On November 12, the 41st Suntory Prize for Social Science and Humanities (Sponsored by the Suntory Foundation) announced that, in relation to art, KUWAKINO Kōji (Associate Professor, Osaka University) for his monograph ‘Runessansu teien no seishin shi’ was awarded in the Literary and Art Criticism category. (Japanese)
On March 1, the Agency for Cultural Affairs announced the winning works for the 22nd 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 sound installation titled ‘Pulses/Grains/Phase/Moiré’ by FURUDATE Ken (Japan) in the Art Division; a TV program titled ‘Chico Will Scold You!’ by the ‘Chico Will Scold You!’ Production Team (Japan) in the Entertainment Division; an animated short film titled ‘La Chute’ by Boris LABBÉ (France) in the Animation Division; and a manga titled ‘ORIGIN’ by Boichi (Korea) in the Manga Division. (Japanese)
On June 24, the Idemitsu Museum of Arts (Marunouchi, Tokyo) announced that it had purchased 190 items from the Etsuko and Joe Price Collection, American collectors of Edo paintings over the years, including ITŌ Jakuchū’s ‘Birds, Animals, and Flowering Plants in Imaginary Scene’, a screen painting where plants and animals are depicted using a different arrangement of squares and colors. The couple had hoped to pass part of their collection to Japan due to their advanced age. (Japanese)
On November 15, the Council for Cultural Affairs submitted a report on the following places to be designated as Places of Scenic Beauty or Historic Sites to HAGIUDA Kōichi, the Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology. The list includes the Sakitama Kofun Cluster (Gyōda City, Saitama Prefecture), which includes the Inariyama kofun where the National Treasure ‘iron Inariyama burial-mound sword (J: kinsakumei tekken)’ was excavated, to be designated as a Special Historic Site; fifteen sites such as the Shiraho Saonetabaru Cave Site (Ishigaki City, Okinawa), where the oldest human remains from the Paleolithic period in Japan were excavated, to be designated as Historic Sites; four sites such as the Sudō Family Garden (Hirosaki City, Aomori Prefecture), constructed at the end of the Meiji Period, to be designated as Places of Scenic Beauty; five sites such as the Nagamine Family Garden (Nagano City), where its Edo-period waterways have been maintained to the present day, to be designated as Registered Monuments. The Council also suggested 133 structures to be registered as Registered Tangible Cultural Properties, including the Totsuna Bridge (Fukushima City), the oldest surviving steel arch bridges in Japan. (Japanese)
On March 3, the Japanese government and the Agency of Cultural Affairs held the inauguration ceremony for the Japan Cultural Expo, the core project of the cultural program on the occasions of the Tokyo 2020 Summer Olympics at the National Theatre of Japan in Chiyoda Ward, Tokyo. Under the overall theme of ‘Japanese people and nature’, the project aims to promote the beauty of Japan from the Jomon period to the present day, both within Japan and worldwide, in the field of art, cultural heritage and media arts. It will be widely developed in 2020. (Japanese)
On June 24, the National Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo (Takebashi, Tokyo) announced that it had acquired a representative work by nihon-ga painter KABURAKI Kiyokata’s ‘Tsukiji Akashi-cho Town’ (1927). This painting won the Imperial Academy of Fine Arts Prize at the Teiten exhibition in 1927, was frequently exhibited at art exhibitions. It was also used as the design for a postage stamp in 1971 and was widely popular. However, it went missing after an exhibition that took place in 1975. In June, the museum purchased it from an art dealer in Tokyo, together with ‘Shintomi-cho Town’ and ‘Hama-cho Gashi Zone’, which were produced as a trilogy. They are now all in the museum’s collection. The trilogy was on public display at the museum from November 1 to December 15. (Japanese)
On November 29, the Japan Art Academy (Director: KUROI Senji) announced that it had elected two seven members to the Japan Art Academy for their outstanding achievements in artistic activities. In relation to art, kōgei artist HARUYAMA Fuminori and calligrapher KURODA Kenichi were elected. The election was officially announced by HAGIUDA Kōichi, the Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology on December 15. (Japanese)
On March 5, ISOZAKI Arata won the Pritzker Architecture Prize, the annual award for outstanding architects, known as the Nobel Prize in architecture, which was announced by the Hyatt Foundation (sponsor of the prize) in the United States. ISOZAKI was recognised for his fusion of Eastern and Western cultures and his significant influence on Western architecture design. (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 ‘Mozu-Furuichi Kofun Group: Mounded Tombs of Ancient Japan’, which had been nominated by the Japanese government on the World Heritage List. In response, on July 6, at the 43rd session of the UNESCO’s World Heritage Committee, held in Baku, the capital of Azerbaijan, it decided to inscribe the site on the World Heritage List as a Cultural Heritage Site. (Japanese)
On December 19, the winners of the VOCA Prize, which encourages young artists who create two-dimensional artworks, were announced. The Grant Prize of the VOCA was given to Nerhol (‘Remove’). KAN Mika (‘A Happy Birthday, #selfiewithme’) and RI Jong Ok (‘Olympia 2020’) jointly received the VOCA Encouragement Prize. KUROMIYA Nana (‘Image – Owarishi michi no shirube ni’) and MIYAMOTO Hanako (‘Shiro ga kieteiku. – Mein Tagebuch –’) jointly received the VOCA Honorable Mention Prize. The Ohara Museum of Art Prize was given to ASANO Yuriko (‘Kuchiake’). The VOCA exhibition 2020, where the winners’ works were exhibited, was held at the Ueno Royal Museum in Tokyo from March 12 to March 27 in 2020. (Japanese)
On March 6, 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 2018. In the Fine Arts category, artist OZAWA Tsuyoshi for his exhibition titled ‘Imperfection: Parallel Art History’ and artist NAITŌ Rei for his exhibition titled ‘Naito Rei: on this bright Earth I see you’ shared the prize. In the Development of Art category, graphic artist SATOH Taku was awarded for his exhibitions titled ‘Design Ah! Exhibition neo’ and other exhibition. In the Criticism category, visual artist as well as critic OKAZAKI Kenjirō received the prize for his monograph titled ‘Abstract Art as Impact: The Analysis of Modern Art’. In the Media Art category, manga artist ARAKI Hikomaro received the prize for his exhibition titled ‘Hirohiko Araki JOJO Exhibition: Ripples of Adventure’. The two recipients of the Art Encouragement Prize for New Artists were architect ISHIGAMI Junya for his botanical garden art Biotop titled ‘Water Garden’ in the Fine Arts category; and SUGAWARA Mayumi, Professor at Osaka Metropolitan University, for her monograph titled ‘Life and Works of TSUKIOKA Yoshitoshi’ in the Criticism category. (Japanese)
The winners of the 14th 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 SEKI Akio, Chief of the curatorial section of the Tokyo Metropolitan Teien Art Museum (for the exhibition titled ‘EXOTIC × MODERN: French Art Deco and inspiration afar’; his job title at the time of exhibition) and MURAKAMI Hiroya, Deputy Director and Chief Curator of the National Museum of Western Art (for the exhibition titled ‘Le Corbusier and the Age of Purism’). The Cultural Promotion Prize for institutions was given to Toppan Inc. for its activities of continuous as well as high-quality displays at the Printing Museum, which was opened in 2000. (Japanese)
On December 23, the Agency for Cultural Affairs formulated and announced the ‘Five-Year Plan for Fire Prevention Measures for World Heritage Sites, National Treasures, and Other Properties’. In response to the fire at the Notre-Dame de Paris in April 2019 and the fire at Shuri Castle (Naha City) on October 31 of the same year, the plan focuses on World Heritage Sites, National Treasures (structures) and museums that house National Treasures and Important Cultural Properties (fine art and crafts). It aims to implement comprehensive and planned fire prevention measures by the fiscal year 2024. (Japanese)
On March 8, the Hasselblad Foundation in Sweden announced MORIYAMA Daidō as the winner of the Hasselblad Foundation International Award in Photography, an international photography prize given to a photographer recognized for pioneering achievements. (Japanese)
On July 19, the Council for Cultural Affairs submitted a report on 196 structures to be designated as Registered Tangible Cultural Properties to SHIBAYAMA Masahiko, the Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology. The list includes a residential building, known as a ‘Star House’ for its distinctive shape, built in the Akabanedai housing complex (Kita Ward, Tokyo) during the post-war period of rapid growth. (Japanese)
The Northen Song dynasty painter LI Gonglin’s ‘Five Horses’ was discovered for the first time in 80 years, which was donated to the Tokyo National Museum. As a favorite of successive Chinese emperors, the work was brought to Japan in the early Shōwa period and exhibited at the Exhibition of Masterpieces from the Tang, Song, Yuan, and Ming Dynasties held in 1928. It was purchased by businessman SUENOBU Michinari in 1930, however its whereabouts were lost after the war. The painting was discovered within Japan and donated to the Tokyo National Museum in 2017, where it was exhibited in the special exhibition titled ‘Unrivaled Calligraphy: Yan Zhenqing and His Legacy’ held from January 2019. In March of the same year, the full image of the painting was published in full size in the book titled ‘Li Gonglin’s Five Horses’ (Hatori shoten), edited by ITAKURA Masaaki. (Japanese)
On August 3, the exhibition titled ‘After “Freedom of Expression?”’ (venue: Aichi Arts Center) of the international art festival, Aichi Triennale 2019, which would be held in Aichi Prefecture from August 1 to October 14, was cancelled following protests against the content of the exhibition. The exhibition consisted of works that had been restricted in the past for political reasons, including ŌURA Nobuyuki’s ‘Holding Perspective (J: Enkin o kakaete)’, which featured the Shōwa Emperor, and Kim Seo-kyung and Kim Eun-sung’s ‘Statue of a Girl of Peace (J: Heiwa no shōjo zō)’, which symbolized a former comfort woman. In response to numerous protest phone calls, faxes and e-mails, which included threats, the decision to cancel the exhibition was made out of concern for the safety of visitors and other concerned parties. In protest against this decision to cancel the exhibition, a number of artists, mainly from overseas, cancelled or changed their own exhibitions at the art festival, sparking a major debate on freedom of expression. The exhibition’s organizing committee subsequently filed an interlocutory injunction with the Nagoya District Court demanding that the exhibition be reopened. Following an agreement with the Aichi Triennale Organizing Committee, the exhibition was reopened from October 8 to October 14 before Aichi Triennale 2019 closed. (Japanese)
On March 18, the Council for Cultural Affairs submitted a report on seven assets to be designated as National Treasures and 41 assets to be designated as Important Cultural Properties to SHIBAYAMA Masahiko, Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology. The seven assets to be designated as National Treasures were Kitora Tumulus Mural Paintings (Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology); wooden seated statues of Five Wisdom Buddhas (Anshōji temple, Kyoto); wooden standing statue of the Medicine Buddha, wooden standing statue of Bodhisattva (attributed to Shūhō bosatsu), wooden standing statue of Boddhisattva (attributed to Shishiku bosatsu), wooden standing statue of Boddhisattva (attributed to Daijisaiō bosatsu) and wooden standing statues of Two Tennō (Tōshōdaiji temple, Nara). One of 41 assets to be designated as Important Cultural Properties was statues of Twelve Bronze Falcons (National Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo). The Council for Cultural Affairs also recommended that 153 buildings, including the former Kudan-Kaikan, a modern building that conveys the spirit of the early Shōwa period; and two artworks (historical material) including educational and research materials collected at the architecture department of the former Sendai College of Engineering, be registered as Registered Tangible Cultural Properties. (Japanese)
The 25th General Conference of the International Council of Museums (ICOM) was held for the first time in Japan from September 1 to September 5 at the Kyoto International Conference Center. It was the largest international conference in the history of Japanese museums, with 4,590 participants from 120 countries and territories. Four plenary sessions and thirty sessions of international committees were held under the theme ‘Museums as Cultural Hubs: The Future of Tradition’. The ICOM Japan’s proposals for the ‘Commitment to the Integration of Asia into the ICOM Community’ and the ‘Commitment to the Concept “Museums as Cultural Hubs”’ were adopted as Congress resolutions. (Japanese)