Hiroko Machida brings Japan’s national treasures in focus with high-quality digital reproduction

The Machida Hiroko Interior Coordinator Academy, a leading interior design college and architecture practise, is launching a range of interior art featuring Japan’s most treasured artworks. The academy has teamed up with Tokyo-based digital printing specialist Lintec Sign System Inc to produce order-made digital reproductions of the masterpieces for interior walls in homes, hotels and offices.

The reproductions are printed to wallpaper, which meets Japan’s strict standards for environmentally sustainable manufacture, inflammability and non-toxicity. They are made to order and can be produced as wall covering applied directly to wall or section, or framed and mounted.

“Ironically and unfortunately many of Japan’s national treasures and important cultural assets are too valuable and too sensitive to shown. So I am really pleased that digital reproduction gives us the chance to place these works in a real setting for people to experience them,” commented Hiroko Machida in announcing the initiative.

Digital printing offers unparalleled choice and precision in color selection. It is possible to reproduce the work with a luster surpassing the original, or to tone the color to perfect harmony with its surroundings.

Initially, the academy is promoting three works, each of which is offered in three formats: “SINGLE” (W920 x H830), “DOUBLE” (W1780 x H1605) and “TRIPLE” (W2760 x H2408). They are priced at ¥57,000 (SINGLE), ¥116,400 (DOUBLE) and ¥232,500 (TRIPLE), not including installation and tax. However, other sizes and will be available, and it will soon be possible to reproduce any work from the Tokyo National Museum archive.

Since its establishment in 1978, the Machida Hiroko Interior Coordinator Academy has trained more than 13,000 professionals for a career as an interior coordinator. In addition to its wide-ranging training courses, the academy is also home to “AOYAMA style”, a design consultancy.

© Japan Today