On October 25, the Japanese government announced five recipients of the Order of Culture and fifteen recipients of the Person of Cultural Merit for the fiscal year 2011. In relation to art, potter ŌHI Toshirō was awarded the Order of Culture, and ceramic artist IMAI Masayuki, sculptor HASHIMOTO Kentarō, and calligrapher HIBINO Kōhō were awarded the Person of Cultural Merit. (Japanese)
On March 18, the Council for Cultural Affairs (Commissioner: NISHIHARA Suzuko) submitted a report on 43 assets to be designated as Important Cultural Properties to TAKAKI Yoshiaki, Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology. The list includes ‘Mother and Child (母子)’ by nihonga artist UEMURA Shōen (National Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo). The Council for Cultural Affairs also recommended that 194 structures, including the Main Worship Hall of Tsukiji Hongwanji temple (Chūō Ward, Tokyo), as well as two artworks to be registered as Registered Tangible Cultural Properties. (Japanese)
On June 1, the ‘Act on the Indemnification of Damage to Works of Art in Exhibition’, promulgated on April 4, came into force. This legislation enables the government to compensate for damage to exhibited artworks up to a maximum of ¥95 billion, allowing more citizens to appreciate outstanding artworks, which had been under consideration since the 1990s, against a backdrop of rising art valuations and soaring insurance premiums. Following the law’s implementation, the first exhibition to be applied was the exhibition titled ‘Goya: Lights and Shadows’ (National Museum of Western Art), opening in October, and the exhibition titled ‘Jackson Pollock: A Centennial Retrospective’ (Aichi Prefectural Museum of Art), opening in November. (Japanese)
On October 25, the exhibition titled ‘Honen and Shinran: Treasures Related to the Great Masters of the Kamakura Buddhism’ opened at the Tokyo National Museum (until December 4). It commemorated the 800th anniversary of the passing of Hōnen, founder of the Jōdō sect of Buddhism, and the 750th anniversary of the passing of Shinran, founder of the Jōdo Shinshū of Buddhism. It gathered outstanding works from related temples, displaying approximately 190 works and materials, including around one hundred National Treasures and Important Cultural Properties. It consisted of four chapters: Chapter 1 ‘The Founders and Their Teachings’; Chapter 2 ‘Illustrated Biographies of Honen and Shinran’; Chapter 3 ‘Honen and His Fellows, and Shinran and His Fellows’; and Chapter 4 ‘The Spread of Pure Land Teachings’. This exhibition marked the first occasion on which renowned treasures associated with the two founders were brought together in one place. (Japanese)
On March 25, the exhibition titled ‘AOKI Shigeru – Myth, Sea and Love’ opened at the Ishibashi Museum of Art (until May 15). Commemorating the centenary of the death of painter AOKI Shigeru, who left a significant mark on Japanese Romanticism in Modern Japanese art and died in 1911, the exhibition traced the full scope of his work and the transition of its reception to the present day, featuring 224 artworks as well as 61 related materials. It represented a project that drew upon the accumulated research on AOKI Shigeru into a single presentation, which consisted of five chapters: Chapter 1 ‘His Debut’; Chapter 2 ‘The Fertile Sea’; Chapter 3 ‘Mythology Depicted’; Chapter 4 ‘Wandering in Kyushu and Death’; and Chapter 5 ‘The Posthumous Legend Forms’. It subsequently toured to the National Museum of Modern Art, Kyoto (May 27 – July 10) and the Bridgestone Museum of Art (July 17 – September 4). (Japanese)
On June 17, the recipients of the 6th Western Art Foundation for Promotion Award Prize, which publicly honor individuals and institutions 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 Award for Individuals was awarded to ŌYA Mina (for the exhibition titled ‘Exhibition of Frank Brangwyn’, held at the National Museum of Western Art) and KAMIYA Yukie (for the exhibition titled ‘Simon Starling: Project for a Masquerade (Hiroshima)’, held at the Hiroshima City Museum of Contemporary Art). The Cultural Promotion Award for Institutions was given to Mitsubishi Estate (for the exhibition titled ‘Manet and Modern Paris’, held at the Mitsubishi Ichigokan Museum, Tokyo). (Japanese)
On October 25, the exhibition titled ‘Honen and Shinran: Treasures Related to the Great Masters of the Kamakura Buddhism’ opened at the Tokyo National Museum (until December 4). It commemorated the 800th anniversary of the passing of Hōnen, founder of the Jōdō sect of Buddhism, and the 750th anniversary of the passing of Shinran, founder of the Jōdo Shinshū of Buddhism. It gathered outstanding works from related temples, displaying approximately 190 works and materials, including around one hundred National Treasures and Important Cultural Properties. It consisted of four chapters: Chapter 1 ‘The Founders and Their Teachings’; Chapter 2 ‘Illustrated Biographies of Honen and Shinran’; Chapter 3 ‘Honen and His Fellows, and Shinran and His Fellows’; and Chapter 4 ‘The Spread of Pure Land Teachings’. This exhibition marked the first occasion on which renowned treasures associated with the two founders were brought together in one place. (Japanese)
On March 29, the government budged for the fiscal year 2011 (Heisei 23) was passed. The budget for the Agency for Cultural Affairs was ¥103.127 billion, 1.1% or ¥1.13 billion more than the previous year. The budget is divided into three principal projects as follows: 1. creation and utilization of rich culture and arts and cultivation of human resources; 2. preservation, utilization and succession of Japan’s precious cultural properties; and 3. dissemination of Japan’s outstanding culture and arts / promotion of international cultural exchange. In particular, as ‘Special Framework for Revitalizing a Vibrant Japan’, a total of ¥13.3 billion was allocated to the following items: Project 1 ‘Project for Cultivating Next-Generation Artists through Culture and Arts’; Project 2 ‘Projects for Tourism Promotion and Regional Revitalization Utilizing Cultural Heritage’; and Project 3 ‘Creative Japan Outreach Project’. (Japanese)
The exhibition titled ‘Kikuhata Mokuma kaiko ten – Sengo / Kaiga’ opened at the Fukuoka Art Museum (July 9 – August 28) and the Nagasaki Prefectural Art Museum (July 16 – August 13). They traced the works of KIKUHATA Mokuma, one of the leading figures in postwar Japanese art, from his debut to the present day. To comprehensively showcase the full scope of KIKUHATA’s diverse output – encompassing objets d’ art, paintings, drawings, and television programs, the exhibitions were divided across two venues: the Fukuoka City Museum focuses on the ‘postwar’ period, primarily showcasing objets d’ art, while the Nagasaki Prefectural Art Museum presented the ‘paintings’ section, including major works from the mid-1980s onwards. Each venue functioned as an independent exhibition, allowing visitors to appreciate the works in this distinct format. After gaining attention in the 1950s as a leading figure of the ‘Kyūshū School (Kyūshū-ha)’, KIKUHATA engaged in writing and television program production, distancing himself from the so-called art world for approximately twenty years from the late 1960s. His trajectory, marked by the successive unveiling of large-scale paintings from the mid-1980s onwards, reflected how the avant-garde movements that emerged across postwar Japan transformed within the new art world order centered on major cities, following the Expo ’70 and the period of high economic growth. His works raised questions that prompted a reconsideration of postwar art. (Japanese)
On November 11, the exhibition titled ‘Jackson Pollock: A Centennial Retrospective’ opened at the Aichi Prefectural Museum of Art (until January 22, 2012). It showcased the full scope of Jackson Pollock’s artistic career, renowned as the first American artist to gain international acclaim through his technique of splashing paint across large canvases. It consisted of four chapters: Chapter 1 ‘Finding His Way, 1930 – 1941’; Chapter 2 ‘Engaging with Modern Art, 1942 – 1946’; Chapter 3 ‘Breaking New Ground, 1947 – 1950’; and Chapter 4 ‘In Anguish, 1951 – 1956’. It traced the process leading to his unique style and subsequent experimental developments. It marked the first comprehensive introduction of Pollock’s work in Japan with approximately 70 works on display, combining all his pieces held in Japan with major works from overseas institutions such as the Museum of Modern Art, New York City. The exhibition subsequently toured to the National Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo (February 10 – May 6, 2012). (Japanese)
On April 1, KONDŌ Seiichi, Commissioner for Cultural Affairs, issued a message entitled ‘Call for your cooperation in saving and recovering cultural properties damaged by the Tohoku-Pacific Ocean Earthquake’, calling upon the public to contribute through donations and other forms of support. (Japanese)
On July 11, the laureates of the 23rd 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, Bill Viola (USA) in the Painting category, Anish Kapoor (United Kingdom) in the Sculpture category, and Ricardo Legorreta (Mexico) in the Architecture category. (Japanese)
On November 15, the exhibition titled ‘Undressing Paintings: Japanese Nudes 1880-1945’ opened at the National Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo (until January 15, 2012). It traced how Japanese artists depicted naked figures after embracing Western nude painting, featuring 98 artworks, primarily oil paintings. It consisted of three chapters: Chapter 1 ‘Creating the Nude’ covered the mid-to-late Meiji period when Japanese artists forged an ideal body image based on Western art; Chapter 2 ‘Deconstructing the Nude’, examined the Taishō period when body images were deformed or fragmented; and Chapter 3 ‘The Nude Anew’, focused on the 1920s to 1940s when reconstructed body images were depicted. The exhibition outlined the process by which the genre of ‘nude’ was established, despite friction with society such as the Nude Painting Controversy. It adopted an original approach that considered not only the modelling of the body image, but also perspectives such as the location of the nude and distinctions between standing and reclining figures. (Japanese)
Following the Agency for Cultural Affairs’ announcement on the ‘Project on Salvaging Cultural Properties and Other Materials from the Great East Japan Earthquake’ (Cultural Property Rescue Programme) on March 30, the Cultural Property Rescue Programme was launched to protect cultural properties damaged in the Great East Japan Earthquake, with its secretariat established within the Tokyo National Research Institute for Cultural Properties. Regardless of national or local designation status, this project targeted movable cultural properties and artworks, undertaking their rescue and emergency treatment, and providing temporary storage until they can be returned to their owners. The National Institutes for Cultural Heritage as well as nationwide organizations that own cultural properties and artworks participated in this initiative, conducting joint relief operations with the affected prefectures. (Japanese)
On July 15, the Council for Cultural Affairs (Commissioner: NISHIHARA Suzuko) submitted a report on 178 structures to be designated as Registered Tangible Cultural Properties to TAKAKI Yoshiaki, Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology. The list includes the Kamiya Bar Main Hall (Taitō Ward, Tokyo), considered the first bar in Asakusa, Tokyo, and the Yūbari Rokumeikan (Yūbari City, Hokkaidō), a reception facility reflecting the prosperity of the Yūbari coal mines. Meanwhile, they requested the withdrawal of the designation as an Important Cultural Properties for the water tank section of the Ishioka No. 1 Power Plant (Kitaibaraki City and Takahagi City), which had been severely damaged in the Great East Japan Earthquake. (Japanese)
On November 18, the Council for Cultural Affairs (Commissioner: NISHIHARA Suzuko) submitted a report on the following places to be designated as Places of Scenic Beauty or Historic Sites to NAKAGAWA Masaharu, Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology. The list includes five places such as Jōdogahama (Miyako City, Iwate Prefecture), damaged by the tsunami caused by the Great East Japan Earthquake, to be designated as Places of Scenic Beauty; and eight places such as the precinct of Iwashimizu Hachimangū shrine (Yawata City, Kyoto Prefecture), where Imperial family members and aristocrats visited since the Heian period, to be designated as Historic Sites; three places such as Moriaishi teien (Miyako City), constructed by a wealthy merchant of the Sanriku region, to be registered as Registered Monuments; and the cultural landscape of Shinkamigotō kitauome (Shinkamigotō Town, Nagasaki Prefecture), where a fishing port and farming village coexist in a narrow area on the island, to be selected as an Important Cultural Landscape. Meanwhile, the Council recommended the withdrawal of the designation as Registered Tangible Cultural Properties for six structures such as Rokkakudō, Izura Institute of Art and Culture, Ibaraki University, damaged in the Great East Japan Earthquake. (Japanese)
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)