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 May 1, the Shizuoka City Museum of Art (Director: TANAKA Toyone) opened on the third floor of the newly constructed Aoi Tower building at the north exit of JR Shizuoka Station. It is managed by the Shizuoka City Cultural Promotion Foundation. It comprises three exhibition rooms with a total floor area of 1100 square meters. Having succeeded the Shizuoka Art Gallery, which was closed in March, the museum will not host permanent exhibitions since it houses no art collection. Instead, it will focus on special exhibitions that are not confined to specific genres as its core activities. Workshops and talk events were held until September. A series of the inaugural exhibitions commenced in October: (I) ‘Masterpieces from the Pola Museum of Art: Impressionists and Ecole de Paris’ (October 2 – November 28); (II) ‘Ieyasu and Yoshinobu: Tokugawa Family and Shizuoka’ (December 11 – January 30, 2011); and (III) ‘Munakata Shikō: Inori to tabi (Munakata Shikō: Prayer and Journey) (February 11 – March 27, 2011)’. (Japanese)
On April 26, the Democratic Party of Japan’s HATOYAMA Yukio administration conducted budget screening exercise, targeting the National Institutes for Cultural Heritage and the National Museum of Art, both independent administrative institutions. While the budget screening concluded that ‘the scale of operations should be expanded’ regarding the collection of cultural properties and artworks, the institutions were required to make self-reliant efforts through private donations and cost reductions since the governmental financial support would not increase. In response, from September to December, both institutions, joined by the Japan Arts Council and the National Museum of Nature and Science, convened the Working Group on National Cultural Institutions (Chair: FUKUHARA Yoshiharu, Honorary Chairperson, Shisendo Co., Ltd), where the future direction and management following the transition to an independent administrative institution were discussed. (Japanese)
On April 23, a commemorative ceremony was held to mark the completion of the Daiichiji Daigokuden Hall (former Imperial Audience Hall). A head of the 1300th anniversary of the capital’s relocation to Heijō in 2010, the building’s restoration had been underway since 2001. Based on the findings of extensive research, the project aimed to restore the hall’s original design, structure, and materials, by employing ancient traditional construction techniques wherever possible. The interior paintings, depicting the Four Directional Deities and the Twelve Zodiac Animals, were executed by nihonga artist UEMURA Atsushi. The Heijō Palace site, where the Daigokuden Hall had been restored, served as the main venue for the Heijō Relocation 1300 Year Festival from April 24 to November 7. (Japanese)
On April 16, the Council for Cultural Affairs (Commissioner: NISHIHARA Suzuko) submitted a report on eight assets to be designated as Important Cultural Properties to KAWABATA Tatsuo, the Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology. The list includes the Sugimoto Residence, a large-scale of Kyō-machiya (Kyoto townhouse) in the center of Kyoto; and the Former Tamana Reclamation Facility (Tamana City, Kumamoto Prefecture), built on reclaimed land in the Ariake Sea. In addition to the list, Sakuragawa City Makabe Traditional Building Preservation District (Sakuragawa City, Ibaraki Prefecture) was also suggested to be selected as an Important Preservation District for Groups of Traditional Buildings. (Japanese)
On April 6, the Mitsubishi Ichigokan Museum (Director: TAKAHASHI Akiya) opened in Tokyo’s Marunouchi district, which was faithfully restored to its Meiji-era red-brick architecture. Originally designed by British architect Josiah Condor, it was demolished in 1968 (Shōwa 43) due to deterioration. It now comprises twenty exhibition rooms with a total floor area of 6,000 square meters. Housing a collection of approximately 250 works, including lithographs and posters by Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, the museum plans host three to four special exhibitions annually, focusing primarily on nineteenth-century modern art. The inaugural exhibition titled, ‘Manet et le Paris moderne’ (until July 25), a joint project with the Musée d’Orsay, displayed Manet’s major works, linking the full scope of his artistry with the transformation of Paris as a city during that time. The second opening commemorative exhibition, titled ‘From Dream to Reality: The Iwasaki, Mitsubishi Collection’ (August 24 – November 3), introduced the Iwasaki family’s deep engagement with culture and arts through masterpieces from the Seikado Bunko Art Museum and Toyo Bunko both of which the family founded, alongside works in the collection of Mitsubishi group companies and affiliated individuals. (Japanese)
The Domon Ken Award (sponsored by the Mainichi Newspapers Co.), an award for a photographer who has made excellent achievements in the previous year, announced that the 29th winner was SUZUKI Ryūichirō. The award was given for his photobook titled ‘RyUlysses’ (Heibonsha), which was recognized for its meticulous recreation of Dublin, Ireland, using a panoramic camera, inspired by James Joyce’s ‘Ulysses’. (Japanese)
On March 24, the government budged for the fiscal year 2010 (Heisei 22) was passed. The budget for the Agency for Cultural Affairs was ¥102.024 billion, 0.5 % or ¥485 million more than the previous year. The budget is divided into three principal projects as follows: 1. creation and utilization of rich culture and arts and cultivation of human resources; 2. Preservation and utilization of Japan’s precious cultural properties; and 3. dissemination of Japan’s outstanding culture both domestically and internationally. In particular, for Project 1, funding increases were allocated to training artists and enhancing cultural experiences for children; for Project 2, ‘Act on Promotion of Seismic Retrofitting of Buildings’ was newly launched to carry out seismic retrofitting firefighting equipment installed over 30 years ago at national treasures and important cultural properties in the Kinki region; and for Project 3, a substantial budget increase was allocated for the strategic dissemination of outstanding state design and media arts. (Japanese)
On March 28, the Hyatt Foundation announced that SEJIMA Kazuyo and NISHIZAWA Ryūe had been selected as its laureates of the Pritzker Architecture Prize, an annual award to honor outstanding architects, often referred to as the Nobel Prize of architecture. They were praised for their achievements in Japan, Europe, and the United States through their joint architectural firm, SANAA (Tokyo). The award citation recognized their collaborative work in realizing architecture that is powerful yet delicate, practiced, and utilized in accordance with its purpose. Major joint projects include the Kumanokodo Nakahechi Museum of Art (1996) and the 21st Century Museum of Contemporary Art, Kanazawa (2004). Furthermore, SEJIMA Kazuyo served as director of architecture for the 12th Venice Biennale of Architecture, held from August to November in 2010. She was the first Japanese architect and the first woman in the history of the Venice Biennale of Architecture to hold this position. (Japanese)
On March 24, the Agency of Cultural Affairs Review Committee for Preservation and Utilization of Mural Paintings of Tumuli (Chair: NAGAI Yorikuni, Adjunct Professor, National Graduate Institute for Policy Studies), which had been investigating the causes of deterioration of the murals of Takamatsuzuka Tumuli, submitted its report to TAMAI Hideo, Commissioner of the Agency of Cultural Affairs. The report identified multiple factors, including natural causes, inadequate preservation measures, and a lack of monitoring systems by the Agency. It stated that delayed countermeasures following mold growth also led to a vicious cycle that further exacerbated the damage. (Japanese)
On March 19, the Council for Cultural Affairs (Commissioner: NISHIHARA Suzuko) submitted a report on two assets to be designated as National Treasures and 38 assets to be designated as Important Cultural Properties to KAWABATA Tatsuo, Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology. The two assets to be designated as National Treasures were 2,345 materials pertaining to INŌ Tadataka such as maps, documents and surveying instruments (Katori City, Chiba Prefecture); and ‘Map of Naruto Village of Imizu District in Etchū Province (hemp)’ (Nara National Museum), depiction of land reclamation in the Nara period. One of 38 assets to be designated as Important Cultural Properties was a painting ‘Yoritomo in a Cave’ by nihonga artist MAEDA Senson (Okura Museum of Art). The Council for Cultural Affairs also recommended 139 structures, including the Former Iwasaki Family Residence, a family house of IWASAKI Yatarō, as well as one kōgei artwork to be registered as Registered Tangible Cultural Properties. (Japanese)
On March 18, the Japan Art Academy (Director: MIURA Shumon) announced the recipients of the 66th Japan Art Academy Prize. The Imperial Prize and the Japan Art Academy Prize were given to YAMAMOTO Fumihiko (for his yōga painting titled ‘Jusō’, exhibited at a Nikiten exhibition) in the Fine Arts category; and AWAZU Norio (for his longstanding contributions to various artistic fields, particularly in literately criticism, translation and literature) in the Literature category. In the Fine Arts category, the Japan Art Academy Prize was given to TAKEGOSHI Toshiaki (for his kōgei work titled ‘Kohan, Saiyū kaki’, exhibited at a Nitten exhibition); TARUMOTO Juson (for his calligraphy titled ‘富陽妙庭観董雙成故宅發地得丹鼎’, exhibited at a Nitten exhibition); and KITAGAWARA Atsushi (for his architectural design of the Nakamura Keith Haring Collection). (Japanese)
On March 12, 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 2009. The recipients of the Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology’s Art Encouragement Prize were sculptor NAGASAWA Hidetoshi (for his expiation titled ‘NAGASAWA – Dove tende aurora’) and nihonga artist YAMAMOTO Naoaki (for his exhibition titled ‘Yamamoto Naoaki ten: Kikan suru fūkei’) in the Fine Arts category; and FUJIHATA Masaki, Professor, Department of Inter Media Art, Tokyo University of the Arts, (for his work titled ‘Simultaneous Echoes 2009: “Field-work” in Londonderry’) in the Media Art category. The recipients of the Art Encouragement Prize for New Artists were photographer TSUDA Nao (for his exhibition titled ‘Rera Faraway’) in the Fine Art Category; and IWAKIRI Shinichirō, Professor, Bunka Junior College, (for his monograph titled ‘Meiji hangashi’) in the Criticism category. (Japanese)
On March 9, the Agency for Cultural Affairs decided not to permit the display of the statue of Miroku Bosatsu (National Treasure) from Chūgūji temple and fourteen Important Cultural Properties at the exhibition titled ‘Nara no koji to butsuzō (Old Temples and Buddhist Statues of Nara)’, which had been scheduled to open in April at the Niigata City Art Museum. The reason cited was that, following the occurrence of mold on exhibited works at the museum in July 2009, spiders and insects were detected in February 2010. Consequently, the museum’s director KITAGAWA Fram was replaced, and the exhibition ‘Nara no koji to butsuzō’ was relocated to the Niigata Prefectural Museum of Modern Art. (Japanese)
On March 8, the winner of the 35th Kimura Ihei Award (sponsored by the Asahi Shimbun and Asahi Shimbun Publications), the award given to exceptional new photographers in honor to photographer KIMURA Ihei’s achievements, was announced. The award was given to TAKAGI Cozue for her photobooks titled ‘MID’ and ‘GROUND’. (Japanese)
On February 23, the exhibition ‘HASEGAWA TOHAKU: 400th Memorial Retrospective’ opened at the Tokyo National Museum to commemorate the 400th anniversary of the passing of HASEGAWA Tōhaku (1539 – 1610), a master painter of the Momoyama period (until March 22). Featuring approximately 80 works including National Treasures such as ‘Maple Tree’ (Chishakuin temple) and ‘Pine Trees’ (Tokyo National Museum), the exhibition traced the artistic career of HASEGAWA Tōhaku from his early years painting Buddhist art in Noto through his rise in Kyoto where, backed by TOYOTOMI Hideyoshi and SEN no Rikyū, he produced numerous large-scale golden paintings, called konpekiga, while simultaneously deepening his mastery of ink painting, suibokuga. It consisted of seven chapters: Chapter 1 ‘Hasegawa Nobuharu: Buddhist Painter of Noto Peninsula’; Chapter 2 ‘The Turning Point: The Move to Kyoto and the Emergence of Tohaku’; Chapter 3 ‘Portraiture: Tohaku’s Contemporaries’; Chapter 4 ‘Momoyama Masterpieces: The World of Colorful Screens on Gold Ground’; Chapter 5 ‘A Testament to Faith: Tohaku and Honpoji Temple’; Chapter 6 ‘Master of Ink: The Devotion to Ink Paintings’; and Chapter 7 ‘The Realm of Pine Trees’. The exhibition subsequently toured to the Kyoto National Museum (April 10 – May 9). (Japanese)
On February 14, Professor NAKAI Izumi, Tokyo University of Science, proposed the possibility of gold leaf being used for the background of the folding screens ‘Red and White Plum Blossoms’ at a symposium held at the MOA Museum which houses the work. This observation was based on Professor NAKAI’s measurement of the crystal structure using techniques such as X-ray diffraction, commissioned by the museum, which detected crystal planes identical to those found in gold leaf. It drew attention as research outcomes differing from the use of gold paste, kindei, which had been announced by the National Research Institute for Cultural Properties, Tokyo, in 2004 based on scientific research, which had sparked debate. (Japanese)
The winners of the VOCA Prize, which encourages young artists who create two-dimensional artworks, were announced. The 17th Grand Prize of the VOCA was awarded to MIYAKE Saori (‘a secret talk’ and ‘Bed’). SAKAMOTO Natsuko and NAKATANI Michiko jointly received the VOCA Encouragement Prize. KIYOKAWA Asami and SAITŌ Meo jointly received the VOCA Honorable Mention Prize. SAITŌ Meo also received the Ohara Museum of Art Prize. The VOCA 2010, where the winners’ works were exhibited, was held at the Ueno Royal Museum in Tokyo from March 14 to 30 in 2010. (Japanese)
The recipients of the 51st Mainichi Art Award (sponsored by the Mainichi Newspapers Co.), an annual award given to outstanding individuals in art and culture, were announced. In relation to art, the award was given to architect KUMA Kengo for his architectural design of the Nezu Museum in Architecture Category; and SEKI Masato for his special display at the 9th Fusōinsha exhibition, held at the Tokyo Central Museum of Art and his publication of the collection of tenkoku seal-engraving. (Japanese)
On January 1, the recipients of the Asahi Prize for the fiscal year 2009 (sponsored by the Asahi Shimbun Foundation) were announced. In relation to art, architect Toyo ITO received the prize for ‘achievements that expanded the possibilities of spatial expression in contemporary architecture.’ (Japanese)
On December 10, the exhibition titled ‘The World of Ishiko Junzō: From Art via Manga to Kitsch’ opened at the Fuchu Art Museum (until February 26, 2012). It revisited the full scope of work by ISHIKO Junzō, who was active as a contemporary art critic during Japan’s turbulent high-growth period. It consisted of three chapters: ‘Bijutsu (Art)’; ‘Manga’; and ‘Kitsch’. This densely packed exhibition, comprising 130 works, explored ISHIKO’s approach of questioning established artistic values and evaluating works through a ‘process of digging deeper and deeper downwards’. (Japanese)
