Important Cultural Property Research Articles

14C DATING OF HISTORICAL JAPANESE MUSICAL INSTRUMENT SACKS

ABSTRACT The radiocarbon (14C) dating method was applied to a survey of treasured items related to the ruins of the Imperial Residence in Anou, Nara Prefecture, which was one of the capitals of Japan during the 14th century. In this work, we dated two storage bags for Japanese musical instruments that are believed to be from the period of Emperor Go-Daigo who established the Southern Court. The 14C dating of these treasures proved that the musical instrument sacks are contemporaneous with the dating of the Imperial Residence ruins designated as an Important Cultural Property of Japan. In addition, there are limited surviving examples of silk fabrics from the Middle Ages compared to the Ancient and Early Modern periods, making this a valuable resource in the history of silk fabrics in Japan.

일본 문화재 지정 체계 안에서 다도구의 위치

In the Japanese tea ceremony, tea tool science has been systematized enough to become a specialized academic field. Therefore, the evaluation and classification of tea utensils are also delicate. On the other hand, the artistic evaluation of the tea ceremony in Japan is not necessarily shared with art historians and historians. Japan has designated its cultural properties of high artistic, historical, and academic value as important cultural properties and national treasures. The process of designating cultural properties must involve a council consisting of professional degree holders. Therefore, one can see the evaluation that tea utensils receive in Japanese art history by analyzing the current status of tea utensils designated as important cultural properties. The results show that under the current Japanese system, there is a slight difference between the evaluation of tea utensils by academia and the evaluation of tea ceremonies. Nevertheless, as can be seen in some cases, there are also places where the tea ceremony aesthetics can be understood.

THE SOCIAL REFLECTIONS ON TERRACED HOUSES IN MINING SETTLEMENTS－SUGAYA TATARA SANNAI IRONMAKING VILLAGE－

Sannai is a unique work-live settlement where Tatara ironmaking was extensively practiced. The objective of this article is to analyse the significance of terraced houses remained in Sugaya Tatara Sannai Ironmaking Village, which is a pre-modern industrial heritage and designated as an Important Tangible Folk Cultural Property for its exceptional cultural value. However, the memories of livelihood associated with ironmaking practice are about to fade away. This article focuses on terraced houses, one of the characteristics of Sannai, to explore its social and architectural aspects of the company accommodation scheme in contribution to the operation of this particular settlement.

Joining of Seismic Reinforcement Work for Important Cultural Properties─Case of Kuroshima Church─

Joining of Seismic Reinforcement Work for Important Cultural Properties─Case of Kuroshima Church─

메이지 국가 건설기 일본 미술과 다카무라 고운

With the Meiji Restoration, Takamura Kōun(1852∼1934), a craftsman specializing in carving Buddhist icons, lost his traditional job and got new ones. Instead of Buddhist icon commissions, which decreased because of Haibutsu kishaku(literally “abolish Buddhism and destroy Shākyamuni”), Kōun produced crafts for export and monuments of historical heroes. “Old Monkey,” the first Meiji wooden work designated as an important cultural property, was carved by Kōun to submit it to the World’s Columbian Exposition in 1893 in Chicago and the two most famous modern Japanese monuments, the “Kusunoki Masashige Statue” in front of the Imperial Palace and the “Saigō Takamori Statue” in Ueno Park, were produced under the direction of Kōun. Kōun’s transformation from ‘craftsman’ to ‘sculptor’ was closely intertwined with the Meiji government’s art administration, which used art as a tool for “Shokusan Kōgyō”(encouragement of new industry) and an apparatus for the construction of national identity and reinforcement of nationalism. However, Kōun’s son, Takamura Kōtarō(1883-1956) as a representative modernist of the Taishō era, could not accept Kōun’s work as art. To Kōtarō, strongly influenced by the art theory of modernism asserting that art should be the self-expression of autonomous individuals, Kōun seemed a figure lacking self-consciousness as an artist and an anachronism living in the modern era with a craftsman’s ethos. This article explores the ways in which the craftsman’s ethos of Kōun, which has been considered as a limitation for him and the legacy of the old days, worked for the production of “art for the nation” that the new era of Meiji required. By examining how Meiji artist Kōun, distinguished from Edo craftsmen and Taishō modernists, used his skills for the nation and succeeded in life and career, I explore the relationship between nation-building and art in Meiji Japan.

영국의 문화재 반환 사례를 통해 본 문화재 환수 문제의 쟁점과 전망

In the process of colonial expansion and domination of Western powers, the history of looting and illegal export of cultural properties from areas other than Europe, such as Asia, Africa and America, was critically re-examined in the post-colonial era after The World War II. Since the 1950s, such countries made ceaseless efforts to recover cultural properties that were stolen from the former imperialist countries. This is because the protection and ownership of cultural properties symbolizes the history and culture of the nation that became independent from past powers. However, most countries that were colonies in the past, including Korea, still have not received many important cultural properties back. The reason is due to a combination of various factors. Cultural properties are intertwined with the history and identity of various peoples, and as a result, the cultural property issue has become a very sensitive issue in which the fields of politics, diplomacy, and economy are intertwined. Therefore, this paper intends to provide an overview of the brief history of looting by the West, how the British Empire began to loot and collect cultural properties competitively, and how Britain responded to the issue of return through specific examples from Egypt and Ethiopia.

St. John the Baptist Church through the Years: Demystifying Albay’s Icon of Faith and Heritage

This paper profiled the St. John the Baptist Church in Camalig, Albay, and Tabaco City, Philippines. It assessed the church’s cultural significance as well as the threats, issues, and constraints. This qualitative research adopted the cultural mapping approach of the National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA). It employed ethnography, historiography, and participant observation as methods in cultural mapping. Braun and Clarke’s phases of thematic analysis were applied to reveal the inherent cultural significance. Further, the assessment of cultural significance was based on the Four Fields Value of Important Cultural Property. Findings revealed that St. John the Baptist Church both in Camalig, Albay, and Tabaco City possessed historical, aesthetic, and religious attributes that made the heritage structure profoundly valuable. However, natural calamities and funds for church restoration are the issues or constraints facing the church. This paper recommends that a conservation management plan that will focus on the restoration guidelines, conservation measures, and heritage protection must be adopted to fully protect the St. John the Baptist Church in Camalig, Albay, and Tabaco City. Moreover, the local government unit should conduct a risk assessment and update the hazard plans to mitigate the possible impacts of natural calamities on these heritage churches.

THE CASE OF MITSUI MAIN BUILDING BLOCK REDEVELOPMENT PROJECT PART 1 : THE ATRIUM DESIGN PROCESS CONNECTING HISTORICAL BUILDING AND SKYSCRAPER

In the Mitsui Main Building Block Redevelopment project, the Mitsui Main Building, an important cultural property, was preserved and connected to the neighboring skyscraper Nihonbashi Mitsui Tower by an atrium. In this paper, we report the design process and design methods related to the atrium and the new attempt at the historical wall.

Karahisar-ı Demürlü, Ergülü / Erkulu Baba Zaviyesi

Turks adopted Islam based on mysticism since they entered to Anatolia until the Late Ottoman Period. Thanks to this feature, Turks became successful in living Islam. They followed the same way during the conquests of Anatolia and Balkans. Primary factor of success in those lands was to gain the hearts of the locals. Mysticism education was held in dervish lodges and lodges constructed by statesmen and wealthy people during the Ottoman period. It is thought that, at present this topic is to be examined in detail. Hence, in this research, a Bektashi lodge in Çorum, Sungurlu, Yörüklü village has been investigated in detail. History of the case study lodge and its remaining parts have been introduced based on the archival research. Years ago, the ruined mosque and tomb of the lodge had been examined, and Directorate General of Foundations had repaired the mosque, registered as a cultural property. Based on archival documents found later, a waqf deed dated 1530 and kept by a family living in Yoruklu Village, and field surveys, it was understood that Ergülü dervish lodge had been located there. In archival documents, the dervish lodge was registered as “Ergülü Baba Dervish Lodge in Çorum county, Demirli district, Sarıkamış village”. It is determined that the lodge, belonging to Ottoman period, has not been used in its original functional totally. Ergülü Baba lodge in Sarıkamış village, Demirli district has not been reached today. It is documented as an unsuccessful example compared to many dervish lodges with highly successful functions in Anatolia. Its remaining mosque part, in Classical Ottoman architecture, is an important cultural property in Corum. The mosque was repaired in 1992. It is important that this elegant and beautiful mosque in Yörüklü village is repaired and left as a legacy for the future. Keywords: Ergülü, Erkulu, Waqf, Bektashi, Baba, Dervish, Lodge.

The Jesuit painting Seminario in Japan: European Renaissance technology and its influence on Far Eastern art

European painting technology reached Japan in 1583 with the arrival of Giovanni Cola, the Italian Jesuit painter who was assigned the task of establishing a painting Seminario to supply missionaries with the sacred images needed for their activities. Historical records failed to report information relating to specific European pigments, and only generic mentions of oils are associated with the Seminario. Yet, on a random basis, European pigments and binding media have been identified on some of the paintings that survived the 250‐year ban on Christianity in Japan. In order to fully understand the crucial role of the Seminario in terms of technological and material transfer to Japanese and Chinese artists, for the first time, four extremely important paintings (Important Cultural Property of Italy) have been analyzed. Owing to their extraordinary significance, it was mandatory to carry out a non‐destructive analysis on site. Therefore, energy‐dispersive X‐ray fluorescence was used to detect the presence of inorganic chromophores that would not exist in Japan at the time. The paintings depict the martyrdom of Japanese Christians at Nagasaki (1619 and 1622), the martyrdom of Jesuit Missionaries in Japan (1630s), and the portrait of Father Ricci SJ (1610). The results provide definitive evidence of the transfer of technology and use of European pigments at the Jesuit Seminario in Japan and also enable, for the first time, the identification of the transfer of technologies and materials to China as a result of the movement of Jesuit missionaries escaping the fierce persecutions enforced by Japanese authorities.

The validation of traditional knowledge to harvest sustainably the Udono reed materials for rozetsu of hichiriki

The objective of this study is to validate the traditional knowledge of reeds for the hichiriki (traditional Japanese oboe) harvested from the Udono reed field. Hichiriki is one of main instruments in gagaku (Japanese imperial court music). The reeds at the Udono reed field in Osaka is used for high quality rozetsu (vibrating plate) for hichiriki. The reeds for hichiriki was selected not in the water area but in the land area for larger stem diameter and thicker flesh. It was found the area, for harvesting the reeds for hichiriki, has soft soil and can develop rhizomes to deep underground in comparison to other land area. It is shown that harvesters, with their long time experiences and skills, can select the most efficient places to harvest the best reeds. Therefore, it seems passing down the skill of harvesters contributing to the cultural continuation of gagaku which is an important intangible cultural property.

Wood Identification of Tea Rooms in the Urasenke Residence Designated as an Important Cultural Property

Wood Identification of Tea Rooms in the Urasenke Residence Designated as an Important Cultural Property

A Report on the Restoration Work (Disaster Recovery) at the Main Building of the Fifth High School and Two Other Buildings, Important Cultural Properties

A Report on the Restoration Work (Disaster Recovery) at the Main Building of the Fifth High School and Two Other Buildings, Important Cultural Properties

A Report on the Restoration and Preservation Work of the Main Shrine of Takayama Hachimangu, an Important Cultural Property

A Report on the Restoration and Preservation Work of the Main Shrine of Takayama Hachimangu, an Important Cultural Property

Documentation on the Restoration Work at the Uto-Yagura-Turret, and Twelve Other Building, Kumamoto Castle, an Important Cultural Property.

Documentation on the Restoration Work at the Uto-Yagura-Turret, and Twelve Other Building, Kumamoto Castle, an Important Cultural Property.

From Korea to Japan: A Transnational Perspective on South Korea's Important Intangible Cultural Properties and Zainichi Korean Artists

From Korea to Japan: A Transnational Perspective on South Korea's Important Intangible Cultural Properties and Zainichi Korean Artists

Historical Trail of the Important Cultural Property of Stanhope Printing Machine

Historical Trail of the Important Cultural Property of Stanhope Printing Machine

Chochikukyo: cultural property representing “Japanese Timber Country Modernism”

“Chochikukyo” (1928) is the fifth residence designed by and for the architect Koji Fujii (1888-1938). As a result of his research on environmental engineering at Kyoto University, “Chochikukyo” presents the ideal form of a universal “Japanese house” that suits the climate of Japan as well as the sensitivity and lifestyle of the Japanese people. In 1999, “Chochikukyo” was selected as one of the twenty best docomomo buildings to represent Japanese modernist architecture, and in 2017, it was designated as a National Important Cultural Property which was the first time for an architect’s own house built in the Showa period (1926-1989).

The metapragmatics of “teasing” in Taiwanese Chinese conversational humour

One of the challenges faced by researchers working on conversational humour across languages is that the particular scientific metalanguage we use to talk about the phenomenon in question influences and shapes our understanding of it. The aim of this paper is to explore the import of such issues for research on conversational humour through an examination of the labels used by Taiwanese speakers of Mandarin Chinese when talking about what is broadly termed “teasing” in English. Our aim is to better understand the connotations of these various native terms, how they relate to each other, and how they are deployed by speakers when referring to “teasing” events. The study draws on interviews with native Taiwanese informants and an analysis of large web-based corpus of Mandarin Chinese, the zhTenTen17 Traditional Corpus, to show that “teasing” is conceptualised in complex ways by Taiwanese speakers of Chinese, and because of that the same “teasing” event is open to construal in different ways by those speakers. We conclude that metapragmatic studies of conversational humour in different languages are important if we are to avoid bleaching out important cultural properties and thereby distorting our objects of analysis.

A Report on the Architectural Features and Painting of the Main Hall, Nikko Futarasan-Jinja, an Important Cultural Property

A Report on the Architectural Features and Painting of the Main Hall, Nikko Futarasan-Jinja, an Important Cultural Property