AKIBATAMABI21 The 89th Exhibition “Inherit ⇄ Restore:”
Exhibition Overview



Have you heard of a profession called Buddhist statue restorer? As the name suggests this profession is about artisans who restore Buddhist statues. It was in the Meiji era (1868-1912) that OKAKURA Tenshin a great contributor to the development of arts in Japan formed a guild of artisans who specialized in restoration work. Since then the passion of Buddhist statue restorers has been passed down till today and new skills and technologies have been developed over time.

It can be difficult to tell from outside due to Japanese lacquer (urushi) gold leaves or polychromy applied on their surface but wood is usually used as a base material for Buddhist statues. Therefore these statues could be damaged by insects mice or bacterial corrosion if they are left unattended. Today we can appreciate Buddhist statues in temples or museums even after centuries of their creation thanks to appropriate and timely care given by restorers.

The restoration plan depends on the condition of the statue so we have to think about many different approaches. Whichever approach we decide to take we always value our philosophies that are: 1) maintaining a statue’s present condition 2) following the style of the time when the statue was made and 3) enhancing durability as much as possible.

In other words

To pay respect to a statue’s history and avoid overdoing repair work to such an extent that it changes its impression.

To refer to styles materials and techniques used at the time when a statue was created if it lost some parts that need to be supplemented.

To increase durability of a statue so it will continue to be inherited by the future generations.

With these philosophies in mind we spend as much time planning as actually doing the restoration work.

By showcasing what we do we would like more people to know that the Buddhist statues and cultural properties we appreciate now have historically been added some repair work and passed down to this day. This is our sincere desire and the exhibition title Inherit ⇄ Restore: Conservation of Cultural Properties reflects it.

Buddhist statues sit still as if nothing has ever happened to them. However it is because of the many people that over a long period of time have taken good care of them that they are

inherited and exist today. Our belief is that we must pass what we receive from our ancestors down to future generations. This is what drives us to engage in cultural conservation every day.

We are grateful to be of help in passing down a long-lasting culture and hope this exhibition will be an opportunity for you to get a hint of what’s behind a statue which we might look at everyday not knowing that it’s actually there because of the support and work of many people.

In this exhibition the Buddhist statue restoration unit SANJOU-DOU joined by the documentary filmmaking team inaho Film will present different perspectives on Buddhist statues and cultural properties inviting more people to the fascinating world of such historical treasures. We hope you will enjoy it and get a little closer with Buddhist statue restoration which cannot be seen in everyday life.



Exhibitors



SANJOU-DOU

Established in Kanuma City Tochigi in April 2017. The founding members are NAKA Ai IMURA Kasumi and MORISAKI Reiko who met in “Heisei no Daishuri (the major restoration in the Heisei period)” project for the Sanbutsudo main hall of the Rinnoji temple in Nikko City Tochigi. After completion of the project in March 2017 they decided to continue Buddhist statue restoration in Tochigi which led them to co-found SANJOU-DOU. With their mission “to contribute to the passing of cultural properties down the generations” in mind they perform cultural property restoration such as Buddhist statues wood carving and sculpting.



NAKA Ai

Born in 1989 and raised in Kanagawa. After graduating Tama Art University’s Faculty of Art and Design Sculpture Major in 2012 Naka aspired to be a Buddhist statue restorer and entered the Graduate School of Fine Arts at Tokyo University of the Arts. She studied classic conservation techniques for sculptures as well as Buddhist statue restoration till 2014 and then worked as an assistant at a Buddhist sculptor’s workshop for the next two years. Later she got a job at Bijutsuin National Treasure Repair Center and was sent for 1.5 years to the restoration project of the three Buddhist statues which were enshrined in the Sanbutsudo main hall of the Rinnoji temple in Tochigi. In April 2017 Naka became one of the co-founders of the Buddhist statue restoration studio SANJOU-DOU.



IMURA Kasumi

Born in Tokyo in 1989 Imura spent her childhood in Nagano and Niigata. After graduating from Tokyo Gakugei University’s Faculty of Education (Environmental Education Cultural Property Science Course) she aspired to be a Buddhist statue restorer and continued her study at Graduate School of Fine Arts at Tokyo University of the Arts where she learned classic conservation techniques for sculptures as well as Buddhist statue restoration from 2012 till 2014. For the next three years after graduation she got hired by Bijutsuin National Treasure Repair Center and was involved in the restoration project of the three Buddhist statues which were enshrined in the Sanbutsudo main hall of the Rinnoji temple in Tochigi. In April 2017 Imura became one of the co-founders of the Buddhist statue restoration studio SANJOU-DOU.



MORISAKI Reiko

Born in Nara in 1988. Morisaki majored in Art and Design in the University of Toyama focusing especially on the role of design in the information society. While in school she studied in the Academy of Arts Architecture and Design in Prague as an exchange student from 2010 to 2011. After coming back home and graduating in 2012 she started to work as an assistant for a graphic design office in Nara. Later she got a job at Bijutsuin National Treasure Repair Center and was sent for two years to the restoration project of the three Buddhist statues which were enshrined in the Sanbutsudo main hall of the Rinnoji temple in Tochigi. In April 2017 Morisaki became one of the co-founders of the Buddhist statue restoration studio SANJOU-DOU.



inaho Film



A filmmaking team based in Kanuma City Tochigi since 2019. The members are INO Tatsuya (Documentary Filmmaker) Fabián Izaguirre Z. (CG/VFX Artist) and INO Hana (Translator). The team produces community-themed short films and more.



INO Tatsuya

Born in Aichi in 1988. As a director/cameraman focusing especially on non-fictional genre Ino pursues visual expressions that show real aspects of people and places. Also he is involved in various social projects in the form of videography in order to help them more visible and accessible to the public. Ino became the founder of inaho Inc. in 2017 and moved the base to Kanuma City Tochigi in 2019.



Fabián Izaguirre Z.

Born in Costa Rica in 1992. Izaguirre studied CG animation in college and moved to Japan in 2015. After participating in volunteer activities in Miyagi and Hiroshima he applied for the government- run program called Local Vitalization Cooperator which led him to settle in Kanuma City Tochigi. He worked mainly in the city promotion by creating graphics and videos for three years and then joined inaho Inc. in 2019 as a CG and VFX artist..



INO Hana

Born in Osaka in 1988. While in college Ino participated in a short-term study program in Queen's University in Ontario Canada. After graduation she studied subtitle translation at the Japan Visualmedia Translation Academy in Tokyo and made subtitles of TV programs short films tutorial videos and so on. She continued her study at the JVTA in Los Angeles to improve her skills. In 2019 she joined inaho Inc. and is now involved in international projects.



Events

●Guest Talk Show Saturday June 26 13:00 - 14:00

田中ひろみ(女流仏像イラストレーター)

TANAKA Hiromi (Buddhist statue illustrator)

On top of being a professional illustrator and writer of many books Tanaka puts her energy in various roles and activities. Her titles include Nara City Tourism Ambassador representative of a female Buddhist circle called Marunouchi Hannya Club instructor at Yomiuri Culture Center and Chunichi Culture Center to name a few.

●Gallery Talk Saturday June 26 14:30 - 15:30 http://www.akibatamabi21.com/exhibition/210310.htm

Information Provided by: akibatamabi21

Period: May 22,2021 (Sat)　〜 July 3,2021 (Sat)
Hours: 12:00pm - 7:00pm Fridays and Saturdays until 8:00pm.
Closed: Tuesdays.
Venue: akibatamabi21