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 June 8, the Bill for Partial Revision of the Law for the Protection of Cultural Properties and the Law concerning the Organization and Functions of Local Education Administration, which was passed by the Diet on June 1, promulgated. This was in response to the urgent issue of preventing the loss and dispersal of cultural properties as communities, which were the foundation for inheritance of cultural properties, had become increasingly fragile due to depopulation, falling birthrates and an aging population. The following three points were focused on; 1. Comprehensive conservation and utilization of cultural properties in the region; 2. Review of the conservation and utilization system for the secure inheritance of individual cultural properties; and 3. Review of the system pertaining to the administration of cultural property protection in local areas. This enables prefectures to formulate a general outline of comprehensive measures for the conservation and utilization of cultural properties. Taking this into account, municipalities are now able to draw up regional plans for protection and utilization of cultural properties and apply for accreditation by the government. In addition, the head of a local authority can now, by ordinance, take charge of the administration of cultural property protection, which were previously under jurisdiction of the local authority’s board of education. (Japanese)
On October 26, the Japanese government announced five recipients of the Order of Culture and twenty recipients of the Person of Cultural Merit for the fiscal year 2018. In relation to art, the Order of Culture was given to ceramic artist IMAI Masayuki, who developed the technically difficult inlaying technique into a wide-surface inlaying technique and opened up new possibilities for ceramic art. The Person of Cultural Merit was given to highly acclaimed calligraphy artist ISHIGE Keidō, whose innovative scattered writing combines traditional elegance with a modern sense of formality; architect Toyo ITO), who attracted attention with his methodology of ‘lightness in architecture’ and whose projects were developed through Japan, contributed to the development of contemporary architecture; and art director KITAGAWA Fram, who is a leading figure in the unprecedented field of art projects that lead to regional development. (Japanese)
On June 4, the reconstruction work of the Honmaru Palace (total area 3,100 m2) at Nagoya Castle, destroyed by fire during a World War II air raid, which had been under reconstruction by Nagoya City since 2009, was completed and opened to the press (open to the public from June 8). The Honmaru Palace was reconstructed using techniques to faithfully reproduce the wooden structure as it was in the past. The paintings by Kanō school painters such as KANŌ Sadanobu and Tanyū were reconstructed by copying from surviving sliding doors and dry plate glass negatives taken before the fire. (Japanese)
The Ringa Art Encouragement Award (organized by the Ringa Art Encouragement Fund), which publicly honors outstanding individuals for their exceptional achievements in the field of art criticism and art history research, announced the winners of the 30th Ringa Art Encouragement Prize. In the Art History Research Division, MATSUKAWA Ayako (Curator, Nara Prefectural Museum of Art) was awarded for her curated exhibition titled ‘Tetsu Fusen: A Retrospective – 40th Anniversary of His Death’ and contribution of her essay to its exhibition catalog. In the Art Criticism Division, KITA Takaomi (Curator, Nerima Art Museum) received the prize for his curated exhibition titled ‘Ikeda Tatsuo: An Elliptical Visionary: The Present Tense of Postwar Art’ and contribution of his essay to its catalog. (Japanese)
On June 15, 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 HAYASHI Yoshimasa, the Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology. The list includes nine sites such as the remains of Niitsu Oil Mining and Refine System at Kanazu Oil field (Niigata City) to be designated as Historic Sites; four sites such as Hakusan Park (Niigata City) to be designated as Places of Scenic Beauty; the Itohara Family Garden (Okuizumo Town, Shimane Prefecture) to be registered as Registered Monuments; the rural landscape of Lake Ibanai (Higashiōmi City, Shiga Prefecture) and the cultural landscape of Kitadaitō Island derived from the phosphate mine on Kitadaitō Island (Kitadaitō Island, Okinawa Prefecture) to be selected as Important Cultural Landscapes. (Japanese)
On November 16, the Council for Cultural Affairs submitted a report on the following places to be designated as Places of Scenic Beauty or Historic Sites to SHIBAYAMA Masahiko, the Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology. The list includes nine sites such as the remains of Kōfu Castle (Kōfu City) to be designated as Historic Sites; the former Ekishūkan Garden to be designated as a Place of Scenic Beauty; three sites such as Byakkotai cemetary on Mr Iimori in Aizu (Aizuwakamatsu City, Fukuoka Prefecture) to be registered as Registered Monuments; and the landscape of terraced fields and agricultural and fishing villages at Uwakai Karihama (Seiyo City, Ehime Prefecture) to be selected as an Important Cultural Landscape. The Council also suggested 185 structures to be registered as Registered Tangible Cultural Properties, including the solarium of the former residence of YOSHIDA Shigeru, designed by architect YOSHIDA Isoya. (Japanese)
On March 17, the winner of the 43rd 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 KOMATSU Hiroko for her installations such as ‘The Execution of Personal Autonomy’ and FUJIOKA Aya for her photobooks such as ‘Kawa wa yuku’. (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 ‘Hidden Christian Sites in the Nagasaki Region’, which had been nominated by the Japanese government on the World Heritage List. In response, on June 30, at the 42nd session of the UNESCO’s World Heritage Committee, held in Manama, the capital of Bahrain, it decided to inscribe the site on the World Heritage List as a Cultural Heritage Site. (Japanese)
On November 16, the 40th Suntory Prize for Social Science and Humanities (sponsored by the Suntory Foundation) announced that, in relation to art, KYŌTANI Yoshinori (Associate Professor, Kyushu University) for his monograph titled ‘Gaisenmon to Katsujiga no fūzoku shi: Hakanaki supekutakuru no chikara’ was awarded in the Literary and Art Criticism category. (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 37th winner was USHIODA Tokuko for her photobook titled ‘Views of Books: BIBLIOTHECA’. (Japanese)
On July 1, the National Center for the Promotion of Cultural Properties (Director: ASAHI Mitsuru) was established within the National Institutes for Cultural Heritage. It was founded in response to a report by the Council for Cultural Affairs, which had proposed the active utilization of cultural properties. It aims to utilize tangible cultural properties in Japan through four projects: Planning, Loan Promotion, Preservation and Digital Resources. (Japanese)
On November 30, the Japan Art Academy (Director: KUROI Senji) announced that it had elected two new members to the Japan Art Academy for their outstanding achievements in artistic activities. Yōga artist MAKOSHI Yōko and critic and translator HAGA Tōru were elected. The election was officially announced by SHIBAYAMA Masahiko, the Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology on December 15. (Japanese)
On March 21, the Nakanoshima Kosetsu Museum of Art (Nakanoshima, Kita Ward, Osaka City) was opened to celebrate the 45th anniversary of the Kosetsu Museum of Art (Mikage, Higashinada Ward, Kobe City), which houses the collection of Japanese and East Asian antiquities collected by MURAYAMA Ryūhei, founder of the Asahi Shimbun newspaper company. The Nakanoshima Kosetsu Museum of Art, located on the fourth floor of Nakanoshima Festival Tower West in Osaka’s business district, features the Nakanoshima Genan Tea House, a reproduction of the tea house Genan (Important Cultural Property) in the former Murayama family residence, and the Murayama Ryōhei Memorial Room, which introduces the founder’s life story. The exhibition titled ‘Shugyoku no Murayama korekushon: aishi, mamori, tsutaeta’ was held as a commemorative exhibition for the museum’s opening with five thematic periods from March 21, 2018, to February 11, 2019. (Japanese)
On July 3, the special exhibition titled ‘JOMON: 10,000 Years of Prehistoric Art in Japan’ opened at the Tokyo National Museum (until September 2). The exhibition focused on the dynamic beauty of Jōmon pottery, stoneware and clay figurines as the origin of Japanese craftmanship. It included six objects designated as National Treasures, such as a vessel with flame-like ornamentation and dogū (clay figurine) known as ‘Jomon Venus’, as well as a section on the originality of Jōmon pottery, with earthenware from around the world from the same period. (Japanese)
On December 19, 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 TOJŌ Shinnosuke (‘Atene Nagano Tokyo no kabe ni arudearō mosha’). ISHIBA Ayako (‘2 to 3, moshiku wa sore igai (sobo no ie)’) and Jong YuGyong (‘Let’s all go to the celebration square of victory!’) jointly received the VOCA Encouragement Prize. ENDŌ Kaoru (‘Uesu’) and mé (‘Akuriru gasu’) jointly received the VOCA Honorable Mention Prize. The Ohara Museum of Art Prize was given to KITAMURA Mika (‘TOPOS’). The VOCA exhibition 2019, where the winners’ works were exhibited, was held at the Ueno Royal Museum in Tokyo from March 14 to March 30 in 2019. (Japanese)
On March 22, the Japan Art Academy (Director: KUROI Senji) announced the recipients of the 74th Japan Art Academy Prize. The Imperial Prize and the Japan Art Academy Prize were given to TABUCHI Toshio (for his nihonga painting ‘Uzushio’, exhibited at the Centennial exhibition of Japan Art Institute’s Revival) in the Fine Arts category; and HAGA Tōru (for his monograph titled ‘Bunmei to shite no Tokugawa nihon: 1603-1853’) in the Literature category. In the Fine Arts category, YUYAMA Toshihisa (for his yōga painting titled ‘l’Aube (yoake), exhibited at the third Kaiso Shin-Nitten)’, MITAMURA Arisumi (for his lacquerwork titled ‘Tsuki no hikari Sono saki ni’, exhibited at the third Kaiso Shin-Nitten) and TSUCHIHASHI Yasuko (for her calligraphy titled ‘Katsushika no sato’, exhibited at the fourth Kaiso Shin-Nitten) received the Japan Art Academy Prize. (Japanese)
The winners of the 13th 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 HIRANO Itaru, Curator of the Museum of Modern Art, Saitama (for the exhibition titled ‘Diego Rivera and His Contemporaries’) and YASUI Hiroo, Curator of the Mitsubishi ichigokan Museum, Tokyo, (for the exhibition titled ‘Redon – The Secret Garden’). The Cultural Promotion Prize for institutions was given to the Kajima Foundation for the Arts for its research promotion through research grants, publication support and international exchange support for the exhibition titled ‘Lucas Cranach the Elder: 500 Years of the Power of Temptation’ (National Museum of Western Art) and others. (Japanese)
With the conclusion of the Comprehensive and Advanced Agreement on Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP11 Agreement), a multilateral economic partnership agreement aimed at economic liberalization by the countries of the Pacific Rim, and the amendment of the Copyright Act by the TPP Development Act, the term of protection of copyrights was extended from 50 years after the copyright holder’s death to 70 years. (Japanese)
On March 28, the government budget for the fiscal year 2018 (Heisei 30) was passed. The budget for the Agency for Cultural Affairs became ¥107.729 billion, increasing by 3.3%, which is ¥3.457 billion increase compared to the previous year. The budget is divided into five principal projects as follows: 1. Creation and development of culture and arts, and cultivation of human resources; 2. Preservation, utilization and succession of Japan’s precious cultural properties; 3. Creating Social and Economic Value utilizing Cultural Resources; 4. Disseminating Diverse Culture and Arts to Improve Japan’s Brand; and 5. Improvement/enhancement of the foundation for the promotion of culture. A major category whose budget increased is as follows: In project 3, ¥50 million for ‘Projects to revitalize the arts market’. (Japanese)
On July 11, the laureates of the 30th Praemium Imperiale in Honor of Prince Takamatsu (organized by the Japan Art Association), which publicly honors individual world artists, were announced. In relation to art, the laureates were in the Painting category, Pierre Alechinsky, a Belgian contemporary artist and a member of the avant-garde art group ‘CoBrA’ (1945 – 1951), who expresses his inner feelings in versatile styles, employing his free brushwork influenced by calligraphy and the quick drying properties of acrylic paints; in the Sculpture category, NAKAYA Fujiko, known worldwide as a ‘fog artist’, who first presented her ‘fog sculpture’ made of artificial fog using water at the 1970 Osaka World Exposition and has since produced more than 80 works, including installations, performances and environmental sculptures using fog in the world; and in the Architecture category, and Christian de Portzamparc, a French architect and urban planner, who became famous for his work called ‘City of Music’ and is highly regarded for his work such as on the Nexus World Housing in Fukuoka City. (Japanese)
