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 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 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)
The Buddhist Art Society was established with the aim of providing opportunities to publish research papers on various arts such as painting, sculpture, crafts, architecture and archaeology related to Buddhism and other Asian religions. It also aims to contribute to the development of research in this field. Its inaugural meeting was held at the University of Tokyo (Hongō Campus) on June 10. The background of its establishment was that the academic journal ‘Bukkyō Geijutsu’ (published by Mainichi shinbunsha), which was first published in 1948, ceased publication with its 350th issue in January 2017, and that there were concerns that research in this field might stagnate due to the loss of opportunities to publish papers. (Japanese)
The winners of the 11th Yomiuri Aoniyoshi Prize (sponsored by the Yomiuri Shimbun with special support from the Japan Society for the Conservation of Cultural Property), which publicly honors individuals and organizations for their outstanding achievements in the fields of conservation science and restoration, were announced. The Aoniyoshi Prize was given to KURODA Shunsuke (Kyoto Prefecture), who had been working on the restoration of national treasures and important cultural properties by using carefully selected materials and unique techniques to produce the base and outer frames of sliding doors and folding screens. The Encouragement Prize was given to MORIMOTO Kikuo (Cambodia), who had been working to revive traditional Cambodian silk textiles that were nearly lost during the civil war. The Special Prize went to Benridō (Kyoto Prefecture), who had been engaged in the reproduction of cultural properties such as the Shōsōin archives using collotype that offers exceptional reproducibility and durability. (Japanese)
On May 27, the selection process for the Teijiro Nakahara Prize (sponsored by Asahikawa City, Hokkaido, and Asahikawa City Board of Education), established to contribute to the development of the Japanese sculpture world, took place. The 40th prize was awarded to AOKI Noe’s ‘Protoplasm / 2015’. (Japanese)
On May 25, the exhibition ‘Hokusai: Beyond the Great Wave’ opened at the British Museum (until August 13). The exhibition focused on works of KATSUSHIKA Hokusai, an ukiyo-e artist, during the 30 years from the age of 60 to his death at the age of 90, and displayed approximately 160 works, including his paintings such as ‘Waves’, painted on the ceiling of a festival float (Hokusai Museum Collection), which was exhibited in the United Kingdom for the first time. The exhibition toured to Japan as an international joint project and was held at the Abeno Harukas Art Museum in Osaka under the title ‘Hokusai: Beyond Fuji’ (Oct 6 – Nov 19). (Japanese)
On May 19, the Council for Cultural Affairs submitted a report on ten structures to be designated as National Treasures or Important Cultural Properties to MATSUNO Hirokazu, the Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology. The list includes Chōchikukyo (Ōyamazaki Town, Kyoto Prefecture), considered a representative example of pre-war wooden modernism, and Shiromineji temple (Sakaide City, Kagawa Prefecture), one of the 88 temples on the Shikoku pilgrimage. In addition to the list, the Ōsugi area in Ōya Town in Yabu City, Hyōgo Prefecture, where three-story wooden farmhouses that were built with the development of sericulture, was also suggested to be the Important Preservation Districts for Groups of Traditional Buildings. (Japanese)
MUNAKATA Shikō’s print ‘Uchū san (Kanagawa no saku)’, which Kanagawa Prefecture had purchased in 1974 as an original for the creation of stage curtain for the Kanagawa Kenmin Hall and loaned free of charge to the Kanagawa Arts and Cultural Foundation, was found to have been replaced with a color copy in April 2014. Kanagawa Prefecture made it public on April 17, 2017. (Japanese)
On April 16, at a seminar on regional development held at a hotel in Ōtsu City, Shiga Prefecture, YAMAMOTO Kōzō, Minister of State for Regional Revitalization, indicated that curators working at museums lack understanding of tourism promotion and voiced his opinions that the biggest cancer is cultural curators and that that needs to be eradicated. The statement was based on a misconception that the British Museum had dismissed all curators who opposed the museum’s major renovation. Criticisms poured in from people working in the field of cultural properties. On the following day, April 17, the minister apologized and announced that he would retract its statement. (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)
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)
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)
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 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 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)
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)
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 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 March 8, the exhibition ‘Alfons Mucha’ opened at the National Art Center, Tokyo (until June 5). The exhibition featured works by Alfons Mucha, a leading Art Nouveau artist. Among them, ‘The Slav Epic’, a series of 20 large-format canvases, created in his native Czech Republic, were exhibited for the first time outside the county. The exhibition highlighted Mucha’s patriotic side, which had rarely been introduced to the public. (Japanese)
On March 8, 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 2016. In the Fine Arts category, artist KŌNOIKE Tomoko for her exhibition ‘Tomoko Konoike: Primordial Violence Vol.2 A New Species of Bone’ and metal artist HASHIMOTO Masayuki for his live sculpting ‘Sunlight Penetrating Fruit’ shared the prize. In the Criticism category, art critic YAMANASHI Toshio was awarded for his monograph ‘Fūkei gakō: Sekai e no kōkan to shinkō’. In the Media Art category, manga artist AKIMOTO Osamu was awarded for his manga ‘KochiKame: Tokyo Beat Cops’. The three recipients of the Art Encouragement Prize for New Artists were architect TANE Tsuyoshi for his architectural design ‘the Estonian National Museum’ in the Fine Arts category; the founder of teamLab INOKO Toshiyuki for the exhibition ‘Drawing on the Water Surface Created by the Dance of Koi and People – Infinity’ in the Development of Art category; and artist MŌRI Yūko for her exhibition ‘Pleated Image’ in the Media Art category. (Japanese)
