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 July 8, as part of Phase 1, Project 2 of the Heisei Renovations (2013-2018), the restoration of the National Treasure, Yōmeimon Gate at Nikkō Tōshōgū began. The work involved repainting the sculptures, metal fittings and the exterior of the entire building. In July, the wooden panels, called hameita, on the east and west walls, which had been decorated with peony relief carvings, were removed to reveal tōyu makie on the wall beneath them. KANŌ Yūsei painted their sketches during the restoration in the Hōreki era. They were opened to the public in November. (Japanese)
On January 1, the winners of the 54th Mainichi Art Award (sponsored by the Mainichi Newspapers Co.), the annual award given to outstanding individuals in art and culture, were announced. In relation to art, painter TATSUNO Toeko won for her exhibitions titled ‘Ataerareta keishō’ and ‘Tatsuno Toeko: Aki no Yūrinsō tokubetsu kōkai’. Photographer ARAKI Nobuyoshi was given Special Award for establishing ‘photobook culture (shashinshū bunka)’ that was represented at his exhibition ‘Araki Nobuyoshi shashinshū ten: Arākī’. (Japanese)
On January 12, the exhibition titled ‘Jikken Kōbō: Experimental Workshop’ opened at the Museum of Modern Art, Kamakura (until March 24). It was a comprehensive introduction of Jikken Kōbō, a group of young artists formed in 1951 to cross genres such as art, music, lighting and literature. It revealed a fuller picture of the group, who had not been researched since their activities crossed several genres of expression. It travelled to the Iwaki City Art Museum (April 20 – June 2), the Toyama Prefectural Museum of Art and Design (July 13 – September 8), the Kitakyushu Municipal Museum of Art, Riverside Gallery (October 5 – November 10) and the Setagaya Art Museum (November 23 – January 26, 2014). (Japanese)
From January 15 to 18, 2013 CIHA Colloquium titled ‘Between East and West: Reproductions in Art’, organized by the Japanese Committee for CIHA, the Otsuka Museum of Art and the Japan Art History Society, was held at the Otsuka Museum of Art in Naruto, Tokushima Prefecture. It was the first time held in Japan in 22 years since the 1991 Colloquium was hosted in Tokyo. The Colloquium consisted of three sections: ‘Western Art’, ‘East Asian and Japanese Art’ and ‘Comparative and Cross-Cultural Approaches in Art History’. Researchers from Japan and abroad took part in the colloquium, which brought together the latest research on ‘reproduction’ in the world. (Japanese)
On February 6, the winner of the 38th Kimura Ihei Award (sponsored by the Asahi Shimbun Company and the Asahi Shimbun Publications Inc.), the award given to exceptional new photographers in honor of photographer KIMURA Ihei’s achievements, was announced. The award was shared between KIKUCHI Tomoko and DODO Arata. KIKUCHI received the award for her work ‘I and I’, displayed at the group exhibition titled ‘somewhere between me and this world – Japanese contemporary photography’ at the Tokyo Photographic Art Museum while DODO was awarded for his photobook ‘Taigan ’(Akaaka Art Publishing Inc) and his exhibition ‘Taigan’ held at galleries such as the Ginza Nikon Salon. (Japanese)
