Development and Evaluation of VR Content for Appreciating Genji-e in Digitization of Cultural Properties

Abstract

We digitized the paintings of the Genji-e cultural property and studied how to express their photorealistic appearance using virtual reality technology. In order to capture the striking reflections of the gold leaf in the paintings, we applied BRDF (Bidirectional Reflectance Distribution Function) data, an index of the spectral reflectance of gold, to the game engine’s shader to obtain a texture close to the appearance of gold leaf. We have also developed an interactive viewing system that allows users to appreciate Genji-e paintings in the space of the era in which they were painted. We conducted an evaluation experiment of the content and verified its effectiveness.