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 March 24, the Hyatt Foundation announced that BAN Shigeru had been chosen as a winner of the Pritzker Architecture Prize, an annual award to honor outstanding architects, which is often referred to as the Nobel Prize of architecture. BAN’s design abounds in originality and ingenuity, which is reflected in his works such as the Centre Pompidou-Metz in north-eastern France. In addition, he has travelled to disaster-stricken areas over the world where he designed and constructed recyclable shelters and houses at low cost with local residents. As such his achievements were highly praised. (Japanese)
On July 29, the Nitten announced the final reform proposal of its organization, a panel of judges and judgement, and exhibition management after the previous year’s revelation of organizational corruption that led to a number of prizes in the Calligraphy section being distributed to dominant groups in advance. Impartial judgements, such as the introduction of external judges and recording the whole process of judging, were indicated and the title of the Nitten exhibition in the fiscal year 2014 would be renamed ‘the First Reorganized New Nitten’. (Japanese)
ICOMOS (International Council on Monuments and Sites) Japan established the ICOMOS Japan Prize as well as the ICOMOS Japan Honorable Mention Award. The ICOMOS Japan prize aims to encourage the preservation and conservation of structures, groups of historic buildings, cultural landscapes, monuments and historic ruins as well as historic sites. The ICOMOS Japan Honorable Mention Award is specifically aimed at young researchers and encourages their academic research. On December 13, the first winners were announced. The ICOMOS Japan Prizes were shared between TAHARA Yukio, who served as Project Architect for the preservation and restoration of the Tokyo Station Marunouchi Building Project; and the Cultural Asset Garden Conservation Engineer Council (President: MIZUMOTO Takanobu) which has protected gardens of Cultural Properties and continues to hand down maintenance techniques to future generations. SHIMIZU Atsunobu, whose monograph is titled ‘Kenchiku hozon gainen no seiseishi’ (published by Chūō kōron bijutsu shuppan, 2013), received the ICOMOS Japan Honorable Mention Award. (Japanese)
On March 27, regarding a preservation project of the Takamatsuzuka Tomb located in Asuka Village, Nara Prefecture, the investigation committee of the Agency for Cultural Affairs decided that the murals of National Treasures would not be reinstated in the tomb for a while even after the restoration had completed, which had been expected to finish in the fiscal year 2017. Instead, they would be preserved and shown to the public outside of the tomb. Primary reasons given were failure to establish techniques to restrain molds as well as difficulties in reconstructing the stone burial chamber using damaged stones. (Japanese)
Welcoming the artist MORIMURA Yasumasa as Artistic Director, the fifth Yokohama Triennale was held from August 1 to November 3 at the Yokohama Museum of Art and Shinko Pier Exhibition Hall as its main venues. Titled ‘Art Fahrenheit 451: Sailing into the sea of oblivion’, 79 artists participated. With the concept of the picking up abandoned objects, people as well as places in modern society where wealth and information are unevenly distributed, the Yokohama Triennale raised questions about the current situation where the nation bristled with international exhibitions. (Japanese)
On December 24, the winners of the VOCA Prize, which encourages young artists who create two-dimensional artworks, were announced. The Grand Prize of the VOCA was given to ONO Kōseki (‘Hundred Layers of Colors’). KISHI Kōta and MIZUNO Rina jointly received the VOCA Encouragement Prize. MATAUOKA Gaku and MATAUDAIRA Rina jointly received the VOCA Honorable Mention Prize. The Ohara Museum of Art Prize was given to KAWAKUBO Yoi. The VOCA exhibition 2015, where the winners’ works were exhibited, was held at the Ueno Royal Museum in Tokyo from March 15 to March 30 in 2015. (Japanese)
On April 2, a memorial ceremony was held at the Phoenix Hall (National Treasure) of Byōdōin temple to celebrate the reconstruction of the hall after the completion of the first major repair work in 56 years. The inside of the hall was reopened to the public the following day after a period of almost a year and a half closure. The repair work that began in 2012 included exchanging damaged roof tiles to matte antique looking tiles and recoating doors and pillars with red ochre (nitsuchi). (Japanese)
On August 11, part of a photographic artwork by TAKANO Ryūdai at the exhibition titled ‘Photography Will Be’ held at the Aichi Prefectural Museum of Art (August 1 – September 28) was classified as obscene and the artwork as ordered to be removed by the Aichi Prefectural Police. An anonymous tip to the Aichi Prefectural Police pointed out that male genitals were photographed in the artwork. Although the museum had already segregated the artwork and displayed notices, the exhibition continued with part of the photograph being covered with cloth-like material, which prompted a heated debate about freedom of expression at museums. (Japanese)
A special exhibition titled ‘Mural Paintings of the Kitora Tumulus’ opened at the Tokyo National Museum on April 22 (until May 18). Mural paintings of the Kitora Tumulus located in Asuka Village, Nara Prefecture, had been removed for conservation purposes whilst the restoration was being carried out. Among the four divine animals, three divine animals, Red Phoenix, White Tiger and Black Snake-tortoise, as well as Rat and Ox from the twelve zodiac animals were exhibited before the mural paintings that were removed would be restored into the walls. This was the first time that the mural paintings from the Kitora Tumulus were exhibited outside of Asuka Village. (Japanese)
On September 13, Heisei Chishinkan Wing at the Kyoto National Museum opened its doors. Designed by TANIGUCHI Yoshio, it replaced the permanent exhibition building constructed in 1965. the building consists of four above ground stories and two below ground, which provide 3,600 m2 of exhibition space in total. The inaugural exhibition titled ‘Kyoto: Splendors of the Ancient Capital’ (September 13 – November 16) was held to celebrate its opening, which was composed of two installments: the first was titled ‘Portraiture’ and the second was titled ‘Momoyama: The Age of Hideyoshi’. (Japanese)
The winners of the 8th Yomiuri Aoniyoshi Prize (sponsored by the Yomiuri Shimbun with special support from the Japan Society for the Conservation of Cultural Property), which publicly honors individuals and organizations for their outstanding achievements in the fields of conservation science and restoration, were announced. The Aoniyoshi Prize was given to Shōwa-mura karamushi seisan gijutsu hozon kyōkai, which have been not only growing a kind of grass, karamushi (false nettle), raw material of a type of cloth, but also handing down techniques of extracting fibers from false nettles for future generations. A lacquer brush maker, IZUMI Shinkichi (Saitama Prefecture) received the Encouragement Prize. The Special Prize was given to NPO Okinawa Denshōwa Shiryō Center. (Japanese)
On September 23, the exhibition titled ‘Hishida Shunsō: A Retrospective’ opened at the National Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo (until November 3). Commemorating the 140th anniversary of Hishida Shunsō’s birth, the exhibition consisted of 108 works of his artworks including his masterpieces of ‘Wang Zhaojun’, ‘Fallen Leaves’ and ‘Black Cat’. Research outcomes during the preparation period, such as scientific analysis of color materials and reconsideration of production dates for each work with assistance of newly discovered research materials, were reflected in the exhibition itself. (Japanese)
On May 16, the Council for Cultural Affairs (Commissioner: MIYATA Ryōhei) submitted a report on nine buildings to be designated as Important Cultural Properties to SHIMOMURA Hakubun, Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology. The list includes Goeidō (Founder’s Hall) and Amidadō (Hall of Amida Buddha) of Honganji temple in Kyoto which are to be designated as National Treasures, and the Kobe College (Nichinomiya City, Hyōgo Prefecture) and Former Baba Family Ushigome Residence (Shinjuku Ward, Tokyo) which are to be designated as Important Cultural Properties. In addition to the list, two districts, one of which is the historic quarter of storehouses in Murata Town, Miyagi Prefecture, were also suggested to be Important Preservation Districts for Group of Traditional Buildings. (Japanese)
On October 2, the Ueda City Museum of Art (Director: TAKIZAWA Masayuki) opened its doors in Ueda City, Nagano Prefecture. It succeeded the Yamamoto Kanae Memorial Museum, which honored YAMAMOTO Kanae, local yōga painter as well as print artist. Ueda Santomyuze where the museum is located as well as the Cultural and Art Exchange Center that also opened on the same day, was designed by YANAGISAWA Takahiko. The museum comprises special exhibition space (424 m2), permanent exhibition space (272 m2) as well as local residents atelier gallery, atelier and children atelier, where creative activities will take place and artworks by local residents will be exhibited. The inaugural exhibition titled ‘Retrospective of Kanae Yamamoto’s œuvre’ (October 2 – November 9) was held to celebrate its opening. (Japanese)
On May 21, the Japan Art Academy (Director: MIURA Shumon) announced the recipients of the 70th Japan Art Academy Prize though the selection in the Fine Arts category was deferred. The selection results were only made in the categories of Literature as well as Music, Drama and Dance. This was due to concern surrounding the reform of Nitten (Japan Fine Arts Exhibition) after their past corrupt judgements were revealed in 2013. The voting was deferred at the behest of the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology. The situation among others created considerable difficulties of selection in the Fine Arts category. (Japanese)
The winners of the 26 th Annual Kokka Prize, an award for remarkable research on Japanese and East Asian art, were announced. The Kokka Prize was given to a monograph titled ‘Chūsei byōbu-e kenkyū’ (Chūō kōron bijutsu shuppan, 2013) by IZUMI Mari (Shizuoka Prefectural Museum of Art) and another monograph titled ‘Nihon bijutsu ni okeru “sho” no zōkei shi’ (Kasama shoin, 2013) by KASASHIMA Tadayuki (Idemitsu Museum of Arts). The Kokka Encouragement Prize was given to an article titled ‘Myōe shōnin jujō zazenzu zō ni kansuru ichi kōsatsu’ (Bijutsushi, Vol. 175, 2013) by ITŌ Kumi (Tohoku University). The Kokka Exhibition Catalog Prize was given to an exhibition catalog titled ‘Toward the Modernity: Images of Self & Other in East Asian Art’ (Fukuoka Asian Art Museum et al., 2014) by RAWANCHAIKUL Toshiko (Fukuoka Asian Art Museum) et al. (Japanese)
On June 24, a special exhibition titled ‘Treasured Masterpieces from the National Palace Museum, Taipei’ opened at the Tokyo National Museum (until September 15). It was the first ever exhibition that introduced a collection from the National Palace Museum in Taipei on a full scale. Selections of masterpieces of painting, calligraphy, varieties of vessels and literature were exhibited. The exhibition toured to the Kyushu National Museum (October 7 – November 30). (Japanese)
On October 16, the Council for Cultural Affairs (Commissioner: MIYATA Ryōhei ) submitted a report on three buildings of the Tomioka Silk Mill (Tomioka City, Gunma Prefecture), included on the List of UNESCO World Heritage Sites in June, which are to be designated as National Treasures as well as nine buildings which are to be designated as Important Cultural Properties to SHIMOMURA Hakubun, Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology. The list of Important Cultural Properties designation includes Nagoya City Hall built in the early Shōwa era and the building of the Aichi Prefectural Government Office (both located in Nagoya City). The report also includes a request to select the Merchant quarter in Chikuma City, Nagano Prefecture, to be Important Preservation Districts for Groups of Traditional Building. (Japanese)
On June 20, the Council for Cultural Affairs (Commissioner: MIYATA Ryōhei) submitted a report on the following places to be designated as Places of Scenic Beauty or Historic Sites to SHIMOMURA Hakubun, Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology. The list includes five places, such as the Honbō gardens at Tōfukuji temple (Kyoto), to be appointed as Places of Scenic Beauty; nine places, such as Takashima Coal Mine Sites including Hashima Island also known as Gunkanjima (Nagasaki City), to be appointed as Historic Sites; six places, such as the Imai Family garden (Nagano City), to be registered as Registered Monuments; and Lakefront village landscape of Sugaura located in the northernmost of Lake Biwa (Nagahama City, Shiga Prefecture) to be selected as Important Cultural Landscape. Takashima Coal Mine Sites had already been a part of ‘Sites of Japan’s Meiji Industrial Revolution: Iron and Steel, Shipbuilding and Coal Mining’ that the Japanese government endorsed to be registered as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2015. The Japanese government had already prepared to classify the sites as Historic Sites under state care before the UNESCO advisory committee conducted its field investigation. (Japanese)
On October 24, the Japanese government has announced seven recipients of the Order of Culture and 17 recipients of Person of Cultural Merit for the fiscal year 2014. In relation to art, NOMIYAMA Gyōji, yōga painter, was awarded the Order of Culture, and KUNITANI Kōji, another Western-style painter, as well as CHIBA Tetsuya, a manga artist, were awarded Person of Cultural Merit. (Japanese)
