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TSUMUGU Gallery, the digital display room of Japanese artwork, is created with the support of Canon's Tsuzuri Project. The Tsuzuri Project, itself an effort to pass on Japan's cultural properties to future generations by producing high-resolution facsimiles of cultural assets, provides some of the high-resolution images used in the gallery and technical assistance in the making.
Japan's cultural properties can be very fragile and may not be readily accessible for viewing. A good number of important artwork has found its way abroad. Canon Inc. and Kyoto Culture Association, an NPO, jointly initiated the Tsuzuri Project (Cultural Heritage Inheritance Project) as a way to create the opportunity for more people to come closer to the beauty of Japan's cultural assets and to appreciate their value. The project produces high-resolution facsimiles of precious treasures from Japan's ancient past by combining Canon's cutting-edge digital imaging technology with Kyoto's traditional craftsmanship. By utilizing high-resolution facsimiles, the project aims to pass on the beauty of Japan's treasures to the future, while keeping the precious originals in more favorable environments.
Since its launch in 2007, the Tsuzuri Project has produced 56 high-resolution facsimiles of folding screens, fusuma (sliding door) paintings, picture scrolls and other artwork in Japan and abroad, which were donated to the owners of the original works: the shrines, temples, museums and local governments. The facsimiles are then displayed to the public, allowing a greater number of people to get a closer look at the precious assets. The facsimiles do not have to be put in display cases, thereby allowing viewers to see the work up close. They can be used as 'living aids' for teaching Japanese history, art and culture. The images can be projected onto huge screens to allow interactive exhibits.
Facsimiles can be used in places where the originals are said to have been
Facsimiles can be used in visiting lectures at elementary and junior high schools
Facsimiles can be used in interactive exhibits at museums and elsewhere
The high-resolution facsimiles produced employing Canon's latest technology and Kyoto's traditional craftsmanship capture every detail of the original cultural asset. Experts of Japanese art say that if a facsimile is put in a glass showcase with the original, they cannot tell one from the other. Let us now take a closer look at the production process.
PhotographyLatest digital camera shoots multi-segmented images of the cultural assets, which are then digitally stitched together.
Color-matchingColors are reproduced faithfully by using a uniquely developed color-matching system, which has helped minimize wear on the cultural asset.
PrintingThe imagePROGRAF, a large-format printer equipped with a 12-color pigment ink system, is used to print images on specially adapted washi paper or silk paper. Dimensional depth through tonal subtleties and shading is reproduced.
Gold LeafThe most significant feature in Japan's cultural assets – gold leaf, gold paint and isinglass – are manually reproduced by traditional craftsmen from Kyoto.
MountingThe work is then mounted on an authentic Japanese sliding door, folding screen or scroll by master craftsmen from Kyoto with much attention to detail.
The facsimiles to be exhibited at museums and elsewhere need to be faithful to the originals. On the other hand, the time needed to digitally capture the originals and for color rendition must be reduced to the minimum in order to prevent deterioration. The Tsuzuri Project is making great efforts to achieve these conflicting goals by employing Canon's cutting-edge digital data technology.
In order to produce a facsimile of Hasegawa Tohaku's "Pine Trees" folding screens - a designated national treasure - in 2020, the original was digitally captured at 600 dpi, the total pixels of the high-resolution data reaching 5.2 billion. The facsimile, which comes as close as it can get to the original, will be showcased in the TSUMUGU Gallery.
The high-resolution digital data used to put Japan's masterpieces on display in the TSUMUGU Gallery is provided by the Tsuzuri Project to enable viewers to take an intimate look at the details of the various artworks.
Take for instance the "Chinese Junk and Nanban Ship" folding screens (housed at the Kyushu National Museum) now on display. You can visually distinguish the fiber of the washi paper or the bumps of the gold used in the artwork. You can also enjoy viewing the expression worn on the faces of the people and their costumes depicted in detail. By using the high-resolution digital data provided by the Tsuzuri Project, the TSUMUGU Gallery is able to showcase the beauty of Japan's treasures on full screen. The experience is somewhat different from paying a visit to the museum.
Tawaraya Sotatsu’s “Wind God and Thunder God Screens” (a pair of folding screens) was produced in the first half of the 17th century, and came to be recognized as the epitome of Rinpa school art. The government-designated national treasure, owned by Kennin-ji temple in Kyoto, is currently preserved in storage at the Kyoto National Museum. The painting depicting the Wind God carrying a bag of wind (right screen) and the Thunder God beating on drums (left screen) was reproduced by Ogata Korin in the early 18th century, and Korin’s work was later reproduced by Sakai Hoitsu in the first half of the 19th century. On rare occasions, all three works are showcased together in an exhibition. However, it is always the original painting by Sotatsu that really stands out.
The piercing eyes of the Thunder God and the black clouds of the
Wind God seem to draw you into the painting itself
Sponsored by Canon
In 2011, the Tsuzuri project produced a high-resolution facsimile of the masterpiece of Japanese art and donated it to Kennin-ji. However, the resolution of Canon’s cameras, accuracy of their printers and other technologies used in the project had advanced greatly in the following years. Therefore, it was decided that these new technologies would be used to produce a new facsimile, recreating even finer details such as the texture of the gold leaf and gradations of ink created through the technique of tarashikomi. To fully reproduce the painting in as it was originally viewed, the upgraded reproduction was put on display at the head priest’s quarters in Kennin-ji temple in November 2021, where it has since remained. Now, visitors can view the facsimile up close, without the hindrance of a display case or other barriers.
The original artwork is photographed using the EOS R5 full-frame mirrorless camera to create high-resolution image data with approximately 4.2 billion pixels.
The high-resolution image data acquired is digitally processed with Canon’s proprietary color matching system for tone correction, and then printed on location using an inkjet printer.
The print is compared with the original and checked by researchers and staff associated with the original work’s owner for further tone correction
The digital capture is completed in a short amount of time without strong light, in order to minimize the wear on the original artwork. Color matching is performed a first time, and the accuracy is highly praised. Color matching is performed again after the gold leaf and other material are applied. Ample time―about six to eight months―is spent on the whole process.
The creation of this high-resolution facsimile that is extremely faithful to the original is made possible by combining Canon’s cutting-edge digital imaging technology with the master craftsmanship of traditional Kyoto artisans. For instance, the gold leaf is applied by master Kyoto Nishijin craftsmen, and the effects of weathering on the original work is faithfully recreated on the facsimile.
Reproducing the dark clouds depicted with black and silver ink on a gold background poses considerable difficulty. However, high-image-quality data that captured even the subtle gradations of black ink was obtained by employing an imaging system with a 720-dpi input resolution. Compared with the earlier reproduction, the piercing eyes of the Thunder God appear more conspicuous and the subtle gradations of the dark clouds upon gold leaf are all the more brilliant.
Photograph 1
Pigment particles and fine lines are made more distinct by enhancing the input resolution from 300 dpi to 720 dpi. The piercing eyes of the Thunder God are even more striking.
Photograph 2
Parts painted with black ink unseen in the earlier reproduction and the subtle gradation of the shades are now visible in the upgraded version.
“I thought it was real!” ”It feels like we were transported to Sotatsu’s time…” These are just some of the voices we hear from visitors to Kennin-ji who have seen the facsimile on display. Shundo Asano, director of the temple’s internal affairs department, praised the new facsimile, saying: “The fine lines seem sharper and the piercing eyes of the Thunder God more powerful thanks to the higher resolution,” and also noted that the dark clouds in the facsimile have the same depth as in the original artwork.
Paintings on screens and sliding doors were originally produced using mineral pigments, which are inherently fragile. Accordingly, the display of protected artwork is limited to a certain period of time based on the Cultural Properties Protection Law and other restrictions. The public therefore has limited access to these works, and even on the rare occasions when they’re put on display, they are protected behind glass. Some works are also kept overseas and cannot make it back to Japan for viewers to see. Director Asano says, “We would like for many people to appreciate the value of (Japan’s) precious cultural assets by making good use of facsimiles that extremely faithful to the originals, such that of the ‘Wind God and Thunder God Screens.’”
Taigan Kobori, the chief priest of Kennin-ji, views the donated high-resolution facsimile.
(Higashiyama Ward, Kyoto)
Asano Shundo, director of Kennin-ji’s internal affairs department
