Conservation and Restoration of the Tokyo National Museum Collection

The museum exhibits and conserves cultural properties. In order to pass these cultural properties down to future generations, we practice “clinical conservation,” which consists of: (1) preventive conservation, in which exhibition and storage environments are made suitable for the objects; (2) analysis of the objects and these environments; (3) and interventive conservation, which ranges from emergency treatments such as mending breaks or preventing the peeling of pigments, to complete repairs involving disassembly of the objects.

This annual exhibition, which is in its 16th year, displays recently repaired objects in order to share the results of the museum’s conservation activities with the public. It is an opportunity to share important aspects of the restorations, the restoration processes, and the discoveries they made possible. Displayed in this room are 21 fully repaired objects from the genres of painting, calligraphy, swords, ceramics, lacquerware, textiles, and archaeology, as well as 6 objects, which received emergency treatments, from the categories of painting, treasures of Horyuji Temple, and East Asian textiles. Moreover, Portrait of Takami Senseki by Watanabe Kazan, which has also been fully repaired, is on display in Room 2, the National Treasure Gallery.

This exhibition aims to increase understanding of the museum's role in the exhibition and conservation of cultural properties, as well as to stimulate interest in these properties and their respective cultural and historical backgrounds.  


The individuals and organizations involved in the conservation of these objects are as follows (titles omitted): Asuka Kobo, Oka Bokkodo, Ono Hiroshi, Kanto Branch of the Association for Conservation of National Treasures, Sawada Mutsuyo, Sengiren, Toto Bunkazai Hozon Kenkyujo, Handa Kyuseido Company, Masubuchi Kobo, Matsubara Ami, Musashino Bunkazai Shufuku Kenkyujo, as well as Hirakawa Tomoe and Shimoda Junpei (Associate Fellows, Conservation Division, Tokyo National Museum).