Using Digital Technology to Dissect the Important Cultural Properties of Daihonzan Eiheiji Temple!

― Creating a Digital Twin of Temple Building Construction Using Precise Point Cloud Surveying ―

  • Construction
  • Engineering

April 26, 2024

Shimizu Corporation (President: Kazuyuki Inoue) has embarked on a groundbreaking collaboration with Eiheiji Temple (Yoshida-gun, Fukui Prefecture). The nearly 800-year-old head temple of the Soto sect of Zen Buddhism has joined hands with the Company to create precise digital twins of 19 of its important cultural properties using 3D point cloud surveying. The completed digital data has been delivered to Eiheijii Temple. Digital spaces and digital content for online visits to Eiheiji Temple were already delivered in November of last year. These were created with “Digi-Tori360,” the Company’s proprietary app allowing walkthroughs using 360-degree photographs of all buildings (both large and small) on the premises (just over 100).

Notably, this initiative follows the recent destruction by fire of the main hall of Shuri Castle, designated as a World Heritage Site. Because historical buildings in Japan were made of wood, many others have been lost to fire, too. Many of them have also been destroyed by earthquakes, and Sojiji Soin Temple in Wajima City suffered extensive damage in the recent 2024 Noto earthquake. Eiheiji Temple has been destroyed by fire numerous times in the past, but each time it was rebuilt thanks to the efforts of those involved. In light of this past, Eiheiji Temple decided to conduct a joint survey with the Company to create digital twins of the important cultural properties on the grounds. This move was made to prepare for future disasters and ensure that these properties are preserved for future generations.

3D point cloud surveying, which is the basis for creating digital twins, is a tool that can precisely capture the form of an object as-is. It is suited to surveying the complex frames (framework), eave shapes, and carvings found in traditional wooden architecture. In the recent joint survey, not only were the interiors and exteriors of the 19 important cultural properties captured but also every space and shape, including attics, underfloor areas, and carvings. The 3D point cloud surveying data was processed to enable the extraction and display of floor plans, elevations, and cross-sections for creating the digital twins. The survey was conducted with the cooperation of T&I 3D Corporation (President: Taku Ueno, Yoshida-gun, Fukui Prefecture), a company that has temple carpenters skilled in digital technology.

It is said that there are many shrines, temples, and other historical buildings in Japan for which drawings have not been adequately maintained. The use of digital technology makes it possible to prepare drawings of these buildings at a reasonable cost and within a reasonable construction period. Preserving the true appearance of historical buildings for future generations is a social responsibility unique to major construction companies. As such, the Company will propose to various stakeholders the use of digital technology for archiving. The Company will also promote the development of apps for simple data storage and viewing and systems to roll out the point cloud data to 3D models and structural review for advanced use.

An exhibition titled “Daihonzan Eiheiji Temple Digital Temple Exhibition” was held at Daihonzan Eiheiji Temple for 10 days from Saturday, April 27 to Monday, May 6 to display digital twins (printouts of digital models) of 19 important cultural properties created with 3D point cloud data.

≪For Reference≫

Digital twins

This refers to digitalizing and acquiring various information on objects existing in real space and replicating them within cyberspace as twins.

3D point cloud surveying

The distance between two points is calculated by measuring the time it takes for the laser emitted from the laser scanner to hit the object and bounce back. Coordinate information (XYZ) is then given to the measurement points and fed to a PC as data to create 3D replicas of the object. More than 1 million points can be measured per second.

Comment from Daihonzan Eiheiji Temple (Jundo Ishida, Administrator in charge of temple maintenance and preservation)

Our mission is to ensure that the buildings on the Eiheiji Temple grounds, which are where we engage in ascetic practices, will be preserved for future generations. The creation of precise digital twins using 3D point cloud surveying is instrumental in addressing this need. It is difficult to obtain the information we need for maintenance and preservation from 2D drawings, but anyone can easily retrieve that information from the digital twin data. This increases the efficiency of our maintenance and preservation work.

Buddha hall point cloud data (exterior and interior displayed simultaneously)

Buddha hall point cloud data (exterior and interior displayed simultaneously)

Main temple gate point cloud data (exterior and interior displayed simultaneously)

Main temple gate point cloud data (exterior and interior displayed simultaneously)
Main temple gate point cloud data (exterior and interior displayed simultaneously)

Imperial envoy gate point cloud data (looking up under the eaves; bottom: exterior photograph)

looking up under the eaves
exterior photograph

The information contained in this news release is the current information on the date of publication. Please be aware that this information may have changed by the time you view it. Please contact the company to inquire for further details.