The Byōdō-in is a Buddhist Temple near Kyoto, Japan, that’s registered as Japanese National Treasure and World Heritage Site. It appears on the back of the Japanese 10 Yen Coin. Its most famous part, and the only remaining original building, is the Phoenix Hall (Hōō-dō) constructed in 1053. As the paint on the original west doors to the Hōō-dō was fading, Monsho Kamii, Chief Priest of the Temple, had a special team collect remaining small amounts of paint in order to simulate its colours and image using the latest digital technology. This painstaking effort took about ten years!
Kamii then contacted Agfa Graphics Japan with the simulated image file and the request to reconstruct the doors. Agfa Graphics’ experts matched the expected colours as accurately as possible using in-house colour management technology. An Anapurna 2050i Wide-Format Inkjet Printer was then used to print on the 400-year-old Japanese Cypress wood that the two new doors were made of. It wasn’t a straightforward job though. As the 1.2m x 2.5m doors weren’t flat, a special technique was developed to print on the curved surface of the frames with the help of a special tool that was created with a 3D printer. In addition, a particular kind of white ink was used to imitate the original white parts of the door.
When the doors were ready, the Agfa Graphics team received high praise from Kamii. The reconstructed doors will be exhibited at the Museum of the Byodoin Temple until the December 6 – including explanations about the efforts behind the restoration process, the investigation of the material, its structure, and the reproduction techniques used. After that date, the doors will be mounted in their new hinges in the temple, where they’ll stay for an indeterminate period of time.
“The moment I saw the completed door, I couldn’t withhold my tears,” said Kamii. “To see them reconstructed has been my dearest wish for twenty years.”
Agfa Graphics prints on 400-year-old Japanese temple doors using Anapurna wide-format printer
