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CASE STUDY 01 Archival of artworks by Katsushika Hokusai

Toppan Printing Co., Ltd. is engaged in digital archiving, exhibitions, surveys and research, reproduction and restoration of cultural assets and valuable materials. This time, we were given the opportunity to photograph a work by Katsushika Hokusai from the collection of the Sumida Hokusai Museum. The rich data of the artwork photographed with the GFX series has expanded the possibilities of not only preserving cultural properties but also utilizing them in various ways.

Click the mark on the left to see an enlarged image of that part.

Katsushika Hokusai/Under the Wave off Kanagawa, from the series Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji/
The Sumida Hokusai Museum

Katsushika Hokusai/Monkfish/The Sumida Hokusai Museum

Katsushika Hokusai/Nobleman and Court Ladies/The Sumida Hokusai Museum

Katsushika Hokusai/The Famous Places on the Tōkaidō Road in One View/The Sumida Hokusai Museum

SHOOTING DATA

[Camera]: GFX100

[Lens]: GF110mmF2 R　LM WR

[Sensitivity]: ISO200

[Aperture]: f8

[Shutter Speed]: 1/8

[Resolution]: 100MP

Lighting used/KINO FLO/2ftBank/2units

PHOTOGRAPHER’S
VOICE

The recent trend for digital archiving of valuable materials such as cultural assets is to preserve it with the finest quality, meaning to preserve the data in the highest resolution possible. However, from the viewpoint of protecting the materials, the equipment to achieve the data has to be chosen very strictly. The data must be achieved within a limited environment and time, such as lighting and shooting distance. The GFX system, with its compact size and outstanding image quality, allowed me the freedom to easily move around and concentrate on shooting. The GFX camera, paired with genuine GF lenses is a reliable partner that promises the best performance.

Hirotsugu Komiya
(Japan Professional
Photographer’s Society)/
Toppan Printing Co., Ltd.

The Sumida Hokusai Museum An art museum located in Sumida City in Tokyo, the place where the master of ukiyo-e woodblock printing, Katsushika Hokusai, spent almost the entirety of his life, which is estimated to be around 90 years. Built to a design conceived by the architect Sejima Kazuyo, the museum building is modern yet blends seamlessly with the surrounding city. Along with AURORA (permanent exhibition room), which uses touch panels and high definition 4K monitors, and special exhibitions that feature a wide range of themes, the museum demonstrates the appeal of both Hokusai and the local area from multiple angles.

Official site https://hokusai-museum.jp/?lang=en

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