On October 29, the National Center for the Promotion of Cultural Properties (NCPCP) , part of the National Institutes for Cultural Heritage (NICH), and Canon Inc. (Canon) announced that the two organizations will collaborate on the creation of high-resolution facsimiles of important Japanese works of art using technology employed by the Tsuzuri Project (officially, the Cultural Inheritance Project) jointly administered by Canon and the non-profit Kyoto Culture Association, and will cooperate on research and testing to develop new applications for such technology.

To commemorate the project's launch, a high-resolution facsimile of "Battles of Ichi-no-Tani and Yashima, from Tales of the Heike" part of the Tsuzuri Project's Stage 11, was donated to the NICH. Created during the early Edo period (17th to 19th centuries), the work comprises two folding screens, each of which depict one of two battles that led to the demise of the Taira Clan, also known as the "Heike." The original work is currently owned by the British Museum, so this dedication represents a “homecoming” of a Japanese painting masterpiece.

The donated facsimile was displayed at the Tokyo National Museum from October 23 to December 2, 2018.

News Release “National Center for the Promotion of Cultural Properties and Canon Inc. commence joint research project regarding the creation and use of high-resolution facsimiles of cultural properties”

On Tuesday, July 3, 2018, a high resolution facsimile of “River Festival at Tsushima Shrine” that was produced as part of Stage 11 of the Tsuzuri Project was donated to Tsushima City and Aisai City at the Tsushima City Tourism Exchange Center in Aichi Prefecture.

“River Festival at Tsushima Shrine” is a work from the Edo period, and depicts scenes of the Owari Tsushima Tenno Festival, which has been continuing for almost 600 years as a festival of Tsushima Shrine. The original work is currently owned by the British Museum. The donation of its facsimile to Tsushima City and Aisai City, where this festival is held, represents a “homecoming” of a Japanese painting masterpiece.

The facsimile of “River Festival at Tsushima Shrine” was exhibited at select locations in Tsushima City and Aisai City until July 29, 2018, the day of the Owari Tsushima Tenno Festival.

On Thursday, June 28, 2018, a high resolution facsimile of “Birds and Flowers of Autumn and Winter” that was produced as part of Stage 11 of the Tsuzuri Project was dedicated to Tanzan Shrine in Nara Prefecture.

“Birds and Flowers of Autumn and Winter” is a work from the Edo period, and consists of sliding-door panels depicting scenes from autumn and winter, including wild geese, ducks, white camellia and Japanese Sarcandra. The original work is currently owned by the British Museum. It was originally located in Tanzan Shrine, which is known for being the site of talks during the Taika Reforms, so this dedication represents a “homecoming” of a Japanese painting masterpiece.

The facsimile of “Birds and Flowers of Autumn and Winter” is planned to be permanently exhibited in Tanzan Shrine’s pagoda, which is an Important Cultural Property.

The high resolution facsimiles of the folding screens, “Landscape of the Four Seasons” and “Tatars Playing Polo and Hunting” produced in the tenth stage of the Tsuzuri Project, were donated to Kyoto National Museum at a ceremony held at the museum on June 30 (Fri.), 2017.

Painted by Shikibu Terutada in the Muromachi era, “Landscape of the Four Seasons” is a pair of six-panel folding screens with a continuous design from right to left across the two sets, which symbolizes the four seasons through the images of plum trees, waterfall, autumn leaves, and snow-covered mountains. Including these screens, there are only a few known examples of such large pieces by Shikibu Terutada.

“Tatars Playing Polo and Hunting” is said to have been created by Kano Soshu in the Momoyama era. This piece is a pair of six-panel folding screens that employ rich colors on gold leaf to depict Tatars, nomadic tribes living in the highlands of Mongolia, hunting and playing a ball game similar to modern day polo.

The originals of both pieces are currently in the possession of the Asian Art Museum in San Francisco, US. By donating these high resolution facsimiles to the Kyoto National Museum, we have succeeded in bringing these masterpieces “back home” to Japan.

The high resolution facsimiles of “Landscape of the Four Seasons” and “Tatars Playing Polo and Hunting” will be on special display in the Grand Lobby of the Heisei Chishinkan Wing of Kyoto National Museum until September 3 (excluding July 28 to August 2).

On April 11, 2016, as part of Stage 9 of the Tsuzuri Project, we produced high-resolution facsimiles of the 22 sliding door paintings located in the Abbot's Chambers of Tenkyuin temple. These facsimiles were donated to Tenkyuin temple, a subtemple of Myoshinji Temple in Kyoto.

Over a five-year period beginning in 2012, the Tsuzuri Project was involved in the reproduction of kinpeki-ga (landscape paintings made with gold-foil-pressed paper) in the Abbot's Chambers of Tenkyuin. The facsimile project came to a conclusion with the reproduction of a total of 56 paintings on sliding doors that decorate the Morning Glory Room, the Tiger Room, and the Plum Room of the Abbot's Chambers of Tenkyuin. These included Frolicking Birds in Plum and Willow Trees, a work originally created by the artists Kano Sanraku and Sansetsu and donated as the final contribution of this project. Following the donation of the facsimiles, the original cultural assets were entrusted to the Kyoto National Museum for safekeeping in a controlled environment.

Tenkyuin is normally closed to the public, but it is scheduled to open on special occasions in spring and autumn when the facsimiles are displayed in place of the original artworks.

As part of Stage 9 of the Tsuzuri Project, Scenes from The Tale of Genji were reproduced and the facsimiles were donated to Byodoin Temple in Kyoto on March 18, 2016.

The Tale of Genji comprises 54 chapters; these screens depict scenes from the chapters titled Sekiya, Miyuki and Ukifune. It is believed that these screens were part of the original sliding doors that enclosed the room. The original art is in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in the U.S.A. In cooperation with the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Tsuzuri Project produced high-resolution facsimiles of Scenes from The Tale of Genji. These reproductions were donated to Byodoin Temple, Uji, Kyoto as a symbolic homecoming to the setting of The Tale of Genji.

The high-resolution facsimiles of a pair of four-fold screens depicting Scenes from The Tale of Genji were installed at Byodoin Museum Hoshokan and displayed to the public in a special exhibition open until April 24.

As part of the "Tsuzuri Project," we created high-definition facsimiles of the masterpiece "Dragon and Tiger" in cooperation with the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston and donated it to the new Oita Prefectural Art Museum, which opened on April 24.

On April 23, a press conference was held before the opening of the museum, where the facsimile screens of the "Tsuzuri Project" were introduced. These screens will be exhibited in the museum as well as used in the art appreciation education event to which all 60,000 elementary school students in Oita Prefecture are invited through "The First Museum Experience for Elementary School Students" project.

The epic "Dragon and Tiger," painted by Hasegawa Tohaku in his later years, is currently owned by the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston in the United States.

As part of Stage 8 of the Tsuzuri Project, high-resolution facsimiles of the "Dragon and Clouds" panels were donated to Kyoto's Tenryuji Temple on March 13, 2015.

"Dragon and Clouds," a series of panels by Soga Shohaku, a painter of the Edo period, is a work believed to have been designed for use as sliding doors. This work is now in the collection of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, U.S.A., which generously consented to the creation of high-resolution facsimiles of this work as part of Stage 8 of the Tsuzuri Project. The reproduction was donated to Tenryuji Temple, which is itself named after a dragon. The work can once again be seen in Kyoto, the birthplace of Soga Shohaku.

The high-resolution facsimiles of all eight panels of "Dragon and Clouds" will be displayed in the Dragon Room in the large abbot's chamber facing Sogen Pond Garden, a beautiful setting designated by the Japanese Government as a Site of Special Historic and Scenic Importance. This reproduction is scheduled to be displayed to the public for about 90 days every year as part of a special exhibition.