On December 1, the Japan Art Academy (Director: MIURA Shumon) announced that four new members had been elected to join their ranks for their distinguished artistic achievements. In relation to art, lacquer artist ITŌ Hiroshi was elected. It was officially announced by NAKAGAWA Masaharu, Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology, on December 15. (Japanese)
On December 1, the International Council on Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS) announced at its General Assembly held at the headquarters of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) in Paris, France, that the Gazzola Prize had been awarded to ITŌ Nobuo, an honorary member of the Japanese ICOMOS National Committee. The recognition honored his longstanding contributions as a bridge among Japan, Asia and the wider world. He advocated that the methods and traditions for preserving and restoring wooden architecture in Asia differ from those for European masonry structures, calling for understanding and respect for this diversity. He also contributed significantly to the adoption of new international standards for the protection of historic buildings. He is the second Japanese recipient of the award, following SEKINO Masaru in 1987. (Japanese)
On November 18, the Council for Cultural Affairs (Commissioner: NISHIHARA Suzuko) submitted a report on the following places to be designated as Places of Scenic Beauty or Historic Sites to NAKAGAWA Masaharu, Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology. The list includes five places such as Jōdogahama (Miyako City, Iwate Prefecture), damaged by the tsunami caused by the Great East Japan Earthquake, to be designated as Places of Scenic Beauty; and eight places such as the precinct of Iwashimizu Hachimangū shrine (Yawata City, Kyoto Prefecture), where Imperial family members and aristocrats visited since the Heian period, to be designated as Historic Sites; three places such as Moriaishi teien (Miyako City), constructed by a wealthy merchant of the Sanriku region, to be registered as Registered Monuments; and the cultural landscape of Shinkamigotō kitauome (Shinkamigotō Town, Nagasaki Prefecture), where a fishing port and farming village coexist in a narrow area on the island, to be selected as an Important Cultural Landscape. Meanwhile, the Council recommended the withdrawal of the designation as Registered Tangible Cultural Properties for six structures such as Rokkakudō, Izura Institute of Art and Culture, Ibaraki University, damaged in the Great East Japan Earthquake. (Japanese)
On November 15, the exhibition titled ‘Undressing Paintings: Japanese Nudes 1880-1945’ opened at the National Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo (until January 15, 2012). It traced how Japanese artists depicted naked figures after embracing Western nude painting, featuring 98 artworks, primarily oil paintings. It consisted of three chapters: Chapter 1 ‘Creating the Nude’ covered the mid-to-late Meiji period when Japanese artists forged an ideal body image based on Western art; Chapter 2 ‘Deconstructing the Nude’, examined the Taishō period when body images were deformed or fragmented; and Chapter 3 ‘The Nude Anew’, focused on the 1920s to 1940s when reconstructed body images were depicted. The exhibition outlined the process by which the genre of ‘nude’ was established, despite friction with society such as the Nude Painting Controversy. It adopted an original approach that considered not only the modelling of the body image, but also perspectives such as the location of the nude and distinctions between standing and reclining figures. (Japanese)
On November 11, the exhibition titled ‘Jackson Pollock: A Centennial Retrospective’ opened at the Aichi Prefectural Museum of Art (until January 22, 2012). It showcased the full scope of Jackson Pollock’s artistic career, renowned as the first American artist to gain international acclaim through his technique of splashing paint across large canvases. It consisted of four chapters: Chapter 1 ‘Finding His Way, 1930 – 1941’; Chapter 2 ‘Engaging with Modern Art, 1942 – 1946’; Chapter 3 ‘Breaking New Ground, 1947 – 1950’; and Chapter 4 ‘In Anguish, 1951 – 1956’. It traced the process leading to his unique style and subsequent experimental developments. It marked the first comprehensive introduction of Pollock’s work in Japan with approximately 70 works on display, combining all his pieces held in Japan with major works from overseas institutions such as the Museum of Modern Art, New York City. The exhibition subsequently toured to the National Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo (February 10 – May 6, 2012). (Japanese)
On October 25, the exhibition titled ‘Honen and Shinran: Treasures Related to the Great Masters of the Kamakura Buddhism’ opened at the Tokyo National Museum (until December 4). It commemorated the 800th anniversary of the passing of Hōnen, founder of the Jōdō sect of Buddhism, and the 750th anniversary of the passing of Shinran, founder of the Jōdo Shinshū of Buddhism. It gathered outstanding works from related temples, displaying approximately 190 works and materials, including around one hundred National Treasures and Important Cultural Properties. It consisted of four chapters: Chapter 1 ‘The Founders and Their Teachings’; Chapter 2 ‘Illustrated Biographies of Honen and Shinran’; Chapter 3 ‘Honen and His Fellows, and Shinran and His Fellows’; and Chapter 4 ‘The Spread of Pure Land Teachings’. This exhibition marked the first occasion on which renowned treasures associated with the two founders were brought together in one place. (Japanese)
On October 25, the exhibition titled ‘Honen and Shinran: Treasures Related to the Great Masters of the Kamakura Buddhism’ opened at the Tokyo National Museum (until December 4). It commemorated the 800th anniversary of the passing of Hōnen, founder of the Jōdō sect of Buddhism, and the 750th anniversary of the passing of Shinran, founder of the Jōdo Shinshū of Buddhism. It gathered outstanding works from related temples, displaying approximately 190 works and materials, including around one hundred National Treasures and Important Cultural Properties. It consisted of four chapters: Chapter 1 ‘The Founders and Their Teachings’; Chapter 2 ‘Illustrated Biographies of Honen and Shinran’; Chapter 3 ‘Honen and His Fellows, and Shinran and His Fellows’; and Chapter 4 ‘The Spread of Pure Land Teachings’. This exhibition marked the first occasion on which renowned treasures associated with the two founders were brought together in one place. (Japanese)
On October 25, the Japanese government announced five recipients of the Order of Culture and fifteen recipients of the Person of Cultural Merit for the fiscal year 2011. In relation to art, potter ŌHI Toshirō was awarded the Order of Culture, and ceramic artist IMAI Masayuki, sculptor HASHIMOTO Kentarō, and calligrapher HIBINO Kōhō were awarded the Person of Cultural Merit. (Japanese)
On October 22, the exhibition titled ‘Goya: Light and Shadows’ opened at the National Museum of Western Art (until January 29, 2012). It featured the artistic career of Goya, Spain’s foremost painter, through 123 works and documents, which included 72 items from the Museo del Prado, such as the oil painting titled ‘La maja vestide (E: The Clothed Maja)’ alongside prints and letters. It consisted of fourteen chapters: I ‘Kaku aru watashi – Goya no jigazō (This is Me: Goya’s Self-Portraits)’; II ‘Sōi to jissen (Originality and Practice)’; III ‘Uso to musessō (Lies and Licentiousness)’; IV ‘Giga, yume, kimagure (Satire, Dreams, and Whimsy)’; V ‘Roba no shū: Gudon na mono tachi (The Donkeys: The Stupid Ones)’; VI ‘Mamono no mure (The Horde of Monsters)’; VII ‘Kokuō fusai ika, boku o shiranai hito wa inai (The King and Queen, and All Who Know Me)’; VIII ‘Hisan na nariyuki (The Tragic Outcome)’; IX ‘Fuun naru saiten (The Unfortunate Festival)’; X ‘Akumu (Nightmares)’; XI ‘Shinjin to danzai (Faith and Condemnation)’; XII ‘Yami no naka no shōki (Sanity in Darkness)’; XIII ‘Kikai na gūwa (A Strange Fable)’; and XIV ‘Itsuraku to bōryoku (Pleasure and Violence)’. The exhibition traced the work of artist who cast a profound gaze upon society and his own inner world during the turbulent period spanning the late eighteenth to early nineteenth centuries. (Japanese)
On October 21, the Council for Cultural Affairs (Commissioner: NISHIHARA Suzuko) submitted a report on six assets to be designated as Important Cultural Properties to NAKAGAWA Masaharu, Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology. The list includes the Old Sasebo Wireless Transmission Facility (Hario Transmitting Station) (Sasebo City, Nagasaki Prefecture), used by the Imperial Japanese Navy as a communication facility during the Pacific War. In addition to the list, two districts, one of which was the Kaga Higashitani area in Kaga City, Ishikawa Prefecture, were suggested to be selected to be Important Preservation Districts for Groups of Traditional Buildings. Meanwhile, the Council also recommended the partial withdrawal of the designation for the portion of the grounds of Rokasensuisō (Ōtsu City), where a residence had been constructed, which had been designated as an Important Cultural Property in 1994. (Japanese)
The recipients of the 23rd Kokka Award, an award for remarkable research on Japanese and East Asian art, were announced. The Kokka Award was given to a monograph titled ‘Nara kacchūshi no kenkyū’ (Yoshikawa kōbunkan) by MIYAZAKI Takashi, and a monograph titled ‘Kinsei ikoku shumi bijutsu no shiteki kenkyū’ (Rinsen shoten) by KATSUMORI Noriko. The Kokka Exhibition Catalog Award was given to an exhibition catalog titled ‘Kōsō to kesa’ (Kyoto National Museum) by YAMAKAWA Aki. (Japanese)
On October 10, the Tōdai-ji Museum (Director: KIJITANI Ryōji) opened. This is the first facility to comprehensively display the treasures of Tōdaiji temple (Nara City). Located within the Tōdaiji Culture Center, completed in 2010 on the temple grounds, it comprises five exhibition rooms equipped with a seismic base isolation. A special opening commemorative exhibition titled ‘Nara jidai no Tōdaiji (Tōdaiji Temple in the Nara Period)’ was held until January 14, 2013. Following the dismantling and restoration of the Hokke-dō’s Shumidan (Buddhist altar), the principal image of the hall, the Standing Statue of Fuku Kensaku Kannon (National Treasure), had been enshrined in the museum. (Japanese)
The Great East Japan Earthquake Recovery Auction was held at the Tokyo Art Club in Minato Ward, Tokyo, from October 5 to 9. Co-organized by the Agency of Cultural Affairs, the Japanese Council of Art Museums, and the Japanese Art Dealer Association, the auction presented 399 works by 396 living artists and three deceased artists for sale. This initiative aimed to support the rescue of artworks damaged in the Great East Japan Earthquake and sustained the activities of museums in the affected areas. The event attracted 3,360 visitors. ¥127 million in donations that was raised at the event was allocated towards the restoration of damaged artworks and the recovery of affected museums. (Japanese)
On September 27, the exhibition titled ‘The Splendor of the Khitan Dynasty’ opened at the Kyushu National Museum (until November 27). It introduced the culture of the Khitan (Liao), who ruled present-day Inner Mongolia for 200 years from the early tenth century. It consisted of four chapters: Chapter 1 ‘Bajō no geijutsu (Art on Horseback)’; Chapter 2 ‘Daitō no ifū (The Legacy of the Great Tang)’; Chapter 3 ‘Sōgen toshi (Steppe Cities)’; and Chapter 4 ‘Sōten no bukkokudo (The Buddha’s Realm)’. Comprising approximately 130 items, including ornaments and artifacts associated with three imperial women, the exhibition revealed the fusion of Tang culture – which collapsed almost simultaneously with the Khitan unification – and the culture of the steppe nomads. This exhibition proved its significance, contributing to comparative studies of East Asian art forms. It subsequently toured to the Shizuoka Prefectural Museum of Art (December 17 – March 4, 2012) and the University Art Museum, Tokyo University of the Arts (July 12 – September 17, 2012) (Japanese)
Due to Typhoon No. 12 (Talas), made landfall in Japan from September 3 to 4, Kumano Nachi Taisha in Wakayama Prefecture suffered damage. Part of its shrine building (Important Cultural Property) was buried by landslides from the mountain behind it, and part of the roof was also damaged. Furthermore, part of the cypress bark roof of the Zaōdō (main hall; National Treasure) of Kinpusenji temple in Nara Prefecture was also peeled off. (Japanese)
The exhibition titled ‘Omi: Spiritual Home of Kami and Hotoke’ opened, which showcased Buddhist and Shinto artifacts from Shiga Prefecture across three venues simultaneously: the exhibition titled ‘The Path to Tendai Buddhism – In Search of the Eternal Śākyamuni Buddha –’ was held at MIHO MUSEUM in Shigaraki (September 3 – December 11); the exhibition titled ‘Inori no kuni, Ōmi no butsuzō – Kodai kara chūsei e’ was held at the Shiga Prefectural Museum of Modern Art in Seta (September 17 – November 20); and the exhibition titled ‘Hiyoshi no kami to matsuri’ was held at the Otsu City Museum of History in Ōtsu (October 8 – November 23). The Ōmi region, where mountains encircle Lake Biwa, fostered ancient beliefs revering nature. When Buddhism was introduced from outside of Japan, Buddhist art flourished centered Mount Hiei. The exhibition ‘The Path to Tendai Buddhism’ featured 104 works organized into eight chapters: ‘The Passing of Shakyamuni’; ‘Cause and Effect of the Birth of Shakyamuni’; ‘Mahayana Bodhisattvas’; ‘Buddhas in Various Paradises’; ‘A Universe Filled with Buddhas’; ‘Buddhism in the Nara Period’; ‘Lotus Sutra and Saicho’; and ‘After Saicho and the Rise of Tendai Esotericism’. The exhibition ‘Inori no kuni, Ōmi no butsuzō’ displayed 57 Buddhist statues from the early Heian period to the Muromachi period. The exhibition ‘Hiyoshi no kami to matsuri’ presented 101 works across two chapters: ‘Kamigami no sugata (The Forms of the Deities)’ and ‘Hiyoshi sannōsai (The Hiyoshi Sannō Festival)’. The exhibitions served to impress upon visitors the richness of Shinto and Buddhist art in the Ōmi region. They also drew attention as an initiative where three neighboring museums presented simultaneously held exhibitions under the same theme. (Japanese)
On August 30, the exhibition titled ‘Celebrating the 250th anniversary of Sakai Hoitsu’s Birth: Sakai Hoitsu and the Edo Rimpa School’ opened at the Himeji City Museum of Art (until October 2). It showcased artworks by SAKAI Hōitsu – who flourished in Edo in the late eighteenth century, admiring the style of artists in Kyoto such as TAWARAYA Sōtatsu and OGATA Kōrin – and Edo Rimpa artists who inherited his style. The exhibition displayed 338 works, including around 160 works by Hōitsu, such as his representative painting ‘Flowering Plants of Summer and Autumn (夏秋草図屏風)’, and around 60 works by his student SUZUKI Kiitsu. This was complemented by related materials and works by artists such as IKEDA Koson, SAKAI Ōho, and SUZUKI Shuitsu, who linked to the modern era. The exhibition consisted of nine chapters: Chapter 1 ‘Himeji sakaike to Hōitsu (The Himeji Sakai Family and Hōitsu)’; Chapter 2 ‘Ukiyo-e seisaku to kyōka (Ukiyo-e Production and Kyōka)’; Chapter 3 ‘Kōrin gafū e no keitō (Devotion to the Kōrin Style)’; Chapter 4 ‘Edo bunka no naka no Hōitsu (Hōitsu within Edo Culture)’; Chapter 5 ‘Ugean Hōitsu no butsuga seisaku (Hōitsu’s Buddhist Painting Production at Ugean)’; Chapter 6 ‘Edo rimpa no kakuritsu (The Establishment of the Edo Rimpa School)’; Chapter 7 ‘Kōgei ishō no tenkai (The Development of Kōgei Designs)’; Chapter 8 ‘Suzuki Kiitsu to sono shūhen (Suzuki Kiitsu and His Circle)’; and Chapter 9 ‘Edo rimpa no suimyaku (The Watercourse of the Edo Rimpa)’. The exhibition subsequently toured to the Chiba City Museum of Art (October 10 – November 13) and the Hosomi Museum (April 10 – May 13, 2012) (Japanese)
Welcoming ŌSAKA Eriko as General Director and MIKI Akiko as Artistic Director, the Yokohama Triennale, now in its fourth edition as it marks its tenth anniversary since its founding, took place from August 6 to November 6 at the Yokohama Museum of Art as its main venue. Centered the theme ‘OUR MAGIC HOUR – How much of the World Can We Know? – ’, it raised questions about the limits of modern scientific understanding of the work, intending to turn our gaze towards that which cannot be captured by science or reason. Aligned under the keywords ‘look’, ‘nurture’ and ‘connect’, it aimed not only at contemporary art but also at other genres and past artworks. It sought to deepen the act of viewing art, to invigorate both the power to create and the power to see, and to emphasize connections with the local communities. Alongside the main that displayed artworks by 79 artists across 77 art groups, collaborative projects included ‘BankART Life III: Shin Minatomura’ and ‘Koganecho Bazaar 2011’, attracting 330,000 visitors. (Japanese)
On July 15, the Council for Cultural Affairs (Commissioner: NISHIHARA Suzuko) submitted a report on 178 structures to be designated as Registered Tangible Cultural Properties to TAKAKI Yoshiaki, Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology. The list includes the Kamiya Bar Main Hall (Taitō Ward, Tokyo), considered the first bar in Asakusa, Tokyo, and the Yūbari Rokumeikan (Yūbari City, Hokkaidō), a reception facility reflecting the prosperity of the Yūbari coal mines. Meanwhile, they requested the withdrawal of the designation as an Important Cultural Properties for the water tank section of the Ishioka No. 1 Power Plant (Kitaibaraki City and Takahagi City), which had been severely damaged in the Great East Japan Earthquake. (Japanese)
On July 11, the laureates of the 23rd 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, Bill Viola (USA) in the Painting category, Anish Kapoor (United Kingdom) in the Sculpture category, and Ricardo Legorreta (Mexico) in the Architecture category. (Japanese)