文化財調査の現場 The Japanese Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology has selected prominent organizations as launching pads for the Frontier Project for Arts and Sciences. These organizations are expected to achieve excellent development and results in research. The Frontier Project for Arts and Sciences will extensively and comprehensively support these institutions with funding for research equipment and facilities. For the current year, twenty-one organizations have been selected throughout Japan, and our university is the sole recipient in the Chugoku-Shikoku region. The duration of this comprehensive research project will be for five years, from April 2003 through March 2007 academic year (Heisei 15 through Heisei 19). The objectives of the Frontier project are the following: To research technologically superb conceptions that our ancestors left us in cultural properties. To interpret information gained through research. To bring forward any excellent ideas which may lead to devising new technology for today’s society. To disseminate significant technological findings to future generations. Hence, to achieve the aims of this project, we will promote cooperative research activities in the following four areas: Technological and cultural research mainly focuses on the historical and social background of cultural properties. Scientific research, analyzes cultural properties from a nondestructive analytic perspective. Conservation and restoration research will focus on structures and techniques used in making old cultural properties. Digital archive research will attempt to record cultural properties in visual images. From these images, researchers will attempt to find new interpretations, in order to utilize them from a modern perspective. 　 The research institution for cultural properties, the Bunkazai Sogo Kenkyu Center, is to be newly established. The tentative opening date is scheduled for mid-February, 2004.