Tokyo National Museum and TOPPAN will perform the VR work “Edo Castle Tenshu” at “TNM & TOPPAN Museum Theater” in New Year 2024

Admire the phantom castle tower, said to be the largest in history, on a large screen, with over 1 million parts, including stone walls, tiles, and metal fittings, all meticulously recreated one by one.

TOPPAN Co., Ltd., a group company of the Tokyo National Museum, National Organization for Cultural Properties, the Center for the Utilization of Cultural Properties, and TOPPAN Holdings Co., Ltd., has created a new site for the Edo Castle castle tower that no longer exists, based on historical materials and historical research. The VR work "Edo Castle Tenshu", which is precisely reproduced digitally, will be performed at the "TNM & TOPPAN Museum Theater" in the Toyokan of the Tokyo National Museum from January 2nd (Tuesday) to April 14th (Sunday), 2024. Masu.

VR work “Edo Castle Tenshu” introduction video URL: https://youtu.be/TyDO2ZwNKos

This work is a VR work that considers the appearance of the last castle tower of Edo Castle, which the third Tokugawa shogun Iemitsu had built at great expense, and how it was constructed. In producing this work, we digitized each and every one of the more than 1 million parts that make up the Edo Castle castle tower, from the stone walls to the tiles to the metal fittings. The elegant appearance of Edo Castle's castle tower, which is said to have been created using the best technology of the time, has been recreated. In addition to historical materials such as drawings and illustrations, we will introduce the reproduction process using existing cultural properties and traditional techniques as clues. You can also enjoy the scenery that can only be seen through a digital reproduction that combines the data of Edo Castle's castle tower on a 3D map of modern Tokyo.

It was first released in 2017, and when it has been performed in the past, people have said, “It was great to be able to virtually see Edo Castle, which no longer exists,'' and “I was amazed that we were able to recreate the castle tower that was burnt down hundreds of years ago in such detail.'' It was well received.

Over the past year or so, the number of foreign visitors to Japan has been recovering, and many foreign tourists are once again visiting the Tokyo National Museum. This work, which has a theme of great interest not only to visitors from Japan but also from overseas, is the phantom castle that once existed in Edo and Tokyo, and will be revived during the period from New Year to April, when Ueno is crowded with cherry blossom viewing visitors. It will be performed.

■ About the VR work “Edo Castle Tenshu”

・Elaborate reproduction of each and every one of over 1 million parts

More than 1 million parts, such as the leaf veins engraved on the hollyhock crest metal fittings and the rivets used to secure the shachi scales, have been precisely reproduced down to the smallest detail. By displaying the actual size on a large screen, you can observe in detail the way the parts that make up the metal fittings and shachi are assembled.

・See also existing cultural properties and traditional techniques

We researched existing cultural properties, mainly shrines, temples, and castles related to the Edo Shogunate that were built during the same period, and reflected them in the reproduction of detailed designs. We will also introduce some of the results of our research at the repair site of Nikko Toshogu Shrine and Yomeimon Gate, which underwent major repairs in the Heisei era, and at the manufacturing site of the metal fittings.

・Digital reproduction of what would happen if the Edo Castle tower still existed.

Assuming that the castle tower did not burn down in the Meireki Great Fire that occurred in 1657 and continued to stand for about 370 years until the present day, we created a realistic appearance of the castle tower that has changed over time to create a realistic version of modern Tokyo. Composite on a 3D map. You can enjoy the unique appearance that can only be achieved through digital reproduction.

■ Performance information for the VR work “Edo Castle Tenshu”

■About New Year's gifts

For those who viewed this VR work on January 2nd (Tuesday) and January 3rd (Wednesday), 2024, there is a museum that can be used from January 4th (Thursday) to June 30th (Sunday), 2024. We will give you a theater viewing ticket exchange ticket.

■About free rental of audio guide equipment

Since the theme is Japanese castles, which are of high interest to foreign tourists visiting Japan, we will increase the number of free audio guide devices that can be rented during the performance period of this VR work. Audio guide devices will be lent to the first 15 people each time. (Supports English and Chinese)

■ About “TNM & TOP PAN Museum Theater”

"TNM & TOPPAN Museum Theater" is a facility where you can experience a new way of appreciating cultural assets using VR. Based on the concept of “transcending time and space with virtual reality,'' the digital archive of cultural properties, which mainly contains items from the Tokyo National Museum, is visualized using VR technology. With an ultra-high-definition 4K projector that vividly displays cultural properties, an impressive 300-inch large screen, and a live performance by a dedicated navigator, you can enjoy cultural properties as if you were inside a computer-generated three-dimensional space. can. This is a space that offers new ways to encounter and enjoy cultural properties that can only be achieved digitally, such as recreating the appearance of cultural properties in the past and magnifying fine details that are difficult to appreciate with the naked eye.

・Theater website https://www.toppan-vr.jp/mt/

*Product and service names mentioned in this news release are trademarks or registered trademarks of each company.

*The information contained in this news release is current as of the date of announcement. It is subject to change without prior notice.

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