We are pleased to announce the event in our new partnership with Tokyo National Research Institute for Cultural Properties (Tobunken).
On Thursday 16th November, a lecture titled: The activities of Tokyo National Research Institute for Cultural Properties and its research on rakanzu (Arhat painting) will be held at The Sainsbury Centre, UEA. You can find further details of the event and register to attend here.
Event background
Since 2013, the Sainsbury Institute for the Study of Japanese Arts and Cultures has been working closely with the Tokyo National Research Institute for Cultural Properties (Tobunken). We made our partnership official by signing a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU). This agreement has helped us work together more effectively, allowing both institutions to grow, learn, and contribute more to cultural properties research. As part of our project, ‘Shaping the Fundamentals of Research on Japanese Art’, we have been developing an online English database. This database focuses on research on Japanese art conducted outside Japan and acts as a complement to the work done by the Institute for Cultural Properties.
In 2023, we advanced our collaboration by signing a new Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the National Institutes for Cultural Heritage (NICH), an esteemed institution of which Tobunken is a member. This new MoU represents a fortified and expanded collaborative framework, facilitating enhanced interdisciplinary exchanges and research opportunities between the UK and Japan. The Tobunken Lecture marks the first event under the new MoU, symbolizing the commencement of a new chapter of collaborative endeavours and intellectual exchanges between the Sainsbury Institute, Tobunken, and NICH.
The event is anticipated to be a melting pot of ideas and insights, bringing together eminent scholars, curators, researchers, and students from different institutions, and providing a platform for enriching discussions and potential future collaborations in the realm of cultural properties research. The insights shared during this event are expected to contribute significantly to the existing body of knowledge and pave the way for future explorations and discoveries in the field of Japanese art and cultural heritage.