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 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 Academy 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 recipients of the 52nd Mainichi Art Award (sponsored by the Mainichi Newspapers Co.), an annual award given to outstanding individuals in art and culture, were announced. In relation to art, the award was given to ceramic artist AKIYAMA Yō for his solo exhibition titled ‘Yo Akiyama’, held at Art Court Gallery, Osaka; and artist MORIMURA Yasumasa for his solo exhibition titled ‘A Requiem: Art on Top of the Battlefield’, held at the Tokyo Photographic Art Museum and other venues. (Japanese)
