On November 10, the 39th Suntory Prize for Social Science and Humanities (sponsored by the Suntory Foundation) announced that, in relation to art, KATŌ Kōichi (Associate Professor, University of Tokyo) for his monograph titled ‘Toki ga tsukuru kenchiku (Architecture in Time)’ and KANEKO Yū (critic, film artist) for his monograph titled ‘Eizō no ryōiki’ were awarded in the Literary and Art Criticism category. (Japanese)
On March 10, the Council for Cultural Affairs submitted a report on seven assets to be designated as National Treasures and 37 assets to be designated as Important Cultural Properties to MATSUNO Hirokazu, Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology. The seven assets to be designated as National Treasures are Bronze statue of Shakyamuni Buddha (銅造釈迦如来倚像) (Jidaiji temple, Tokyo); Wooden seated statue of Yuima (木造維摩居士坐像) (Hokkeji temple, Kyoto); Wooden seated statue of Dainichi Nyorai and Wooden seated statue of Fudō gōzanze myōō (木造大日如来坐像・木造不動降三世明王坐像) (Amanosan Kongōji temple, Osaka); Lotus Sutra, Kunōji kyō Sutra (法華経 (久能寺経)) (Private Collection); Issai kyō Sutra, Song Dynasty edition (宋版一切経) (Godaiji temple, Kyoto); Wooden tablets excavated from Heijōkyō (平城宮跡出土木簡) (kept at the Nara National Research Institute for Cultural Properties); and Excavated artifacts from Tōdaijiyama Tumulus (奈良県東大寺山古墳出土品) (kept at the Tokyo National Museum). One of the 37 assets to be designated as Important Cultural Properties is Rhinoceros-shaped Incense Burner (三彩兕觥形香炉), a representative work of OKUDA Eisen (Kenninji temple, Kyoto). The Council for Cultural Affairs also recommended that 226 buildings, including the Shiriyazaki Lighthouse, the tallest lighthouse (33m) in Japan, be registered as Registered Tangible Cultural Properties. (Japanese)
On June 16, the Council for Cultural Affairs submitted a report on the following places to be designated as Special Historic Site, Places of Scenic Beauty or Historic Sites to MATSUNO Hirokazu, the Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology. The list includes Kasori Shell Mound (Chiba City), one of the largest Jōmon period settlement sites in Japan, was designated as a Special Historic Site; eleven places such as Miyakozuka Tumulus (Asuka Village, Nara Prefecture), confirmed to be an unprecedented pyramid-shaped mound, to be designated as Historic Sites; six places such as Yubatake, a source of hot spring water at Kusatsu Onsen, to be designated as Places of Scenic Beauty. The list also includes five places such as the Okinawa Prefectural Railways Yonabaru Station site, ruins of the station building of light railways that operated in Okinawa from the Taishō to wartime periods, to be selected as Registered Monuments; and the Cultural Landscape of Aso (Aso City et al, Kumamoto Prefecture); and seven landscapes such as grasslands and farming village, in the area of Mount Aso, to be selected as an Important Cultural Landscape. This was the first new designation of a Special Historic Site in seventeen years. (Japanese)
On November 17, the Council for Cultural Affairs submitted a report on the following places to be designated as Places of Scenic Beauty or Historic Sites to HAYASHI Yoshimasa, the Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology. The list includes ten sites such as the remains of Inuyama Castle (Inuyama City, Aichi Prefecture) to be designated as Historic Sites; two sites such as Enunkan Gardens (Kesennuma City, Miyagi Prefecture), created in the residence of senior retainer of the Sendai Domain, to be designated as Places of Scenic Beauty; two sites such as the Hozumi Bridge (Uwajima City, Ehime Prefecture) to be registered as Registered Monuments; and three sites such as the landscape of Katsushika Shibamata (Katsushika Ward, Tokyo) to be selected as Important Cultural Landscapes. The Council also suggested 188 structures to be designated as Registered Tangible Cultural Properties, including the Former Shōunkaku Annex of Hanamaki Onsen (Hanamaki City, Iwate Prefecture), a large-scale inn building from the early Shōwa Period. (Japanese)
On March 13, the Japan Academy (SHIONO Hiroshi) announced ten recipients of the Japan Academy Prize for the fiscal year 2017, the annual prize given to outstanding achievements in academic fields. In relation to art, NARASAWA Yumi, Professor at Jōsai University, received the prize for her detailed research and systematization of Christian alters from the fifth to twelfth centuries in southern Gaul, South France. (Japanese)
On June 16, ‘Revisions to the Basic Act on the Promotion of Culture and the Arts’ (the Basic Act on Culture and the Arts) was unanimously passed and enacted at an Upper House Plenary Session. It was promulgated and enforced on June 23. The revisions, not limited to the promotion of culture and the arts, but also further extended to incorporate measures in a wide range of related fields, such as tourism, town development, international exchange, social welfare, education and industry into the scope of the act. They also sought to utilize the various new values created through culture and the arts to further their succession, development and creation. (Japanese)
On November 30, the Japan Art Academy (Director: KUROI Senji) announced that it had elected eight new members to the Japan Art Academy for their outstanding achievements in artistic activities. In relation to art, nihonga painter NISHIDA Shunei, yōga painter NEGISHI Yūji and architect ISOZAKI Arata were elected. The election was officially announced by HAYASHI Yoshimasa, the Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology on December 15. (Japanese)
On March 16, the Agency for Cultural Affairs announced the winning works for the 20th Japan Media Arts Festival Awards that are given to excellent media artworks from inside and outside of Japan. The Grand Prizes were given to a media installation titled ‘Interface I’ by Ralf BAECKER (Germany) in the Art Division; a video work titled ‘Shin Godzilla’ directed by ANNO Hideaki and HIGUCHI Shinji in the Entertainment Division; an animation titled ‘Your Name’ by SHINKAI Makoto in the Animation Division; and a manga titled ‘BLUE GIANT’ by ISHIZUKA Shinichi in the Manga Division. (Japanese)
The winners of the 12th Western Art Foundation Prize, which publicly honor individuals and organizations 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 Prizes for individuals were given to TSUKADA Miki, Curator of the Setagaya Art Museum (for the exhibition ‘Manuel Álvarez Bravo Photographs: Mexico, Light and Time in Silence’) and MOTOHASHI Yayoi, Curator of The National Art Center, Tokyo, (for the exhibition ‘Alfons Mucha’). The Cultural Promotion Prize for institutions was given to INAX Museums for its 10th anniversary special exhibition ‘Making GAUDI’. (Japanese)
On December 2, the winners of the ICOMOS Japan Prize 2017 as well as the ICOMOS Japan Honorable Mention Award were announced. The ICOMOS Japan Prize and the ICOMOS Japan Honorable Mention Award aim 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 Prize was given to ŌTAKE Sachie (Curator at the Kokuyōseki Taiken Museum), who conducted systematic development activities on research, conservation, dissemination and experience learning at the Jōmon period obsidian mines. The ICOMOS Japan Honorable Mention Award was given to TOMINAGA Yoshiaki (CEO, Heritage Structure Engineering Design, Inc.), who contributed to the conservation and utilization of historical buildings as a structural designer. (Japanese)
On March 17, the winner of the 42nd 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 given to HARA Mikiko for her photo book ‘Change’. (Japanese)
In May, the international Council on Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS), an advisory body to the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) that conducts preliminary inspections to determine whether a site should be inscribed on the World Heritage List, recommended the inclusion of the ‘Sacred Island of Okinoshima and Associated Sites in the Munakata Region’, which had been nominated by the Japanese government, excluding Okinoshima Island and its surrounding reefs, on the World Heritage List. On July 9, the UNESCO’s World Heritage Committee, held in Krakow, Poland, overturned the advisory body’s recommendation and decided to inscribe all constituent assets on the World Heritage List as Cultural Heritage Sites. (Japanese)
On December 11, 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 USUI Yui (‘our crazy red dots’). FUJII Toshiharu (‘Kairaku no hakumaku’) and YAMADA Nanako (‘Iso’) jointly received the VOCA Encouragement Prize. UMEZAWA Kazuki (‘Subete o shirunomo’) and MORIMOTO Aiko (‘Karakusa moyō’) jointly received the VOCA Honorable Mention Prize. The Ohara Museum of Art Prize was given to URAKAWA Taishi (‘Fūkei to yūrei’). The VOCA exhibition 2018, where the winners’ works were exhibited, was held at the Ueno Royal Museum in Tokyo from March 15 to March 30 in 2018. (Japanese)
On March 22, the Japan Art Academy (Director: KUROI Senji) announced the recipients of the 73rd Japan Art Academy Prize. In the Fine Arts category, the Imperial Prize and the Japan Art Academy Prize were given to TAKAKI Seiu (for his calligraphy ‘Kyōriku’, exhibited at the third Kaiso Shin-Nitten). In the same category, NISHIDA Shunei (for his nihonga painting ‘Mori no sumibito’, exhibited at the Centennial exhibition of Japan Art Institute’s Revival (Saikō Inten)) and NEGISHI Yūji (for his yōga painting ‘Kotan fūsei’, exhibited at the third Kaiso Shin-Nitten) received the Japan Art Academy Prize. (Japanese)
On July 22, the exhibition ‘Fear in Painting’ opened at the Hyōgo Prefectural Museum of Art (until September 18). The exhibition commemorated the 10th anniversary of the publication of the bestselling book, titled ‘Kowai e’ (published in 2007) by German literature scholar NAKANO Kyōko. Focusing on ‘fear’, the exhibition stimulated the curiosity of the audience and was well received for its deciphering of the subjects and contexts of Western painting, which cannot be solely accessed through contemporary sensitivities, and the various meanings encompassed in each work of art. The exhibition toured to the Ueno Royal Museum (Taitō Ward, Tokyo) (Oct 7 – December 17) (Japanese)
The Domon Ken Award (sponsored by the Mainichi Newspapers Co.), the award for a photographer who has made excellent achievements in the previous year, announced that the 36th winner was YANG Seungwoo. The award was given for her photobook titled ‘Shinjuku maigo’. (Japanese)
On July 21, the Council for Cultural Affairs submitted a report on 244 structures to be designated as Registered Tangible Cultural Properties to MATSUNO Hirokazu, the Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology. The list includes Sagae City Hall (Sagae City, Yamagata Prefecture), an early representative work by architect KUROKAWA Kishō, and Iiyama Resurrection Church, Diocese of Chubu, Anglican Church in Japan (Iiyama City, Nagano Prefecture), a wooden church building with a bell tower built in the early Shōwa Period. (Japanese)
On March 27, the government budget for the fiscal year 2017 (Heisei 29) was passed. The budget for the Agency for Cultural Affairs became ¥104.272 billion, increasing by 0.3%, which is ¥307 million increase compared to the previous year. The budget is divided into five 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; 3. Promotion of cultural programs and improving the function of ACA for realizing the Nation Based on Culture and the Arts; 4. Dissemination of Japan’s outstanding culture and arts / Promotion of international cultural exchange; and 5. Improvement/enhancement of the foundation for the promotion of culture. A major category whose budget increased is as follows: in Project 3, ¥1.151 billion for ‘Promotion of cultural programs and improving the function of ACA for realizing the Nation Based on Culture and the Arts’. (Japanese)
On August 26, the Toyama Prefectural Museum of Art and Design fully opened in Toyama City, Toyama Prefecture, following the relocation and new construction of the Museum of Modern Art, Toyama, which opened in 1981 (closed in December 2016), due to its age, the partial opening on March 25, 2017, and the opening of the rooftop garden on April 29, 2017. Located in a corner of the Fugan Canal Kansui Park, the three-story building, designed by NAITŌ Hiroshi, has a site area of 12,500 m2. The museum aims to be a hands-on museum with the basic policy of ‘a museum that connects art and design’. The museum held the exhibitions titled ‘LIFE: In Search of a Paradise’ (August 26 – November 5) and ‘Art and Design, dialogue with materials’ (November 16 – January 8, 2018) to commemorate its opening. (Japanese)
On March 28, the Denchū Hirakushi Award (sponsored by Ibara City, Okayama Prefecture), established to commemorate HIRAKUDHI Denchū’s achievements along with the promotion of wood carvings in Japan, announced that the 28th winner was ANDŌ Eisaku. The artist was recognized for his pursuit of contemporary expression in large-scale wooden sculpture and his deepening of humanist figurative expression. (Japanese)