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 April 17, the Agency of Cultural Affairs submitted a document titled ‘Towards the revitalization of the art market’ to the fourth meeting for the through promotion of structural reforms of the Council on Investments for the Future “Regional Economy and Infrastructure” (SMEs, tourism, sports culture). The concept of ‘leading museums’ referred to in the document caused a stir in the art world, resulting in the Japanese Council of Art Museums issuing a statement on June 19 that museums should not engage in activities aimed at involvement in the art market. (Japanese)
On April 1, the Film Center of the National Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo in Kyōbashi, was reorganized into the National Film Archive of Japan (Director: OKAJIMA Hisashi), an institution specializing in film at the Independent Administrative Institution National Museum of Art. The National Film Archive of Japan is coequal with other national museums and further strengthened its function as a national center for the promotion of Japanese film culture. (Japanese)
On March 28, the government budget for the fiscal year 2018 (Heisei 30) was passed. The budget for the Agency for Cultural Affairs became ¥107.729 billion, increasing by 3.3%, which is ¥3.457 billion increase compared to the previous year. The budget is divided into five principal projects as follows: 1. Creation and development of culture and arts, and cultivation of human resources; 2. Preservation, utilization and succession of Japan’s precious cultural properties; 3. Creating Social and Economic Value utilizing Cultural Resources; 4. Disseminating Diverse Culture and Arts to Improve Japan’s Brand; and 5. Improvement/enhancement of the foundation for the promotion of culture. A major category whose budget increased is as follows: In project 3, ¥50 million for ‘Projects to revitalize the arts market’. (Japanese)
On March 22, the Japan Art Academy (Director: KUROI Senji) announced the recipients of the 74th Japan Art Academy Prize. The Imperial Prize and the Japan Art Academy Prize were given to TABUCHI Toshio (for his nihonga painting ‘Uzushio’, exhibited at the Centennial exhibition of Japan Art Institute’s Revival) in the Fine Arts category; and HAGA Tōru (for his monograph titled ‘Bunmei to shite no Tokugawa nihon: 1603-1853’) in the Literature category. In the Fine Arts category, YUYAMA Toshihisa (for his yōga painting titled ‘l’Aube (yoake), exhibited at the third Kaiso Shin-Nitten)’, MITAMURA Arisumi (for his lacquerwork titled ‘Tsuki no hikari Sono saki ni’, exhibited at the third Kaiso Shin-Nitten) and TSUCHIHASHI Yasuko (for her calligraphy titled ‘Katsushika no sato’, exhibited at the fourth Kaiso Shin-Nitten) received the Japan Art Academy Prize. (Japanese)
On March 21, the Nakanoshima Kosetsu Museum of Art (Nakanoshima, Kita Ward, Osaka City) was opened to celebrate the 45th anniversary of the Kosetsu Museum of Art (Mikage, Higashinada Ward, Kobe City), which houses the collection of Japanese and East Asian antiquities collected by MURAYAMA Ryūhei, founder of the Asahi Shimbun newspaper company. The Nakanoshima Kosetsu Museum of Art, located on the fourth floor of Nakanoshima Festival Tower West in Osaka’s business district, features the Nakanoshima Genan Tea House, a reproduction of the tea house Genan (Important Cultural Property) in the former Murayama family residence, and the Murayama Ryōhei Memorial Room, which introduces the founder’s life story. The exhibition titled ‘Shugyoku no Murayama korekushon: aishi, mamori, tsutaeta’ was held as a commemorative exhibition for the museum’s opening with five thematic periods from March 21, 2018, to February 11, 2019. (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 37th winner was USHIODA Tokuko for her photobook titled ‘Views of Books: BIBLIOTHECA’. (Japanese)
On March 17, the winner of the 43rd 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 KOMATSU Hiroko for her installations such as ‘The Execution of Personal Autonomy’ and FUJIOKA Aya for her photobooks such as ‘Kawa wa yuku’. (Japanese)
On March 16, the Agency for Cultural Affairs announced the winning works for the 21st 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 video installation titled ‘Interstices / Opus I – Opus II’ by Haythem ZAKARIA (Tunisia) in the Art Division; a video game titled ‘The Last Guardian’ by ‘The Last Guardian’ Development Team (UEDA Fumito, Representative) in the Entertainment Division; an animated feature film titled ‘In This Corner of the World’ by KATABUCHI Sunao in the Animation Division; and a manga titled ‘Nee, mama (My Dear, Mom)’ by IKEBE Aoi in the Manga Division. (Japanese)
On March 9, the Council for Cultural Affairs submitted a report on five assets to be designated as National Treasures and fifty assets to be designated as Important Cultural Properties to HAYASHI Yoshifumi, Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology. The five assets to be designated as National Treasures were a pair of six-panel folding screen paintings, ‘The Four Seasons with the Sun and Moon’ (Amanosan Kongōji temple, Osaka); a wooden statue of the Thousand-Armed Bodhisattva Kannon, enshrined in the main hall of Rengeōin (Myōhōin temple, Kyoto); wooden statues of Four Heavenly Kings (Kōfukuji temple, Nara); Daebojagyeong Sutra, Volume 32 in Gold Characters (Kyoto National Museum); and Sugaura documents and illustrated map of Sugaura and Ōura shimo manors (Suga shrine, Shiga Prefecture). One of fifty assets to be designated as Important Cultural Properties was colored murals of Kitora Tumulus (Asuka village, Nara Prefecture). The Council for Cultural Affairs also recommended that 196 buildings, including the former Tōshōgū Treasure House, a modernist building designed by architect KISHIDA Hideto, be registered as Registered Tangible Cultural Properties. (Japanese)
On March 7, 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 2017. In the Fine Arts category, artist SUGITO Hiroshi for his exhibition titled ‘Hiroshi Sugito module and lacura’ and artist NISHINO Tastu (also known as Tatzu Nishi) for his exhibition titled ‘Tatzu Nishi in Beppu’ shared the prize. In the Criticism category, art historian Professor Emeritus at the University of Tsukuba, OMUKA Toshiharu for his monograph titled ‘Hijōji no modanizumu’ and art critic SAWARAGI Noi for his monograph titled ‘Shin nijutsu ron’ share the prize. In the Media Art category, animator YAMAMURA Kōji was awarded for his animation titled ‘Yamamura Kōji migime to hidarime de miru yume’. The three recipients of the Art Encouragement Prize for New Artists were artist IWASAKI Takahiro for his exhibition titled ‘Turned Upside Down, It’s a Forest’ in the Fine Arts category; director of a non-profit organization (NPO), Creative Support LET’S, for her social inclusion project titled ‘Hyōgen miman, Jikkenshitsu’ in the Development of Art category; and artist WADA Ei for his music project titled ‘Electronicos Fantasticos!’ in the Media Art category. (Japanese)
On February 26, the National Museum of Western Art announced that one of Claude Monet’s series of paintings, ‘Water lilies: Reflection of Willows’, collected by businessman MATSUKATA Kōjirō was found in the Louvre Museum in Paris. The work, purchased by Matsukata directly from Monet in 1921, which had been removed from its wooden frame and rolled into a cylinder, was discovered in September 2016 in a storage room in the Louvre. The work was subsequently returned by the French government to the Matsukata family, who donated it to the National Museum of Western Art in November 2017. The museum carried out restoration work on the painting and unveiled it in its special exhibition entitled, ‘The Matsukata Collection: A One-Hundred-Year Odyssey’, from June 11 to September 23, 2019. (Japanese)
On January 1, the winners of the 59th Mainichi Art Award (sponsored by the Mainichi Newspapers Co.), the annual award given to outstanding individuals in art and culture, were announced. In Art Category I (Painting / Sculpture / Crats / Graphics), artist and sculptor ENDŌ Toshikatsu won for his exhibition titled ‘ENDO Toshikatsu: The Archaeology of the Sacred’ held at the Museum of Modern Art, Saitama. (Japanese)
The recipients of the Asahi Prize for the fiscal year 2017 (sponsored by the Asahi Shimbun Foundation) were announced. In relation to art, art director KITAGAWA Fram received the prize for ‘revitalising local communities and culture with art festivals in satoyama and islands’. (Japanese)
On December 11, the winners of the VOCA Prize, which encourages young artists who create two-dimensional artworks, were announced. The Grand Prize of the VOCA was given to USUI Yui (‘our crazy red dots’). FUJII Toshiharu (‘Kairaku nohakumaku’) and YAMADA Nanako (‘Iso’) jointly received the VOCA Encouragement Prize. UMEZAWA Kazuki (‘Subete o shirunomo’) and MORIMOTO Aiko (‘Karakusa moyō’) jointly received the VOCA Honorable Mention Prize. The Ohara Museum of Art Prize was given to URAKAWA Taishi (‘Fūkei to yūrei’). The VOCA exhibition 2018, where the winners’ works were exhibited, was held at the Ueno Royal Museum in Tokyo from March 15 to March 30 in 2018. (Japanese)
On December 2, the winners of the ICOMOS Japan Prize 2017 as well as the ICOMOS Japan Honorable Mention Award were announced. The ICOMOS Japan Prize and the ICOMOS Japan Honorable Mention Award aim to encourage the preservation and conservation of structures, groups of historic buildings, cultural landscapes, monuments and historic ruins as well as historic sites. The ICOMOS Japan Prize was given to ŌTAKE Sachie (Curator at the Kokuyōseki Taiken Museum), who conducted systematic development activities on research, conservation, dissemination and experience learning at the Jōmon period obsidian mines. The ICOMOS Japan Honorable Mention Award was given to TOMINAGA Yoshiaki (CEO, Heritage Structure Engineering Design, Inc.), who contributed to the conservation and utilization of historical buildings as a structural designer. (Japanese)
On November 30, the Japan Art Academy (Director: KUROI Senji) announced that it had elected eight new members to the Japan Art Academy for their outstanding achievements in artistic activities. In relation to art, nihonga painter NISHIDA Shunei, yōga painter NEGISHI Yūji and architect ISOZAKI Arata were elected. The election was officially announced by HAYASHI Yoshimasa, the Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology on December 15. (Japanese)
On November 17, the Council for Cultural Affairs submitted a report on the following places to be designated as Places of Scenic Beauty or Historic Sites to HAYASHI Yoshimasa, the Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology. The list includes ten sites such as the remains of Inuyama Castle (Inuyama City, Aichi Prefecture) to be designated as Historic Sites; two sites such as Enunkan Gardens (Kesennuma City, Miyagi Prefecture), created in the residence of senior retainer of the Sendai Domain, to be designated as Places of Scenic Beauty; two sites such as the Hozumi Bridge (Uwajima City, Ehime Prefecture) to be registered as Registered Monuments; and three sites such as the landscape of Katsushika Shibamata (Katsushika Ward, Tokyo) to be selected as Important Cultural Landscapes. The Council also suggested 188 structures to be designated as Registered Tangible Cultural Properties, including the Former Shōunkaku Annex of Hanamaki Onsen (Hanamaki City, Iwate Prefecture), a large-scale inn building from the early Shōwa Period. (Japanese)
On November 10, the 39th Suntory Prize for Social Science and Humanities (sponsored by the Suntory Foundation) announced that, in relation to art, KATŌ Kōichi (Associate Professor, University of Tokyo) for his monograph titled ‘Toki ga tsukuru kenchiku (Architecture in Time)’ and KANEKO Yū (critic, film artist) for his monograph titled ‘Eizō no ryōiki’ were awarded in the Literary and Art Criticism category. (Japanese)
The Ringa Art Encouragement Award (organized by the Ringa Art Encouragement Fund), which publicly honors outstanding individuals for their exceptional achievements in the field of art criticism and art history research, announced the winners of the 29th Ringa Art Encouragement Prize. In the Art History Research Division, SHIOYA Jun (Head of Cultural Properties Information Section as well as Head of Modern / Contemporary Art Section, Tokyo National Research Institute for Cultural Properties), MASHINO Keiko (Part-time Lecturer, Waseda University) and EMI Chizuko (Head of Hyaku-gojū-nenshi hensanshitsu, The Tokyo National Museum) were jointly awarded for their publication titled ‘Tennō no bijutsushi 6: Kindai kōshitu imēji no sōshutsu: Meiji Taishō jidai (Art History of the Imperial Court 6: The Meiji and Taishō Periods: Creating the Image of a Modern Imperial Family)’. In the Art Criticism Division, TSUZUKU Masatoshi (Curator, Toyota Municipal Museum of Art) received the prize for his curated exhibition titled ‘Spider’s Thread – Spinning images of Japanese beauty’ and the contribution of his essay to its exhibition catalog. (Japanese)
On October 24, the Japanese government announced five recipients of the Order of Culture and fifteen recipients of the Person of Cultural Merit for the fiscal year 2017. In relation to art, yōga painter OKUTANI Hiroshi was awarded the Order of Culture, and sculptor AMAMIYA Keiko and photographer SUGIMOTO Hiroshi were awarded the Person of Cultural Merit. (Japanese)
