World Heritage Japanese temple doors printed on Anapurna

IndPrint

The Byōdō-in is a Buddhist temple near Kyoto, Japan, which is registered as Japanese National Treasure and World Heritage Site. Its most famous part, and the only remaining original building, is the Phoenix Hall 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 investigate them and collect remaining small amounts of paint in order to simulate the colours and the image, using the latest digital techniques. This painstaking effort cost the team about ten years. The chief priest then contacted Agfa Graphics Japan with the simulated image file and the request to reconstruct the doors.

Agfa Graphics experts tried to match the expected colours as accurately as possible using in-house colour management technology and printing techniques. An Anapurna 2050i wide format inkjet printer was used to print on the 400 year cold Japanese cypress wood that the two new doors are made of. It wasn’t a straightforward job though. As the 1.2 metre by 2.5 metre 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 the temple’s chief priest for the result they had achieved.

The doors before restoration.

After restoration by Agfa.