ARC-iJAC Activities

On June 10, 2021, the ARC-iJAC-funded research project of Professor Eriko Hata (Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, Shizuoka Eiwa Gakuin University) on the primary sources related to the legend of Urashima in the collection of Itoi Bunko Library in Maizuru City was featured in the evening edition of the Kyoto Shimbun.

The article reported on a different and unexpected turn from the commonly known story on the legend of Urashima Taro from the Edo period that is introduced in an easy-to-understand way by Prof. Hata's research group investigating the Itoi Bunko Library in Maizuru.

The Art Research Center (ARC), Ritsumeikan University, held a Joint Digital Archiving Technical Workshop with the Sainsbury Institute for the Study of Japanese Arts and Cultures (SISJAC) and the Sainsbury Centre, University of East Anglia, United Kingdom, on Digitizing Hanging Scrolls.

The first of a bilingual video series, this workshop served as a prototype for providing cross-cultural online training to young researchers in various skills and methods of digital-archiving Japanese artworks while promoting research exchange between Japan and the UK.

Via a live stream, Professor Ryo Akama, College of Letters, Ritsumeikan University, explained step-by-step how to master the skill of digital archiving with Japanese hanging scrolls as a practical example.

From the set-up of the shooting location and adjusting the lighting to advising on handling the artworks, taking photographs effectively, and recommending various equipment and accessories, Professor Akama led through the entire process of digital-archiving hanging scrolls, followed by a Q&A session.

While Japanese graduate students at the venue obtained hands-on experience in executing a digital archiving project independently, the photographs taken were shared immediately with the UK counterparts to discuss the quality and accuracy of the results under the guidance of Professor Akama.

In line with the ARC's mission to disseminate know-how in digital-archiving Japanese art collections worldwide, the workshop video will serve as an educational resource and reference material for future digitization projects.

This project is funded by the International Joint Digital Archiving Center for Japanese Art and Culture (ARC-iJAC) and is part of SISJAC's Digital Japan Project.

SISJAC's report of the workshop→

*Please note that this was a non-public event.

On June 5, 2021, the research project on old colour photographs of Kyoto during the occupation period by Associate Professor and ARC member Naomi Kawasumi (College of Letters, Ritsumeikan University) was featured in the newspaper Kyoto Shimbun.

The article introduced how Prof. Kawasumi, a researcher in the field of Digital Humanities (DH), has deciphered colour photographs from the occupation period using overlay maps, which allow to see what buildings and houses were like before and after the war by overlaying old maps on current ones.

The article includes a photo of the Kyoto Hotel from about 70 years ago and a photo taken by US military in 1948 from near the west side of the Sanjo Bridge.

The 2nd Ritsumeikan University - Tsinghua University International Academic Symposium on Saturday, May 22, 2021, focused on Japan-China Cultural Exchange and New Coordinates for the Humanities.

The symposium was jointly organized by the School of Humanities, Tsinghua University, China, and the International Joint Digital Archiving Center for Japanese Art and Culture (ARC-iJAC), Art Research Center, Ritsumeikan University, supported by the Program for Asia-Japan Research Development Research on Creation and Development of Asian Arts Studies, Ritsumeikan University.

In his opening remarks, Professor Yoshio Nakatani--Chancellor of the Ritsumeikan Trust--stressed that the symposium was an excellent opportunity to promote research, academic exchange, and friendship with Tsinghua University and Chinese scholars.

Furthermore, Professor Yuping Ni--Associate Dean of the School of Humanities, Tsinghua University--expressed his hope to deepen the partnership and comprehensive cooperation between both universities, emphasizing the significance of humanities, besides natural sciences, in times of crisis and complex challenges such as the global pandemic.

During the symposium, research teams of both universities presented their perspectives and research activities in digital humanities.

Professor Takaaki Kaneko introduced the ARC Model of Digital Archiving, the center's representative databases, and how its online research environment facilitates born-digital style research.

He also explained powerful tools developed by the ARC to aid digital humanities research, such as the educational transcription system with an AI-enabled deciphering support function for the Japanese cursive script known as kuzushiji.

Furthermore, Professor Keiji Yano introduced the construction of a WebGIS-based portal database of maps and a system to compare Rakuchū rakugai-zu byobu--folding screen paintings of scenes in and around Kyoto--with maps of the present and the past.

Concluding the symposium, Professor Koichi Hosoi--Director of the Art Research Center--expressed his anticipation for the birth of new international joint research styles on diverse topics fueled by digital technology as both universities join efforts in digital humanities research.

Many people from Tsinghua University, Ritsumeikan University, and other universities and research institutions attended the symposium and engaged in lively discussions.

"I am very impressed that so many people are studying Japanese culture through databases and digital archives," commented Chancellor Nakatani on attending the symposium and expressed his anticipation for many new research findings to emerge from these archives.

Professor Takahiro Nishibayashi, who led the planning and organization of the symposium, expressed his gratitude to all the speakers, participants, and staff involved. "Taking the humanities as a starting point, I strongly hope that research exchange between both universities will be further deepened and involve other fields such as digital humanities," said Professor Nishibayashi.

The second joint academic symposium marked a meaningful occasion to reinforce the collaboration between both universities while highlighting the advance in humanities research on both sides with the progress in digital technology.

We look forward to further strengthening our partnership with Tsinghua University by expanding the scope of our research exchange to other research fields in the future.

*To prevent the spread of COVID-19, this event was held online via Zoom.

　

　

The Art Research Center (ARC) is pleased to announce that the 2^nd Ritsumeikan University - Tsinghua University International Academic Symposium on Japan-China Cultural Exchange and New Coordinates for Humanities will be held on Saturday, May 22, 2021.

Date and time: May 22 (Saturday), 2021 14:00 - 18:20

Format: Online via Zoom (with simultaneous interpretation in Japanese and Chinese)

Organizer:

School of Humanities, Tsinghua University

Graduate School of Letters, Ritsumeikan University

International Joint Digital Archiving Center for Japanese Art and Culture (ARC-iJAC), Art Research Center, Ritsumeikan University

Supported by: Program for Asia-Japan Research Development "Research on Creation and Development of Asian Arts Studies", Ritsumeikan University

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Participation: Free of charge

How to register: Please send us an e-mail with the subject line "「【申込】清華大学・立命館大学国際学術シンポジウム」" and your name, affiliation and e-mail address to:

r-darc@st.ritsumei.ac.jp.

We will send you the link for Zoom after we receive your application.

For inquiries, please contact:

Art Research Center, Kinugasa Campus, Ritsumeikan University.

Tel: 075-465-8476 (Mon-Fri 9:00-17:30)

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Professor Ryo Akama (College of Letters, Ritsumeikan University)--Deputy Director of the Art Research Center--was a guest speaker in the academic exchange webinar Scenic Views and Supernatural Beings: New Themes in 19th-century Ukiyo-e Prints, held on April 20, 2021.

Together with Hollis Goodall, Curator of Japanese Art at the Los Angeles County Museum (LACMA) and advisor to Scripps College, Claremont, Professor Akama discussed new themes in the ukiyo-e prints (woodblock prints) of the 19th century, with particular focus on the growth in prints featuring demons, ghosts, monsters, and other supernatural creatures.This event was organized by JAPANHOUSE Los Angeles, a project of the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs to showcase and foster awareness of Japanese culture.

Professor Akama constructed and manages the Art Research Center's extensive Ukiyo-e Portal Database that comprises over 560,000 ukiyo-e prints.

More than 400 people from 10 countries attended this webinar.

For more information, please visit the JAPANHOUSE Los Angeles website: https://www.japanhousela.com/events/scenic-views-and-supernatural-beings/.

The Art Research Center (ARC) is delighted to announce that the restoration of the third volume of the Shuten-doji picture scrolls is completed.

Background

Previously in private possession in the US and Europe, where it escaped the fires of World War II, a set of five volumes of damaged picture scrolls depicting the folktale of Shuten-doji returned to Kyoto for the first time in 130 years.

The tale of Shuten-doji, a mythical demon leader, thought to be residing in Mount Oe northwest of Kyoto, has often been featured in noh and kabuki plays.

The picture scrolls are estimated to date back to around 1650 when the production technology of picture scrolls was at its most advanced level.

ARC's Crowdfunding Project

Entrusted with its restoration, the ARC started a crowdfunding project two years ago for the third volume of the picture scrolls which depicts the most dramatic scenes of the folktale but was particularly damaged and considered difficult to restore. We have since been able to beautifully revive this picture scroll thanks to our many supporters.

Oka Bokkodo Co., Ltd., a Kyoto-based company with over a century of experience preserving cultural heritage, was in charge of its restoration.

To mark the project's completion, Iwataro Oka--company director of Oka Bokkodo Co., Ltd.--handed over the restored picture scroll to Professor Ryo Akama, Deputy Director of the ARC.

In the next step, the ARC will digital-archive the third volume and make it publicly available in the center's database.

We express our deepest gratitude to Oka Bokkodo Co., Ltd. and all the supporters of the Shuten-doji crowdfunding project.

Project Overview →

Professor Gerstle, thank you for your time today.

As the leader of the FY2020 ARC-iJAC project "Cultural Salons and the Visual Arts in Kyoto and Osaka, 1750-1900: Digitizing Kamigata Surimono and Paintings", could you please tell us the reason why you started this project?

Prof. Gerstle: I have been fascinated over the years by discovering how common it was in the Edo period for men and women of all ages and statuses to be active in cultural pursuits (遊芸) for pleasure.

I first realized this in researching gidayū amateur performance, where I found that until World War II gidayū as a hobby was popular all over Japan. I then saw how kabuki actors circulated among patrons and fans via haikai gatherings. Pursuit of the arts also importantly was a way for women as well to socialize outside their neighbourhood, and for individuals of different status (身分) to interact.

I still find it intriguing that individuals often had several pen names for their different activities. Under a pen name, everyone was nominally equal as a devotee of the particular art they were participating in. In contemporary Japan, we still see that it is common to socialize through cultural or other organized activities, like the clubs at university.

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The Art Research Center (ARC) co-organized the special exhibition Kimono no Mushiboshi (「着物の虫干し展」) at the Nagae Family Residence, a tangible cultural property designated by Kyoto City, on March 20 and 21, 2021.

Due to COVID-19, this was the first time since the byobu matsuri (folding screen festival) in summer 2019 that the residence was open again to the public, and it welcomed a total of 50 visitors.

About the Event

The Nagae family were merchants of the kimono fabric, and their family residence served as both a working and living space for many generations.

During this exhibition at the residence, kimonos from the family collection were taken from the storehouse and air-dried--a traditional Japanese practice called mushiboshi--to prevent the clothes from insects and mold.

These kimonos were worn by the seventh generation of the Nagae family during the early Shōwa period. The head of the seventh generation was very fond of the Gion Festival, participating in the festival's preservation society and as a musician for the Gion bayashi (orchestral music accompanying the festival). He wore the summer haori on display to attend various events of the Gion Festival.

Furthermore, tools, goods, and trading documents were exhibited, providing a glimpse into the daily life and business of a merchant family in the rakuchu (in the capital) of that time.

The items from the family collection displayed at this event were made available to the public for the first time after they had remained in the storehouse for a long time.

In a separate room, visitors could learn about the ARC's research outcomes in digital-archiving the Nagae family collection.

About the Nagae Family Residence

Designated as a tangible cultural property by the City of Kyoto, the Nagae Family Residence was built between the late Edo period and the Taishō period and is located in the center of Kyoto.

The main building is a two-story traditional wooden townhouse--also referred to as kyo-machiya--which consists of a north wing constructed in 1868 (closed to the public) and a south wing constructed in 1905.

Although some parts of the building have been restored in recent years, most parts of the residence, including the glass windows, remain the same as built more than a century ago.

With the office space at the front and private rooms at the back, including one for ceremonial occasions, each room had a clearly defined function.

Furthermore, a family business trademark is found throughout the residence that differs from the kamon (family crest) printed on their kimonos for the Gion Festival.

About the ARC's Research

The ARC has been involved in the research on the Nagae Family Residence for many years. After receiving a donation of their collection, including hanging scrolls, folding screens, kimonos, and daily life tools, we have been researching and digital-archiving those items.

In recent years, some kimonos and design pattern books have been discovered in the storehouse, revealing new aspects of the Nagae family's business as kimono fabric merchants. We also introduced these new findings at this exhibition.

In the future, the ARC strives to continue to research and digital-archive the remaining items in the storehouse to enrich the Nagae family collection database and preserve Japanese cultural heritage.

Nagae Family Residence Links: Official Website Facebook Page Instagram

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Organizer: Hoosiers Corporation

Co-organizer: Art Research Center, Ritsumeikan University

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