INOUE, Noriko

Niglio, Olimpia

Kyoto University Research Information Repository

TitleCulture, landscape and monuments in the city of Kyoto Therestoration of the Imperial Gateway at Nijo Castle (2012-2013): News from Iscarsah MembersAuthor(s)Niglio, Olimpia; INOUE, NorikoCitationNewsletter International Scientific Committee on the Analysisand Restoration of Structures of Architectural Heritage (2013),4: 3-6Issue Date2013-10URL http://hdl.handle.net/2433/179309RightType ArticleTextversionpublisherKyoto UniversityIscarsah newsletter 4/2013News from Iscarsah Members3Culture, landscape and monuments in the city of KyotoThe restoration of the Imperial Gateway at Nijo Castle (2012-2013)Olimpia Niglio1 - Noriko Inoue1Professor of Architectural Restoration - Kyoto University - Graduate School of Human and Environmental Studiesof this acknowledgment. The results have been evident in thearchitectural restoration works aswell as in the new constructionswhich have been built in relationwith the heights of the ancient buil-dings following a public debate inthe 1964's about the height of a pa-noramic tower and in the 1980'sabout the volume of a large hotel inthe city center. This experience hasshown a strong interest of the citi-zens and they have also had a stronginfluence in the preservation of theancient architecture and of the lan-dscape. Meanwhile, important worksof contemporary architecture havealso been realized outside the oldtown centre, such as the new rail-way station which was designed bythe Japanese architect Hiroshi Haraand opened in 1997. In particularafter 2007 the new political of thelandscape in the city of Kyoto hasprovided more controls about thefollowing five points:1. the height of buildings; 2. panora-mic views; 3. subsidies for conserva-tion of the urban landscape; 4.restoration of architecture; 5. resto-ration of urban skyline. Followingthese main points today the city ofKyoto is an interesting example ofharmonious dialogue between an-cient and contemporary culture. Director Hiratake then presented thecultural program of Kyoto, a citywith a rich tangible and intangibleheritage. This concept of intangibleheritage was first introduced by thenew national law of 1950. The cityhas important laws to protect thisheritage but relies rather on con-crete actions with the direct partici-pation of citizens. The Municipalityof Kyoto does not intend to force theprojects with limitations but con-trary it intends to promote an activeand participatory conservation ofthe city.Whilst the city promotes the protec-tion of heritage there are also manyince its establishment in 794,Kyoto, the ancient capital ofJapan, has set the cultural tone forthe nobility, the Imperial court andeventually the nation at large. Thecradle of Japanese culture, Kyoto hasa brilliant history of more than 1200years beginning with the establi-shment of the Heian-kyo capital andis characterized by a perfect combi-nation of culture, architecture, lan-dscape and ancient traditions. Thevaried components that form the at-tractive landscape of Kyoto are themountains, temples and shrines,gardens, residential areas and theconfiguration of the ancient city. InDecember 1994 several historicalmonuments of the city of Kyoto wereincluded in the list of the UNESCOWorld Heritage Sites. In addition,Kyoto was recognized to be an out-standing example of traditionalhuman settlement and land-use, re-presented by the culture and rela-tionship with the environment. Inaddition as the centre of Japaneseculture for more than 1000 years,Kyoto illustrates the development ofJapanese wooden architecture fromthe Heian period (794-1185) to theEdo period (1603-1867) as seen inthe religious architecture and the artof Japanese gardens, which has in-fluenced landscape gardening allover the world. How has the cultural program ofKyoto changed after being added tothe list of World Heritage Sites? We had an interesting meeting (June14, 2013) with Kozo Hiratake, Gene-ral Director of the Culture of the Mu-nicipality of Kyoto regarding thisissue. Director Hiratake explainedthat at the beginning the citizens didnot understand the importance of itsinclusion on the list and it was onlylater that they recognised the valueSMunicipality of Kyoto (June 14, 2013). From right Noriko Inoue (Otemon Gakuin University,Osaka), Kozo Hiratake General Director of the Culture of the Municipality of Kyoto), Olim-pia Niglio (Kyoto University).4Iscarsah newsletter 4/2013 News from Iscarsah Memberslocal community initiative projects.The schools also play a very impor-tant role in the gathering and disse-mination of knowledge and for thevalorization of the cultural heritagewith young students studying andvisiting the city's monuments andmuseums as well as participating incultural activities. The ancient architecture, intangibleheritage and nature comprise thecultural landscape of Kyoto.This city is surrounded by mountainsand crossed by two major rivers:Kamo in the East and Katsura in theWest. The citizens, whose lives areharmonically related to this lan-dscape, know and appreciate thisenvironment. This relationship is anancient one which is part of the tra-ditions that they have handed downfor generations.The citizens havealso utilized all major natural re-sources (in particular wood) fromthe mountains in the building andarchitectural restoration of temples,shrines, and houses. Kyoto pays attention also to the pro-tection of the Japanese National He-ritage property. There are manyexamples of which the most impor-tant is the restoration of the Impe-rial Gateway of the Nijo Castle. Therestoration began in February 2012and was completed in July 2013.With the support of the General Di-rector Kozo Hiratake, we were fortu-nate enough to visit the restorationsite of the imperial gateway in NijoCastle on June 25, 2013.The restoration of ImperialGateway (Kara-mon) at Nijo CastleThe World Heritage Site of Nijo Ca-stle in Kyoto, an architectural trea-sure not only for Japan but the worldas a whole, was built in 1603 by To-kugawa, the most notable memberof the Tokugawa clan and founder ofits shogunate. Built as Tokugawa’sresidential palace, the castle wascompleted in 1626 by the third Toku-gawa shogun, Iemitsu, with the ad-dition of structures transferred fromFushimi Castle. Nijo Castle is one ofthe finest examples of architectureof the Azuchi-Momoyama Period(1573-1603) and Edo Period (1603-1867)  in Japan, as it makes wonder-ful use of early Edo period buildingdesigns (shoin-zukuri architecturalstyle), and lavish paintings and car-vings that Iemetsu generously com-missioned. In 1884 the Castlebecame the property of the Imperialfamily. It was donated to the City ofKyoto and renamed Nijo Castle in1939. In 1994 the castle was designa-ted as an UNESCO World HeritageSite. The Honmaru Palace was de-stroyed in a large-scale fire in 1788.During the fire of 1788 the Imperialgateway to the palace, built in 1626for an Imperial visit, and NinomaruPalace were saved.This gateway (Kara-mon) orShiyaku-mon gate serves as the en-trance to the Ninomaru Palace. Thegateway and the Ninomaru Palaceare authentic of the year 1626. Withthe collaboration of the Architect Ta-maki Goto, Director of the architec-tural restoration of the gateway, weKyoto. The restoration site of the Imperial gateway in Nijo Castle. June 25, 2013. Architect TamakiGoto (Municipality of Kyoto, Nijo Castle) with Olimpia Niglio (Kyoto University).Kyoto. The Imperial Gateway in Nijo Castle before the restoration (2008 © Olimpia Niglio).5Iscarsah newsletter 4/2013News from Iscarsah Membersvisited the site. This gateway hasfour important characteristics:1. hiwadabuki, a roof covered withlayers of Japanese cypress hinoki; 2.shikyaku-mon, structure composedof two large, main pillars, centeredin line with the roof and of four pil-lars of support, two in the front andtwo in the rear;3. zengonokikarahafutsuki, two mainsides with similar formal characteri-stics;4. kirzuma-tsukuri, construction withgable roof.The Kara-mon is characterized by aparticularly configured curve calledkara-hafu that we find in many tem-ples in Japan. The outer panels ofthe gate have carved cranes, butter-flies and flowers, while the innerpanels offer Chinese lions, tigersand a dragon. These panels are bas-reliefs in wood and they are paintedwith typical colors. The natural properties of materialsrequire a restoration every 30 years.This time cycle is strongly linked tothe nature and to the transmissionof ancient building traditions. Thistime cycle is a fundamental part ofthe culture of restoration in Japanand its cultural roots are very deepand not always easily explained. Therestoration of the National Heritageproperty of Japan is done accordingto the transmission of ancient kno-wledge and the establishment of aharmonious dialogue between tangi-ble and intangible heritage, a com-mon characteristic of the Japaneseculture of the restoration. The directobservation of the restoration workhas made it possible to evaluatemany cultural aspects that are thebasis of the architectural conserva-tion in Japan: in particular the an-cient techniques of execution andKyoto. The restoration site of the Imperial gateway in Nijo Castle. June 25, 2013. Details of the bas-reliefs in wood and of the decorations with typical colors. (2013 © Olimpia Niglio).Kyoto. The restoration site of the Imperial gateway in Nijo Castle. June 25, 2013. Detail of the kara-hafu. The dark area is not restored. (2013 © Olim-pia Niglio).Iscarsah newsletter 4/2013 News from Iscarsah Members6the carpentry of wood. With the lastmajor restoration of Kara-mon inNijo Castle carried out in 1975, theworks planned between 2012 and2013 have primarily concerned therestoration of the painted woodenparts, the copper decorations andthe wooden sculptures in accor-dance to an ancient Japanese techni-que. After careful analysis of thestate of conservation of the cypressbark roof, the works managementhas established a partial restorationof the roof.The Scientific Committee, appointedby the Ministry of Culture, has alsoapproved the partial restoration;which effectively restored only themost damaged areas leaving visiblethe parts of the roof that have beenrestored and those that have beenconserved. This methodology of re-storation was applied to the gate-way only after assessing theconservation status of the materials.Only the degraded materials havebeen replaced. It is fundamental tonote that the choice of the restora-tion method is evaluated on case-by-case.The architect Goto explained the dif-ficulties in finding the natural mate-rials and the technique forextracting the bark from the cypresstree. Today in Japan there are only10 companies working in the specificfield of finding, removing and cor-rectly working with the wood andbark of the cypress for the restora-tion of ancient architectures. Subse-quently we have analyzed thetechnical execution of the restora-tion and we have observed the ex-cellent state of conservation ofwooden structures that are originalto the seventeenth century.The decorative parts in copper andthe wooden sculptures were disas-sembled and restored in the labora-tory. On the restoration site it ispossible to observe drawings sho-wing the assembly stages of theseworks of art.The restoration work will be inaugu-rated September 30, 2013. Kyoto. The restoration site of the Imperial gateway in Nijo Castle. June 25, 2013. The Architect Gotodescribes the restoration of roof with bark of the cypress. (2013 © Olimpia Niglio).Kyoto. The restoration site of the Imperial gateway in Nijo Castle. July 30, 2013. Detail of the kara-hafu after the restoration (2013 © Olimpia Niglio).Kyoto. The restoration site of the Imperial gateway in Nijo Castle. July 30, 2013. The copper decora-tions and the wooden sculptures (three-dimensional) after the restoration (2013 © Olimpia Niglio).

Culture, landscape and monuments in the city of Kyoto The restoration of the Imperial Gateway at Nijo Castle (2012-2013) : News from Iscarsah Members

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Culture, landscape and monuments in the city of Kyoto The restoration of the Imperial Gateway at Nijo Castle (2012-2013) : News from Iscarsah Members

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