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Who Moved My Masterpiece? Digital Reproduction, Replacement, and the Vanishing Cultural Heritage of Kyoto

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  03 October 2017

Shoji Yamada
Shoji Yamada*
Affiliation:
International Research Center for Japanese Studies, Kyoto, Japan; Email: shoji@nichibun.ac.jp
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Abstract:

In many temples in and around Kyoto, sets of wall and slide door paintings and folding screen paintings, which are designated either national treasures or important cultural properties of Japan, have been replaced in situ by high-quality digital reproductions. The original paintings, in turn, are now largely out of sight, placed in storage spaces within temples and museums. Vanguard projects of this nature were conducted in the mid-1990s. Since the mid-2000s, however, and without adequate review of the merits and demerits of such replacement, the practice has accelerated, and numerous sets of slide door paintings have been replaced by reproductions produced for the most part by two competing corporations. The process and implication of such digital replacement require far greater attention and discussion than has to date taken place. Accordingly, this article seeks to clarify the current status of, and problems arising from, the digitization projects taking place in and around Kyoto.

Keywords

digital imagingdigital reproductionpreservationKyotomedieval Japanese artZen art
Type
Research Article
Information
International Journal of Cultural Property , Volume 24 , Issue 3 , August 2017 , pp. 295 - 320
Copyright
Copyright © International Cultural Property Society 2017 

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