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).
The exhibition titled ‘Kansai Chinese Painting and Calligraphy Collections’, a collaborative project by nine neighboring exhibition venues to present an overview of Chinese painting collections located in the Kansai region, commenced with the exhibition titled ‘Celebrating Fifty Years of the Ueno Collection at the Kyoto National Museum: Spirit of Brush and Ink: The World of Chinese Paintings and Calligraphies’, held at the Kyoto National Museum from January 8 to February 20. The nine neighboring exhibition venues were Chōkaidō Museum; Kurokawa Institute of Ancient Cultures; Kampo Museum; Kuboso Memorial Museum of Arts, Izumi; Sen-oku Hakukokan Museum; Fuji Saiseikai Yūrinkan; Osaka City Museum of Fine Arts; and Museum Yamato Bunkakan. This series of exhibitions provided an opportunity to view outstanding Chinese artworks from the collections of UENO Riichi, ABE Fusajirō, YAMAMOTO Teijirō, KUROKAWA Kōshichi, FUJII Zensuke, YASHIRO Yukio, SUMA Yakichirō, SUMITOMO Kanichi, HASHIMOTO Suekichi, HARADA Kanpō, and HAYASHI Munetake. It also attracted attention as a collaborative project undertaken by neighboring institutions. (Japanese)
The Denchū Hirakushi Award (sponsored by Ibara City, Okayama Prefecture), established to commemorate HIRAKUSHI Denchū’s achievements along with the promotion of wood carvings in Japan, announced that the 25th winner was ODANI Motohiko. He was awarded for his international achievements, including representing Japan at the Venice Biennale, which were recognized for pioneering new frontiers in the field of sculpture for the new era. (Japanese)
Welcoming ŌSAKA Eriko as General Director and MIKI Akiko as Artistic Director, the Yokohama Triennale, now in its fourth edition as it marks its tenth anniversary since its founding, took place from August 6 to November 6 at the Yokohama Museum of Art as its main venue. Centered the theme ‘OUR MAGIC HOUR – How much of the World Can We Know? – ’, it raised questions about the limits of modern scientific understanding of the work, intending to turn our gaze towards that which cannot be captured by science or reason. Aligned under the keywords ‘look’, ‘nurture’ and ‘connect’, it aimed not only at contemporary art but also at other genres and past artworks. It sought to deepen the act of viewing art, to invigorate both the power to create and the power to see, and to emphasize connections with the local communities. Alongside the main that displayed artworks by 79 artists across 77 art groups, collaborative projects included ‘BankART Life III: Shin Minatomura’ and ‘Koganecho Bazaar 2011’, attracting 330,000 visitors. (Japanese)
On December 1, the International Council on Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS) announced at its General Assembly held at the headquarters of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) in Paris, France, that the Gazzola Prize had been awarded to ITŌ Nobuo, an honorary member of the Japanese ICOMOS National Committee. The recognition honored his longstanding contributions as a bridge among Japan, Asia and the wider world. He advocated that the methods and traditions for preserving and restoring wooden architecture in Asia differ from those for European masonry structures, calling for understanding and respect for this diversity. He also contributed significantly to the adoption of new international standards for the protection of historic buildings. He is the second Japanese recipient of the award, following SEKINO Masaru in 1987. (Japanese)
On February 15, Kōzanji temple and the Kyoto National Museum announced that the third (hei) of the four-volume of emaki scrolls ‘Chōjū jinbutsu giga’ (so-called Chōju giga), owned by Kōzanji temple in Kyoto, had originally been ten sheets of washi paper with drawings on both sides, which was discovered during conservation work. These ten sheets then had been separated into twenty individual sheets and mounted into an emaki scroll. According to the temple’s records, it is believed that the scroll was assembled during the early Edo period. (Japanese)
On April 15, the Council for Cultural Affairs (Commissioner: NISHIHARA Suzuko) submitted a report on eight assets to be designated as Important Cultural Properties to TAKAKI Yoshiaki, the Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology. The list includes Yusuhara hachimangū (Ōita City), notable for its distinctive layout of buildings within the shrine precincts and the form of its main hall, and the Meiji Memorial Picture Gallery (Shinjuku Ward, Tokyo), the central facility of the Meiji Jingū Gaien. In addition to the list, three districts, including the Asuke district in Toyota City, Aichi Prefecture, were also suggested to be selected as Important Preservation Districts for Groups of Traditional Buildings. (Japanese)
On August 30, the exhibition titled ‘Celebrating the 250th anniversary of Sakai Hoitsu’s Birth: Sakai Hoitsu and the Edo Rimpa School’ opened at the Himeji City Museum of Art (until October 2). It showcased artworks by SAKAI Hōitsu – who flourished in Edo in the late eighteenth century, admiring the style of artists in Kyoto such as TAWARAYA Sōtatsu and OGATA Kōrin – and Edo Rimpa artists who inherited his style. The exhibition displayed 338 works, including around 160 works by Hōitsu, such as his representative painting ‘Flowering Plants of Summer and Autumn (夏秋草図屏風)’, and around 60 works by his student SUZUKI Kiitsu. This was complemented by related materials and works by artists such as IKEDA Koson, SAKAI Ōho, and SUZUKI Shuitsu, who linked to the modern era. The exhibition consisted of nine chapters: Chapter 1 ‘Himeji sakaike to Hōitsu (The Himeji Sakai Family and Hōitsu)’; Chapter 2 ‘Ukiyo-e seisaku to kyōka (Ukiyo-e Production and Kyōka)’; Chapter 3 ‘Kōrin gafū e no keitō (Devotion to the Kōrin Style)’; Chapter 4 ‘Edo bunka no naka no Hōitsu (Hōitsu within Edo Culture)’; Chapter 5 ‘Ugean Hōitsu no butsuga seisaku (Hōitsu’s Buddhist Painting Production at Ugean)’; Chapter 6 ‘Edo rimpa no kakuritsu (The Establishment of the Edo Rimpa School)’; Chapter 7 ‘Kōgei ishō no tenkai (The Development of Kōgei Designs)’; Chapter 8 ‘Suzuki Kiitsu to sono shūhen (Suzuki Kiitsu and His Circle)’; and Chapter 9 ‘Edo rimpa no suimyaku (The Watercourse of the Edo Rimpa)’. The exhibition subsequently toured to the Chiba City Museum of Art (October 10 – November 13) and the Hosomi Museum (April 10 – May 13, 2012) (Japanese)
On December 1, the Japan Art Academy (Director: MIURA Shumon) announced that four new members had been elected to join their ranks for their distinguished artistic achievements. In relation to art, lacquer artist ITŌ Hiroshi was elected. It was officially announced by NAKAGAWA Masaharu, Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology, on December 15. (Japanese)
On March 8, the exhibition titled, ‘Okamoto Taro – The 100th anniversary of His Birth’, opened at the National Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo (until May 8). Commemorating the centenary of the birth of OKAMOTO Tarō, renowned for works including the ‘Tower of the Sun’, known as the symbol of Expo ’70, the exhibition offered a retrospective overview of his entire oeuvre, featuring approximately 130 works. It consisted of nine sections: Prologue ‘Non!’; Chapter 1 ‘Confrontation with Picasso’; Chapter 2 ‘Confrontation with “Pretty” Art’; Chapter 3 ‘Confrontation with “Wabi-Sabi”’; Chapter 4 ‘Confrontation with “Progress and Harmony for Mankind”’; Chapter 5 ‘Confrontation with the War’; Chapter 6 ‘Confrontation with the Consumer Society’; Chapter 7 ‘Confrontation with Okamoto Taro’; and Epilogue ‘The Spirit of Okamoto Taro Inherited’. The exhibition traced his consistent challenge to established values chronologically. Amidst recent vigorous reappraisals, including the opening of the Taro Okamoto Memorial Museum and Taro Okamoto Museum of Art, Kawasaki, this exhibition became an ambitious project seeking to reconsider Okamoto’s contemporary position. (Japanese)
On April 26, the Japan Art Academy (Director: MIURA Shumon) announced the recipients of the 67th Japan Art Academy Prize. In the Fine Arts category, the Imperial Prize and In the Fine Arts category were given to YAMAZAKI Takao (for his nihonga painting titled ‘Kaikō’, exhibited at a Nitten exhibition). In the same category, the Japan Art Prize was shared between KURODA Kenichi (for his calligraphy, titled ‘Ogurayama’, exhibited at a Nitten exhibition) and FURUYA Nobuaki (for his architectural design ‘Chino Cultural Complex’). (Japanese)
The exhibition titled ‘Omi: Spiritual Home of Kami and Hotoke’ opened, which showcased Buddhist and Shinto artifacts from Shiga Prefecture across three venues simultaneously: the exhibition titled ‘The Path to Tendai Buddhism – In Search of the Eternal Śākyamuni Buddha –’ was held at MIHO MUSEUM in Shigaraki (September 3 – December 11); the exhibition titled ‘Inori no kuni, Ōmi no butsuzō – Kodai kara chūsei e’ was held at the Shiga Prefectural Museum of Modern Art in Seta (September 17 – November 20); and the exhibition titled ‘Hiyoshi no kami to matsuri’ was held at the Otsu City Museum of History in Ōtsu (October 8 – November 23). The Ōmi region, where mountains encircle Lake Biwa, fostered ancient beliefs revering nature. When Buddhism was introduced from outside of Japan, Buddhist art flourished centered Mount Hiei. The exhibition ‘The Path to Tendai Buddhism’ featured 104 works organized into eight chapters: ‘The Passing of Shakyamuni’; ‘Cause and Effect of the Birth of Shakyamuni’; ‘Mahayana Bodhisattvas’; ‘Buddhas in Various Paradises’; ‘A Universe Filled with Buddhas’; ‘Buddhism in the Nara Period’; ‘Lotus Sutra and Saicho’; and ‘After Saicho and the Rise of Tendai Esotericism’. The exhibition ‘Inori no kuni, Ōmi no butsuzō’ displayed 57 Buddhist statues from the early Heian period to the Muromachi period. The exhibition ‘Hiyoshi no kami to matsuri’ presented 101 works across two chapters: ‘Kamigami no sugata (The Forms of the Deities)’ and ‘Hiyoshi sannōsai (The Hiyoshi Sannō Festival)’. The exhibitions served to impress upon visitors the richness of Shinto and Buddhist art in the Ōmi region. They also drew attention as an initiative where three neighboring museums presented simultaneously held exhibitions under the same theme. (Japanese)
On December 10, the exhibition titled ‘The World of Ishiko Junzō: From Art via Manga to Kitsch’ opened at the Fuchu Art Museum (until February 26, 2012). It revisited the full scope of work by ISHIKO Junzō, who was active as a contemporary art critic during Japan’s turbulent high-growth period. It consisted of three chapters: ‘Bijutsu (Art)’; ‘Manga’; and ‘Kitsch’. This densely packed exhibition, comprising 130 works, explored ISHIKO’s approach of questioning established artistic values and evaluating works through a ‘process of digging deeper and deeper downwards’. (Japanese)
On February 9, the winner of the 36th Kimura Ihei Award (sponsored by the Asahi Shimbun and Asahi Shimbun Publications), the award given to exceptional new photographers in honor to photographer KIMURA Ihei’s achievements, was announced. The award was given to SHIMOZONO Eiko for her photobook titled ‘Kizuna’ and the photographic exhibition of the same title. Her work, featuring women of her own generation, friends, and families as subjects, was highly commended for its style imbued with the sense of absurd. (Japanese)
On April 27, the Agency for Cultural Affairs announced the ‘Implementation guidance for the Great East Japan Earthquake Disaster-Affected Cultural Property Buildings Restoration Support Project’. In cooperation with education boards in the areas affected by the Great East Japan Earthquake, the Architectural Institute of Japan, and other relevant organizations, it launched the ‘Great East Japan Earthquake Disaster-Affected Cultural Property Buildings Restoration Support Project’ (Cultural Heritage Doctor Dispatch Project). This project involves dispatching specialists to assist with the restoration of disaster-affected cultural property buildings. (Japanese)
Due to Typhoon No. 12 (Talas), made landfall in Japan from September 3 to 4, Kumano Nachi Taisha in Wakayama Prefecture suffered damage. Part of its shrine building (Important Cultural Property) was buried by landslides from the mountain behind it, and part of the roof was also damaged. Furthermore, part of the cypress bark roof of the Zaōdō (main hall; National Treasure) of Kinpusenji temple in Nara Prefecture was also peeled off. (Japanese)
The Domon Ken Award (sponsored by the Mainichi Newspapers Co.), an award for a photographer who has made excellent achievements in the previous year, announced that the 30th winner was ISHIKAWA Naoki. The award was given for his photobook titled ‘CORONA’ (Seidosha), focusing on Polynesia in the South Pacific, was highly commended for in recognition of its consistent them exploring the new state of the world where countless centers coexist rather than a single, powerful central one, alongside his vigorous photographic endeavors. (Japanese)
On April 29, the exhibition titled ‘Five Hundred Disciples of Buddha by Kano Kazunobu, Zojoji Temple Treasures: Buddhist Images and the Artist Kano Kazunobu at the End of the Edo Period’ opened at the Edo-Tokyo Museum (until July 3). It brought together the complete set of one hundred scrolls depicting the Five Hundred Arhats painted mainly by the late-Edo period artist KANŌ Kazunobu, which was devoted to Zōjōji temple, alongside other works by Kazunobu, depicting the Five Hundred Arhats. Originally scheduled to open on March 15, the exhibition was postponed due to the Great East Japan Earthquake that occurred on March 11. Commemorating the 800th anniversary of the death of Hōnen, the special exhibition featured the complete Zōjōji temple collection – previously only partially displayed due to the large scale of the works. It offered a rare opportunity to appreciate the profoundly distinctive artistic style of KANŌ Kazunobu, characterized by his rich use of Western-inspired perspective and chiaroscuro techniques. (Japanese)
On September 27, the exhibition titled ‘The Splendor of the Khitan Dynasty’ opened at the Kyushu National Museum (until November 27). It introduced the culture of the Khitan (Liao), who ruled present-day Inner Mongolia for 200 years from the early tenth century. It consisted of four chapters: Chapter 1 ‘Bajō no geijutsu (Art on Horseback)’; Chapter 2 ‘Daitō no ifū (The Legacy of the Great Tang)’; Chapter 3 ‘Sōgen toshi (Steppe Cities)’; and Chapter 4 ‘Sōten no bukkokudo (The Buddha’s Realm)’. Comprising approximately 130 items, including ornaments and artifacts associated with three imperial women, the exhibition revealed the fusion of Tang culture – which collapsed almost simultaneously with the Khitan unification – and the culture of the steppe nomads. This exhibition proved its significance, contributing to comparative studies of East Asian art forms. It subsequently toured to the Shizuoka Prefectural Museum of Art (December 17 – March 4, 2012) and the University Art Museum, Tokyo University of the Arts (July 12 – September 17, 2012) (Japanese)
The Great East Japan Earthquake that struck on March 11 caused damage and collapse to numerous cultural properties in the Tōhoku and Kantō regions. The number of nationally designated cultural properties affected reached 744. At Zuiganji temple in Matsushima Town, Miyagi Prefecture, part of the wall of the temple’s living quarter (National Treasure) collapsed. At the former Kōdōkan in Mito City, Ibaraki Prefecture (Special Historic Site and Important Cultural Property), the student alarm bell was completely destroyed. Damage from the tsunami triggered by the earthquake was also extensive. The Rokkakudō, part of the Izura Institute of Arts and Culture at the Ibaraki University, in Kitaibaraki City, Ibaraki Prefecture (Registered Tangible Cultural Property), was swept away, leaving only its foundations. Art galleries and museums also suffered damage from the earthquake and tsunami. The Ishinomaki Cultural Center saw its first floor almost completely destroyed by the direct impact of the tsunami. The Rikuzentakata City Museum was left only its building structure standing, with all its collections suffering water damage from the tsunami. (Japanese)
On May 1, the special exhibition titled ‘SHARAKU’ opened at the Tokyo National Museum (until June 12). It showcased 142 woodblock prints by the enigmatic ukiyo-e artist TŌSHŪSAI Sharaku, who vanished just ten months after his striking debut. Originally scheduled to open on April 5, the exhibition was postponed due to the Great East Japan Earthquake that struck on March 11. It consisted of five chapters: Chapter 1 ‘Sharaku izen no yakusha-e (Yakusha-e Prints before Sharaku)’; Chapter 2 ‘Sharaku o umidashita Tsutaya Jūzaburō (Tsutaya Jūzaburō, the Man Who Produced Sharaku)’; Chapter 3 ‘Sharaku no zenbō (The Complete Works of Sharaku)’; Chapter 4 ‘Sharaku to raibaru (Sharaku and His Rivals)’; and Chapter 5 ‘Sharaku no zanei (Afterimage of Sharaku)’. The exhibition identified the actors and plays depicted by comparing the prints with theatre programs and traced the chronological evolution of Sharaku’s artistic career according to the performance dates. Alongside works by other ukiyo-e artists depicting the same roles, this substantial exhibition highlighted the distinctive characteristics of Sharaku’s artistic style. (Japanese)
