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 January 1, the winners of the 56th 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, ceramic artist KAKUREZAKI Ryūichi won for his exhibition titled ‘Kakurezaki Ryūichi: Serving for Integrity’ held at the Musée Tomo. In Art Category III (Calligraphy), calligrapher FUNAMOTO Sōun was awarded for his calligraphy exhibition titled ‘Shimiiru kokyō: Funamoto Sōun’ held at the Sogo Museum of Art. (Japanese)
On the issue that fine arts designated as national important cultural properties had gone messing, on January 21, the Agency for Cultural Affairs announced that the results of the second investigation revealed that 72 more items of fine art had gone missing, including National Treasures of a sword, ‘meibutsu Inabagō’, and a long sword (tachi) signed by Yoshihira. The total number of missing items reached 180, of which three are National Treasures, including the items missing from the first investigation that took place in July 2014. (Japanese)
After the completion of the full restoration of the ‘Cypress Trees’ screen (National Treasure; Tokyo National Museum collection) that is believed to have been a work of KANŌ Eitoku, painter of the Kanō School, the work was displayed to the public at the Tokyo National Museum from February 17 to March 15. The restoration that took place for a year and half involved in an adjustment of unmatched design in the center part as well as remounting from a single eight-fold screen to a pair of four-fold screens in order to improve safety during storage. In addition, the screen had conventionally been presumed to have originally been decorated on sliding doors in the Hachijō no Miya residence that was constructed by TOYOTOMI Hideyoshi. The restoration this time revealed that kira-kiri-mon (paulownia crest with mica) on the back of the painted paper corresponds with karakami monyō (karakami patterns) of the family of Hachijō no Miya, which heightened the possibilities that it would have been a work created in 1590 (Tenshō 18) by Eitoku who suddenly died after the Hachijō no Miya residence was completed. (Japanese)
On March 4, Bijutsu Shuppan-sha Co., a publisher of art magazines and books such as the monthly magazine ‘Bijutsu techō’, applied to the Tokyo District Court for the bankruptcy protection under the Civil Rehabilitation Law. On top of their heavy financial debt, the publisher’s revenue dropped due to stagnant sales in the publishing industry as a whole. In May, Bijutsu shuppan-sha was able to continue its business under new administration, having Culture Entertainment, a Culture Convenience Club group company, as a new sponsor. (Japanese)
On March 10, 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 27th winner was KUROWARABI Sō. The artist capitalized on the charm of wood carvings and his works represented his earnest efforts to seek a relationship between humans and carvings, which were highly acclaimed. (Japanese)
On March 12, the Agency for Cultural Affairs announced the recipients of the Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology’s Art Encouragement Prize for the fiscal year 2014. In the Fine Arts category, SATŌ Tokihiro, photographer, artist as well as Professor at the Tokyo University of the Arts, (for his exhibition ‘Sato Tokihiro: Presence or Absence’) and NAKAMURA Kazumi, Professor at the Tama Art University, (for his exhibition ‘Nakamura Kazumi’) shared the prize. NOMURA Masato, Professor at the Gakushuin University, was awarded for his monograph ‘Fūshi gaka Guranbiru: Tekisuto to imēji no 19 seiki’ in the Criticism category. Artist TAKATANI Shirō was awarded for his solo exhibitions such as ‘Camera Lucida’ in the Media Arts category. The three recipients of the Art Encouragement Prize for New Artists for the fiscal year 2014 were architect SAITŌ Tadashi for his architectural design ‘Hanchiku House’ in the Fine Arts category; MAEDA Kyōji, Deputy Editor of the Yomiuri Shimbun, for his monograph ‘E no yō ni: Meiji bungaku to bijutsu’ in the Criticism category; and manga artist KISHIMOTO Masashi for his manga ‘NARUTO’ in the Media Arts category. (Japanese)
