This database is a comprehensive collection of articles from Nihon bijutsu nenkan (Year Book of
Japanese Art), published by the Tokyo National Institute for Cultural Properties (Tobunken).
On December 23, the Agency for Cultural Affairs formulated and announced the ‘Five-Year Plan for Fire Prevention Measures for World Heritage Sites, National Treasures, and Other Properties’. In response to the fire at the Notre-Dame de Paris in April 2019 and the fire at Shuri Castle (Naha City) on October 31 of the same year, the plan focuses on World Heritage Sites, National Treasures (structures) and museums that house National Treasures and Important Cultural Properties (fine art and crafts). It aims to implement comprehensive and planned fire prevention measures by the fiscal year 2024. (Japanese)
On December 19, the winners of the VOCA Prize, which encourages young artists who create two-dimensional artworks, were announced. The Grant Prize of the VOCA was given to Nerhol (‘Remove’). KAN Mika (‘A Happy Birthday, #selfiewithme’) and RI Jong Ok (‘Olympia 2020’) jointly received the VOCA Encouragement Prize. KUROMIYA Nana (‘Image – Owarishi michi no shirube ni’) and MIYAMOTO Hanako (‘Shiro ga kieteiku. – Mein Tagebuch –’) jointly received the VOCA Honorable Mention Prize. The Ohara Museum of Art Prize was given to ASANO Yuriko (‘Kuchiake’). The VOCA exhibition 2020, where the winners’ works were exhibited, was held at the Ueno Royal Museum in Tokyo from March 12 to March 27 in 2020. (Japanese)
On November 29, the Japan Art Academy (Director: KUROI Senji) announced that it had elected two seven members to the Japan Art Academy for their outstanding achievements in artistic activities. In relation to art, kōgei artist HARUYAMA Fuminori and calligrapher KURODA Kenichi were elected. The election was officially announced by HAGIUDA Kōichi, the Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology on December 15. (Japanese)
On November 15, the Council for Cultural Affairs submitted a report on the following places to be designated as Places of Scenic Beauty or Historic Sites to HAGIUDA Kōichi, the Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology. The list includes the Sakitama Kofun Cluster (Gyōda City, Saitama Prefecture), which includes the Inariyama kofun where the National Treasure ‘iron Inariyama burial-mound sword (J: kinsakumei tekken)’ was excavated, to be designated as a Special Historic Site; fifteen sites such as the Shiraho Saonetabaru Cave Site (Ishigaki City, Okinawa), where the oldest human remains from the Paleolithic period in Japan were excavated, to be designated as Historic Sites; four sites such as the Sudō Family Garden (Hirosaki City, Aomori Prefecture), constructed at the end of the Meiji Period, to be designated as Places of Scenic Beauty; five sites such as the Nagamine Family Garden (Nagano City), where its Edo-period waterways have been maintained to the present day, to be designated as Registered Monuments. The Council also suggested 133 structures to be registered as Registered Tangible Cultural Properties, including the Totsuna Bridge (Fukushima City), the oldest surviving steel arch bridges in Japan. (Japanese)
On November 12, the 41st Suntory Prize for Social Science and Humanities (Sponsored by the Suntory Foundation) announced that, in relation to art, KUWAKINO Kōji (Associate Professor, Osaka University) for his monograph ‘Runessansu teien no seishin shi’ was awarded in the Literary and Art Criticism category. (Japanese)
On November 7, the Ringa Art Encouragement Award (organized by the Ringa Art Encouragement Fund), which publicly honors outstanding individuals for their exceptional achievements in the field of art criticism and art history research, announced the winners of the 31st Ringa Art Encouragement Prize. In the Art History Research Division, ITŌ Yoshiyuki (Researcher, advisor of Fukuzawa Memorial Foundation), co-author of ‘Chōgenjitsu shugi no 1937 nen Fukuzawa Ichirō “Shūrurearizumu” o yominaosu’, was awarded. In the Art Criticism Division, KATADA Yūko (Curator, Yokohama Museum of Art) received the prize for her curatorial exhibition titled ‘Tetsuro Komai: A Pioneer of Modern Japanese Copperplate Prints’ and contribution of her essay to its catalog. (Japanese)
In the early hours of October 31, a fire broke out at Shuri Castle (Naha City, Okinawa Prefecture), completely destroying the Main Hall, North Hall, and South Hall, as well as damaging a total of nine other buildings. The complex centered around the Main Hall was rebuilt in 1992 after being burned down during the Battle of Okinawa in 1945. Additionally, the buildings that were destroyed housed over 1,500 paintings, lacquerware, and other craftworks dating back to the time of the Ryūkyū Kingdom. Among these, 421 permanent displayed items in the Main Hall were either destroyed or damaged by the fire. (Japanese)
On October 29, the Japanese government announced six recipients of the Order of Culture and 21 recipients of the Person of Cultural Merit for the fiscal year 2019. In relation to art, the Order of Culture was given to photographer TANUMA Takeyoshi, who began his career as a press photographer and dedicated himself to elevating the status of photographers by creating a unique world on children both in Japan and abroad. The Person of Cultural Merit was given to lighting designer ISHII Motoko, who advocates for designing spaces through lighting to revitalize environments and has been involved in the lighting design of landmarks such as the Tokyo Tower and Himeji Castle; nihonga artist TABUCHI Toshio, whose works, meticulously researched in terms of nature and history, combine decorative and spiritual elements, and who has been highly praised for establishing a distinctive style in nihonga painting; and manga artist HAGIO Moto, who developed shōjo manga into a genre capable of diverse and profound expression. (Japanese)
On October 18, the Council for Cultural Affairs submitted a report on six structures to be designated as Important Cultural Properties to HAGIUDA Kōichi, the Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology. The list includes the former Shimazu family residence (Shinagawa Ward, Tokyo), designed by British architect Josiah Condor, and the Kanagawa Prefectural Government Office Building (Yokohama City), which is considered a pioneer in government building architecture, to be designated as Important Cultural Properties. In addition to the list, the Tatsuno region of Tatsuno City, Hyōgo Prefecture, and the Kasedafumoto region of Minamisatsua City, Kagoshima Prefecture, were also suggested to be the Important Preservation Districts for Groups of Traditional Buildings. (Japanese)
On October 12, Typhoon Hagibis known as Typhoon No. 19 or Reiwa 1 East Japan Typhoon, which made landfall in eastern Japan, caused extensive damage to cultural properties. A windowpane was broken at the Tomioka Silk Mill in Tomioka City, Gunma Prefecture, designated as a World Heritage Site, and the plaster on the tower of the former Kaichi School Building in Matsumoto City, Nagano Prefecture, was exfoliated. At the Kawasaki City Museum in Kanagawa Prefecture, the underground storages were flooded where 230,000 items in the museum’s collections were damaged. Starting with removal of photographs and film footage, curators and specialist from museums and art galleries across Japan participated in a rescue operation to remove the damaged collection, which was completed in June 2020. (Japanese)
The winners of the 31st Kokka Prize, the award for remarkable research on Japanese and East Asian art, were announced. The Kokka Prize was given to a monograph titled ‘Bukkyō chōzō no seisaku to juyō – Heian jidai o chūshin ni –’ (published in 2019) by OKU Takeo. The Kokka Exhibition Catalog Prize was given to an exhibition catalog titled ‘Torei HIJIKATA: A Retrospective’ (held in 2018 at the Tottori Prefectural Museum) by YAMASHITA Mayumi. (Japanese)
On September 26, the Agency for Cultural Affairs, in accordance with Act on Regulation of Execution of Budget Pertaining to Subsidies, etc., announced that they would withhold the subsidies granted to the Aichi Triennale 2019 since Aichi Prefecture had failed to report a serious fact that threatened the smooth running of the Aichi Triennale 2019, an international art festival being held in Aichi Prefecture, despite protests and threats, forcing the cancellation of the planned exhibition ‘After “Freedom of Expression?”’. Withholding subsidies due to procedural errors was unprecedented. In response, a number of experts and organizations issued opposition statements. On October 9, the Japanese Council of Art Museums submitted a request to the Commissioner of the Agency for Cultural Affairs to withdraw their decision on the subsidies. (Japanese)
On September 17, the laureates of the 31st Praemium Imperiale in Honor of Prince Takamatsu (organized by the Japan Art Association), which publicly honors individual world artists, were announced. In relation to art, the laureates were William KENTRIDGE in the Painting category, who has expressed the pain of the dark history of his native South Africa through his unique amination known as ‘monochromatic drawing’; Mona HATOUM in the Sculpture category, who has continued to express the suffering of displaced people through installations and a variety of other forms of expression; and in the Architecture category, Tod WILLIAMS and Billie TSIEN, American architects whose works are highly regarded for their use of diverse materials and harmony with the environment. (Japanese)
The 25th General Conference of the International Council of Museums (ICOM) was held for the first time in Japan from September 1 to September 5 at the Kyoto International Conference Center. It was the largest international conference in the history of Japanese museums, with 4,590 participants from 120 countries and territories. Four plenary sessions and thirty sessions of international committees were held under the theme ‘Museums as Cultural Hubs: The Future of Tradition’. The ICOM Japan’s proposals for the ‘Commitment to the Integration of Asia into the ICOM Community’ and the ‘Commitment to the Concept “Museums as Cultural Hubs”’ were adopted as Congress resolutions. (Japanese)
On August 3, the exhibition titled ‘After “Freedom of Expression?”’ (venue: Aichi Arts Center) of the international art festival, Aichi Triennale 2019, which would be held in Aichi Prefecture from August 1 to October 14, was cancelled following protests against the content of the exhibition. The exhibition consisted of works that had been restricted in the past for political reasons, including ŌURA Nobuyuki’s ‘Holding Perspective (J: Enkin o kakaete)’, which featured the Shōwa Emperor, and Kim Seo-kyung and Kim Eun-sung’s ‘Statue of a Girl of Peace (J: Heiwa no shōjo zō)’, which symbolized a former comfort woman. In response to numerous protest phone calls, faxes and e-mails, which included threats, the decision to cancel the exhibition was made out of concern for the safety of visitors and other concerned parties. In protest against this decision to cancel the exhibition, a number of artists, mainly from overseas, cancelled or changed their own exhibitions at the art festival, sparking a major debate on freedom of expression. The exhibition’s organizing committee subsequently filed an interlocutory injunction with the Nagoya District Court demanding that the exhibition be reopened. Following an agreement with the Aichi Triennale Organizing Committee, the exhibition was reopened from October 8 to October 14 before Aichi Triennale 2019 closed. (Japanese)
On July 19, the Council for Cultural Affairs submitted a report on 196 structures to be designated as Registered Tangible Cultural Properties to SHIBAYAMA Masahiko, the Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology. The list includes a residential building, known as a ‘Star House’ for its distinctive shape, built in the Akabanedai housing complex (Kita Ward, Tokyo) during the post-war period of rapid growth. (Japanese)
The winners of the 14th Western Art Foundation Prize, which publicly honor individuals and organizations involved in curating exhibitions that have contributed to the understanding of Western art and academic research in the field of Western art, were announced. The Academic Prizes for individuals were given to SEKI Akio, Chief of the curatorial section of the Tokyo Metropolitan Teien Art Museum (for the exhibition titled ‘EXOTIC × MODERN: French Art Deco and inspiration afar’; his job title at the time of exhibition) and MURAKAMI Hiroya, Deputy Director and Chief Curator of the National Museum of Western Art (for the exhibition titled ‘Le Corbusier and the Age of Purism’). The Cultural Promotion Prize for institutions was given to Toppan Inc. for its activities of continuous as well as high-quality displays at the Printing Museum, which was opened in 2000. (Japanese)
In May, the international Council on Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS), an advisory body to the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) that conducts preliminary inspections to determine whether a site should be inscribed on the World Heritage List, recommended the inclusion of the ‘Mozu-Furuichi Kofun Group: Mounded Tombs of Ancient Japan’, which had been nominated by the Japanese government on the World Heritage List. In response, on July 6, at the 43rd session of the UNESCO’s World Heritage Committee, held in Baku, the capital of Azerbaijan, it decided to inscribe the site on the World Heritage List as a Cultural Heritage Site. (Japanese)
On June 24, the National Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo (Takebashi, Tokyo) announced that it had acquired a representative work by nihon-ga painter KABURAKI Kiyokata’s ‘Tsukiji Akashi-cho Town’ (1927). This painting won the Imperial Academy of Fine Arts Prize at the Teiten exhibition in 1927, was frequently exhibited at art exhibitions. It was also used as the design for a postage stamp in 1971 and was widely popular. However, it went missing after an exhibition that took place in 1975. In June, the museum purchased it from an art dealer in Tokyo, together with ‘Shintomi-cho Town’ and ‘Hama-cho Gashi Zone’, which were produced as a trilogy. They are now all in the museum’s collection. The trilogy was on public display at the museum from November 1 to December 15. (Japanese)
On June 24, the Idemitsu Museum of Arts (Marunouchi, Tokyo) announced that it had purchased 190 items from the Etsuko and Joe Price Collection, American collectors of Edo paintings over the years, including ITŌ Jakuchū’s ‘Birds, Animals, and Flowering Plants in Imaginary Scene’, a screen painting where plants and animals are depicted using a different arrangement of squares and colors. The couple had hoped to pass part of their collection to Japan due to their advanced age. (Japanese)
