It is no exaggeration to say that the materials used for most of the arts and crafts and the historical materials, which tell us about the ancient culture and thought, are destined to perish. We can explore those cultural heritages today thanks to past generations which passed them carefully on with their determination to preserve and the techniques of conservation which had been cultivated over time.
The Sumitomo Foundation has been supporting various projects of preservation and restoration of cultural properties for nearly 30 years. The number of the benefited objects is 1,000 total and many of them are located within Kyoto and its peripheral area. Having been the center of Japanese politics and culture for over 1,000 years, this region has rich layers of memories and the origins of esthetic which have accumulated beyond many wars and natural disasters. This exhibition gathers and presents the masterpieces which are associated with Kyoto and have been restored by the conservation projects of Sumitomo Foundation, such as sculptures, paintings and documents created from the ancient time to the pre-modern period, with the stories of restoration. Hopefully this exhibition would be an opportunity to rediscover the irreplaceable value of them and help to create the legacy to be passed on to the future.
*There is a rotation of the exhibits during the term.