The purpose of this research is to conduct a comprehensive study of paintings on the folding screens (front) and records on the underlayer sheets (backing) of the Namban Byobu that belongs to the National Museum of Soares dos Reis (Porto City, Portugal).
　The Porto Namban Byobu paintings are one of the early 17th century masterpieces by Kano School painters and are considered a valuable record of the manners and customs of the early modern era. The underlayer sheets that were removed when the folding screens were restored in 2002 are old documents (approximately 2,000 sheets) of the confectionary shop Hishiya in Kyoto in the middle of the early modern period. In this study, we promote the digitization and cataloging of all these documents.
　By incorporating other folding screens and fusuma (papered sliding doors), such as the “Evora Byobu” underlayer sheets, our study is expected to develop into an international and interdisciplinary research project, which integrates academic knowledge, including the study of history, art history, architectural history, folkcraft articles, cultural anthropology, the history of Christianity, informatics, and experiential knowledge, including the restoration technology of ancient documents.