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 Februay 27, the Council for Cultural Affairs (Commissioner: MIYATA Ryōhei) submitted a report on three assets to be designated as National Treasures and 50 assets to be Important Cultural Properties to SHIMOMURA Hakubun, Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology. The three assets to be designated as National Treasures are Standing Fudō Myōō with Two Attendants, wooden sculptures made by Unkei, a sculptor of Buddhist statues in the Kamakura period (Ganjōjuin temple, Shizuoka Prefecture); Monju Bosatsu and Four Attendants by Kaikei (Monjuin temple, Nara Prefecture); and ‘Collection of Documents and Buddhist Sutras at Daigoji Temple’, historical records dating from the Heian to Meiji periods (Daigoij temple, Kyoto Prefecture). The list for Important Cultural Properties includes ‘Pine Trees of the Four Seasons’ by Edo-period painter KANŌ Tanyū (Daitokuji temple, Kyoto Prefecture). (Japanese)
On February 26, 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 26th winner was ŌHIRA Minoru. He was awarded for his sculptural forms that represent his broad perspectives and his experienced work to date. (Japanese)
Regarding the Buddhist statue stolen from Tsushima City in Nagasaki Prefecture and found in South Korea, the Daejeon District Court in central South Korea issued a provisional injunction against the South Korean government returning the statue to Japan. Among the cultural properties stolen by Korean thieves from temples and shrines on Tsushima Island in October 2012 was a seated statue of Kanzeon Bodhisattva, designated as a Nagasaki Prefectural Tangible Cultural Property, owned by Kannonji temple. Buseoksa temple located in Seosan, central South Korea, claimed that the statue was produced at the temple in the 14th century but was looted by wakō (lit. Japanese pirates), and applied for a provisional injunction to prohibit the return of the statue until it could be determined how it had originally been brought to Japan. In response, the mayor of Tsushima City requested the Korean Cultural Heritage Administration to return the statue in June. (Japanese)
On February 15, the exhibition titled ‘Gutai: Splendid Playground’ opened at the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum (until May 8). This retrospective exhibition of the Gutai Art Association, which was active in the Kansai region from 1954 to 1972, presented a comprehensive overview of the entire period of the Gutai’s activities from its early experimental works to its later intermedia works. It also provided an opportunity to review their highly acclaimed activities outside of Japan. (Japanese)
On February 6, the winner of the 38th 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 shared between KIKUCHI Tomoko and DODO Arata. KIKUCHI received the award for her work ‘I and I’, displayed at the group exhibition titled ‘somewhere between me and this world – Japanese contemporary photography’ at the Tokyo Photographic Art Museum while DODO was awarded for his photobook ‘Taigan ’(Akaaka Art Publishing Inc) and his exhibition ‘Taigan’ held at galleries such as the Ginza Nikon Salon. (Japanese)
From January 15 to 18, 2013 CIHA Colloquium titled ‘Between East and West: Reproductions in Art’, organized by the Japanese Committee for CIHA, the Otsuka Museum of Art and the Japan Art History Society, was held at the Otsuka Museum of Art in Naruto, Tokushima Prefecture. It was the first time held in Japan in 22 years since the 1991 Colloquium was hosted in Tokyo. The Colloquium consisted of three sections: ‘Western Art’, ‘East Asian and Japanese Art’ and ‘Comparative and Cross-Cultural Approaches in Art History’. Researchers from Japan and abroad took part in the colloquium, which brought together the latest research on ‘reproduction’ in the world. (Japanese)
On January 12, the exhibition titled ‘Jikken Kōbō: Experimental Workshop’ opened at the Museum of Modern Art, Kamakura (until March 24). It was a comprehensive introduction of Jikken Kōbō, a group of young artists formed in 1951 to cross genres such as art, music, lighting and literature. It revealed a fuller picture of the group, who had not been researched since their activities crossed several genres of expression. It travelled to the Iwaki City Art Museum (April 20 – June 2), the Toyama Prefectural Museum of Art and Design (July 13 – September 8), the Kitakyushu Municipal Museum of Art, Riverside Gallery (October 5 – November 10) and the Setagaya Art Museum (November 23 – January 26, 2014). (Japanese)
On January 1, the winners of the 54th 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, painter TATSUNO Toeko won for her exhibitions titled ‘Ataerareta keishō’ and ‘Tatsuno Toeko: Aki no Yūrinsō tokubetsu kōkai’. Photographer ARAKI Nobuyoshi was given Special Award for establishing ‘photobook culture (shashinshū bunka)’ that was represented at his exhibition ‘Araki Nobuyoshi shashinshū ten: Arākī’. (Japanese)
