exhibition. As a result of this analysis, the effect of the reduction of relative humidity using a blower was clarified quantitatively.

法隆寺の雲形斗〓について : 法隆寺様式におけるバロック的なるもの

法隆寺の雲形斗〓について : 法隆寺様式におけるバロック的なるもの

Instant Bliss: Enactment of the Miraculous Appearance of Relics in the Hōryūji Nested Reliquary Set

Instant Bliss: Enactment of the Miraculous Appearance of Relics in the Hōryūji Nested Reliquary Set

STRUCTURAL CHARACTERISTICS OF WOODEN FIVE-STORIED BUDDHIST PAGODAS AND THE APPLICATION TO THE MODERN “TOKYO SKY TREE” ARCHITECTURE

Definition of Five Storied Pagoda: A five-storied pagoda is a symbolic tomb of Buddha. When Buddhism was introduced into Japan in 538, a five-storied pagoda became one of the important components of temple complexes. Present Situations of Wooden Five-storied Pagoda: There are 22 wooden five-storied pagodas in Japan. The oldest is the one in Horyuji Temple built in 710. The tallest is the one in Toji Temple with the height of 54.8 m. The shortest is the one in Murooji Temple with height of 16 m. Structural Characteristics: There is no historical record that five-storied pagoda was destroyed by an earthquake. A contributory factor is that no nail is used but carved holes or grooves in each of wooden pieces interdigitate precisely to form a structure. Another key factor is “A Central column (Shin-bashira)”, an important wooden structural component almost 30 m long. There was no theoretical principle. A Central column is effective against an earthquake and it has been regarded to absorb the earthquake energy. Thirdly, five-storied pagoda interior space is effective to control structural deformation and shake of pagoda. The first theoretical analysis was done by 1/5 scale model in 2006 that proved the role of “Central column”. Application to the Modern Technology: There are two cases presently. One is Marubiru Office building 178.5 m high built in 2002 and another is Tokyo Sky Tree, a telecommunication tower 634 m high built in 2012. Those structural design was influenced by a pagoda’s central column as a vibration damping tool.

Constructing the Dharma King: The Hōryūji Shaka Triad and the Birth of the Prince Shōtoku Cult by Akiko Walley

Constructing the Dharma King: The Hōryūji Shaka Triad and the Birth of the Prince Shōtoku Cult by Akiko Walley

Original Glass Negative of Wall Paintings in Golden Hall of Horyu-ji Temple ―Details about its Shooting and Preservation―

Original Glass Negative of Wall Paintings in Golden Hall of Horyu-ji Temple ―Details about its Shooting and Preservation―

Establishment of near Infrared Archaeometry

Introduction I t is of great importance to investigate the degradation mechanism of antique wooden materials used for historical temples, buildings and crafts from the viewpoint of wood science and archaeology. Near infrared (NIR) spectroscopy is a powerful tool for measuring the physical, chemical and mechanical properties of wood whilst retaining the anatomical structure of the archaeological samples. Cell walls of wood are composed of cellulose, hemicelluloses, lignin and extractives. The concentration of extractives is relatively low. The cellulose molecules form microfibrillar aggregates which are embedded in a matrix of hemicelluloses as well as lignin. As physical, chemical and mechanical properties of wood are governed by the complex arrangement of these polysaccharides, their variation with degradation should strongly affect the wooden materials. Knowledge on the aging of archaeological wood has mainly been obtained from those preserved in saturated soils or bogs in water-logged conditions. On the other hand, many important wooden materials have been preserved and repaired in non-closed environments in Japan, i.e. the Horyuji temple (constructed in the 7th century). We examined the temporal change in properties of archaeological wood and the possibility of non-destructively evaluating archaeological wood properties (i.e. age, strength, chemical components) by NIR spectroscopy with the aim of establishing NIR archaeometry. One reasonable approach for investigation of the degradation mechanism of wood is to employ thermally-degraded wood samples. As thermal treatment is one degradation process, this technique is sometimes applied to archaeology when artificially degraded wood is utilised for the repair of historical wooden artefacts. In this article, the changes in mechanical properties and crystalline structure with aging or thermal treatment, as investigated by NIR spectroscopy, are explained. Prediction of compressive Young’s modulus of hydrothermally treated wood by NIR spectroscopy The changes in compressive Young’s modulus of hydrothermally treated softwood and hardwood as a function of thermal treatment time were measured. Hinoki cypresses (Chamaecyparis obtusa) and beech (Fagus creneta) were hydrothermally treated at 140°C under steamed atmospheric conditions in order to artificially degrade wood to create an analogue of archaeological objects. NIR spectra and compressive Young’s modulus of artificially degraded wood were systematically measured. Figure 1 shows the change in compressive Young’s modulus of (a) hinoki, (b) beech and the relationship between measured compressive Young’s modulus and that predicted from NIR spectra of (c) hinoki and (d) beech by partial least squares (PLS) regression analysis. Compressive Young’s modulus of hinoki decreased as a function of treatment time. Conversely, that of beech rapidly increased with treatment time and subsequently gradually decreased. These calibrations demonstrated that NIR spectroscopy could predict the compressive Young’s modulus of hydrothermally-treated hinoki and beech wood samples with sufficient accuracy, although this parameter varies greatly within the same thermal treatment time. Figure 2 shows the plot of the first and second PLS loadings. The first loading plot, ranging from 10,000 cm to 8800 cm, where absorbance of NIR spectra increased with increments in treatment time, showed a negative value. On the other hand, the loading ranging from 8800 cm to 5000 cm due to polysaccharide absorption bands, where absorbance of NIR spectra decreased with increments in treatment time, showed a positive value. Therefore, the first loading might be regarded as a parameter reflecting the degree of hydrothermal degradation (i.e. depolymerisation of polysaccharide). On the other hand, the second loading has characteristic positive peaks observed around 7000 cm due to the amorphous region in cellulose and 5200 cm due doi: 10.1255/nirn.1394

Field Study of Horyuji Temple Treasure House and Engineering Practice to Explore Oriental Architecture

Field Study of Horyuji Temple Treasure House and Engineering Practice to Explore Oriental Architecture

The Temperaments of the Shakuhachi Pipes Owned by the Horyu-ji Temple and the Shoso-in Repository

The Temperaments of the Shakuhachi Pipes Owned by the Horyu-ji Temple and the Shoso-in Repository

Seismic and Wind Performance of Five-Storied Pagoda of Timber Heritage Structure

In Japan, there exist a total of 22 five-storied timber pagodas constructed before the middle of 19 centuries. All of those pagodas are registered as the important cultural heritages by Japanese Government, while some of them are listed in World Cultural Heritages such as Horyu-ji Temple’s Pagoda that was built in the end of 7th century. As those timber pagodas in seismic areas have survived against earthquakes during their long histories, their earthquake resistant capacity has been studied for a century. However, the actual dynamic behaviors of timber pagodas subjected to large earthquakes should be recorded to understand the seismic performance. Furthermore, an interesting structural issue has recently risen of wind resistant capacity of traditional five-storied timber pagodas, as such tall timber structures may be severely affected by strong wind. In order to record the actual dynamic behaviors during not only earthquakes but also typhoons, we have been conducting earthquake and wind monitoring at Hokekyou-ji Temple in Ichikawa City, next to Tokyo, which has survived for 4 centuries against not only large earthquakes but also severe typhoons. Hence, while the earthquake monitoring has been done by the conventional method utilizing accelerometers, the dynamic displacement of the structural response to wind has been directly measured by a new technique employing an image process system using LED makers and CCD camera, because the wind response includes much longer period component in general, therefore, it must be difficult to measure accurately the wind response by accelerometers. The scope of the present paper are 1) to review the past studies to understand the excellent earthquake resistance of five-storied timber pagodas, as well as, to introduce our research project of seismic and wind monitoring that has been successfully conducted since 2007, 2) to interpret those monitoring records which would be useful for understanding seismic and wind performance of the heritage timber pagodas that have survived for many centuries with describing the simulation analysis of seismic response, and 3) to show the long term monitoring records of the horizontal displacement of the heritage structure.

An historical study of the musical notation of the shomyo of Horyuji temple, Nara

An historical study of the musical notation of the shomyo of Horyuji temple, Nara

Horyuji shoryoe shomyo-shu (“Collection of Buddhist chants of the Shoryo service of Horyuji temple, Nara”)

Horyuji shoryoe shomyo-shu (“Collection of Buddhist chants of the Shoryo service of Horyuji temple, Nara”)

Temple as Museum, Buddha as Art: Hōryūji's "Kudara Kannon" and Its Great Treasure Repository

Temple as Museum, Buddha as Art: Hōryūji's "Kudara Kannon" and Its Great Treasure Repository

Sword legend of Horyu-ji Temple in Middle Ages Shotoku-taishi biography

Sword legend of Horyu-ji Temple in Middle Ages Shotoku-taishi biography

法隆寺五重塔の垂木割計画について : 古代建築の柱間寸法計画と垂木割計画(3)

In our resent paper, we explained the planning method of the column interval dimensions of Horyuji Kondo (the main hall of Horyuji temple) by adopting the mediaeval period's 'shiwari-sei' as a clue. However, what seems to be lacking is the consideration to the Pagoda in Asuka period. This thesis deals with the method for designing the standard unit of the column interval of Horyuji Gojyu-no-tou (Pagoda of Horyuji temple) and Hokkiji Pagoda. These Pagodas have the same measure and the method founded on the primitive 'shiwari-sei' as that of Horyuji Kondo and Chumon.

Review: The Lucky Seventh: Early Hōryū-Ji and Its Time by J. Edward Kidder, Jr.

Review: The Lucky Seventh: Early Hōryū-Ji and Its Time by J. Edward Kidder, Jr.

The Lucky Seventh: Early Horyu-ji and Its Time

The Lucky Seventh: Early Horyu-ji and Its Time

Medieval carpenters and the forms of construction at the Horyuji temple

Medieval carpenters and the forms of construction at the Horyuji temple