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).
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 33rd winner was KUWABARA Shisei. The award-winning works were his photographic exhibition, ‘Shiranui kai: The Minamata disease Disaster’ (held at the Nikon Salon), and his photography book, ‘Minamata jiken: The MINAMATA Disaster’ (published by Fujiwara shoten). KUWABARA has frequently visited Minamata City, Kumamoto Prefecture, since 1960s, and painstakingly recorded patients of Minamata disease along with their families, court cases, and activities in fishing communities for half a century, which were highly acclaimed. (Japanese)
On March 20, the government budget for the fiscal year 2014 (Heisei 26) was passed. The budget for the Agency for Cultural Affairs became ¥103.592 billion, increasing by 0.24%, which is a ¥250 million increase compared to the previous year. The budget is divided into four 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. Dissemination of Japan’s outstanding culture and arts / promotion of international cultural exchange; and 4. Improvement / enhancement of the foundation for the promotion of culture. Major categories whose budget increased in each project are as follows: in Project 1, ¥584 million for ‘Development of Imagination and Creativity of children and young people through culture and arts’; in Project 2, ¥383 million for ‘Radical strengthening of restoration of cultural properties / enhancement of disaster prevention’; and in Project 3, ¥431 million for ‘Implementation of the promotion / exchange of Japanese culture’. (Japanese)
On March 18, the Council for Cultural Affairs (Commissioner: MIYATA Ryōhei) submitted a report on 154 buildings to be registered as Registered Tangible Cultural Properties to SHIMOMURA Hakubun, Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology. The list includes Moji Golf Clubhouse (Kitakyūshū City, Fukuoka Prefecture), designed by Raymond Architectural Design Company, which is modernistic architecture adopting Japanese design. (Japanese)
On March 18, the Council for Cultural Affairs (Commissioner: MIYATA Ryōhei) submitted a report on one asset to be designated as a National Treasures and 50 assets to be designated as Important Cultural Properties to SHIMOMURA Hakubun, Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology. The list includes a Jōmon dogū from the Late Jōmon period, called Masked Goddess (Kamen no megumi), which was unearthed from the Nakappara site in Chino City, Nagano Prefecture, to be designated as a National Treasure; and a pair of wooden statues of TOKUGAWA Ieyasu and his son Hidetada, which were housed in Chion-in temple (the head temple of the Jōdo sect of Buddhism), and Murakami Kagaku’s painting titled ‘Nude’(collection of the Yamatane Museum of Art, Tokyo) to be designated as Important Cultural Properties. (Japanese)
On March 13, the Agency for Cultural Affairs announced the recipients of the Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology’s Art Encouragement Prize for fiscal year 2013. In the Fine Arts category, artists OHTAKE Shinrō (for his exhibition ‘Shinro Ohtake: New New’) and FUKUDA Miran (for her exhibition ‘Miran Fukuda’) shared the prize. Manga artist MOROHOSHI Daijirō (for his manga ‘Princess Uriko’s Night, Cinderella’s Morning’) was awarded in the Media Arts category. The three recipients for the Art Encouragement Prize for New Artists for 2013 were photographer YONEDA Tomoko (for her exhibition ‘We shall meet in the place where there is no darkness’) in the Fine Arts category; architectural critic and historian IGARASHI Tarō (for his curated work ‘Aichi Triennale 2013: Awakening’) in the Development of the Arts category; and curator of Yokohama Taikan Memorial Hall, SATŌ Shino (for her monograph ‘“Mōrō” no jidai – Taikan, Shunsō ra to kindai nihonga no seiritsu’) in the Criticism category. (Japanese)
ISHIUCHI Miyako was announced as the winner of the Hasselblad Foundation International Award in Photography, hosted by the Hasselblad Foundation in Sweden, an international photography prize given to a photographer recognized for pioneering achievements. The award ceremony was held at the Embassy of Sweden in Tokyo on March 6. ISHIUCHI Miyako is the third Japanese winner, after HAYAMA Hiroshi in 1987 and SUGIMOTO Hiroshi in 2001. (Japanese)
On February 13, the exhibition titled ‘Toward the Modernity: Images of Self & Other in East Asian Art Competitions’ opened at the Fukuoka Asian Art Museum (until March 18). The exhibition introduced art through government sponsored art competitions (kanten) that took place in Japan, Korea, Taiwan and Northeast China (former Manchuria) under the Japanese occupation. It revealed local trends where their own modernity was sought in connection with Japanese contemporary art. The exhibition travelled to the Fuchu Art Museum (May 14 – June 8) and the Hyogo Prefectural Museum of Art (June 14 – July 21). (Japanese)
On February 5, the winner of the 39th 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 MORI Eiki for his photo book ‘intimacy’. (Japanese)
On January 1, the winners of the 55th 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, sculptor AOKI Noe won the award for her solo exhibition titled ‘Aoki Noe | All that floats down’ held at the Nagoya City Art Museum and the Toyota Municipal Museum of Art.Mainichi Art Award Winners Announced (Japanese)
On December 16, 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 TANAKA Nozomi, who created ‘Mono okuri’. OHKOJIMA Maki and KIM Mitsuo jointly received the VOCA Encouragement Prize. ŌSAKA Chika and SOMEYA Yūko jointly received the VOCA Honorable Mention Prize. The Ohara Museum of Art Prize was given to SATŌ Kana. The VOCA exhibition 2014, where the winners’ works were exhibited, was held at the Uemo Royal Museum in Tokyo from March 15 to March 30 in 2014. (Japanese)
On December 5, the Agency for Cultural Affairs announced the winning works for the 17th 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 ‘crt mgn’ by Carsten Nicolai (Germany) in the Art Division; ‘Sound of Honda / Ayrton Senna 1989’ by SUGANO Kaoru, YASUMOCHI Sōtarō, ŌRAI Yū, Nadya Kirillova, YONEZAWA Kyōko, SEKINE Kōsai, SAWAI Taeji and MANABE Daito (Japan / Russia) in the Entertainment Division; an animated memoir film titled ‘Approved For Adoption’ by Jung / Laurent Boileau (Belgium / France) in the Animation Division; and a manga titled ‘JOJOLION – Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure Part 8 –’ by ARAKI Hirohiko in the Manga Division. (Japanese)
The Ringa Art Encouragement Prize (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 25th Ringa Art Encouragement Prize. In the Art History Research Division, three people shared the award; KUWAHARA Noriko (Associate Professor, Seitoku University) for her monograph titled ‘Onchi Kōshirō kenkyū: hanga no modanizumu’ (Serika shobō); and TERAGUCHI Junji (Deputy Director, Hiroshima City Museum of Contemporary Art) and INOUE Yoshiko (Curator, Museum of Modern Art, Wakayama) for their curated exhibition titled ‘Tanaka Kyoichi: a Retrospective’ and the contribution of their essays to its exhibition catalog. No winners in the Art Criticism Division were announced. (Japanese)
On November 15, the Council for Cultural Affairs (Commissioner: MIYATA Ryōhei) submitted a report on 220 buildings to be registered as Registered Tangible Cultural Properties to SHIMOMURA Hakubun, Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology. The list includes the National Astronomical Observatory of Japan (Mitaka City, Tokyo), which is an outstanding modern building from the Taishō and early Shōwa periods. (Japanese)
On November 15, the Council for Cultural Affairs (Commissioner: MIYATA Ryōhei) submitted a report on the following places to be designated as Places of Scenic Beauty or Historic Sites to SHIMOMURA Hakubun, Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology. The list includes two places such as scenic spots on the ‘Oku no hosomichi’, the route travelled by the haiku master MATSUO Bashō through Mutsu and Hokuriku regions, to be designated as Places of Scenic Beauty; nine places such as Miyawaki temple ruins (Date City, Fukushima Prefecture), where the connection between the Muromachi shogunate and the Date clan is indicated, to be designated as Historic Sites; four places such as the Former Nanbu Family Villa Gardens (Morioka City) to be registered as Registered Monuments; and five places such as the Miyazu Amanohashidate Cultural Landscape (Miyazu City, Kyoto Prefecture) to be selected as Important Cultural Landscapes. (Japanese)
On November 9, the exhibition titled ‘Hi-Red Center: The Track of “Direct Action”’ opened at the Nagoya City Art Museum (until December 23). It featured the works of TAKAMATSU Jirō, AKASEGAWA Genpei and NAKANISHI Natsuyuki, who, during the period of rapid economic growth in the 1960s, went far beyond the conventional framework of art to shake up everyday life, displaying mainly documentary materials and photographs of the time. It travelled to the Shoto Museum of Art (February 11 – March 23, 2014). (Japanese)
On October 30, the Calligraphy section at the Nitten, which invites the public to send in entries for a Nitten exhibition, had been rigged to allocate the winners to the leading groups, according to a source close to the matter. In 2009, the head of the jury allegedly showed a jury member in charge of the seal-cutting division an allocation list where the specific number of entries and winners from the leading groups were written and instructed the jury member to decide the number of winners according to the instruction. It resulted in the organizer of the Nitten to cancel their selection of the Prime Minister’s Prize and the Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology Prize, the two highest prizes for the 45thNitten exhibition, which began on November 1. The Agency for Cultural Affairs withdrew its support, and FURUTANI Sōin, a leading figure in the calligraphy world and a Nitten advisor, resigned from his role. On November 7, an investigation committee was launched and submitted its report on December 5, confirming the facts of the fraud. (Japanese)
On October 25, the Japanese government announced five recipients of the Order of Culture and 15 recipients of the Person of Cultural Merit for the fiscal year 2013. In relation to art, calligrapher TAKAGI Seikaku was awarded the Order of Culture, and UEMURA Atsushi, nihonga artist who also protect cultural properties, and architect MAKI Fumihiko were awarded the Person of Cultural Merit. (Japanese)
On October 18, the Council for Cultural Affairs (Commissioner: MIYATA Ryōhei) submitted a report on six buildings to be designated as Important Cultural Properties to SHIMOMURA Hakubun, Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology. The list includes the Nasu Shrine (Ōtawara City, Tochigi Prefecture), whose structure combines medieval forms with early modern decorative design, and the former Kōyaguchi school building, which is considered to be the culmination of pre-war wooden school buildings. In addition to the list, two districts, one of which was the Masuda district in Yokote City, Akita Prefeture, where one of few merchant houses that were purposely built to cope with heavy snowfall in the Tōhoku region remains, were also suggested to be the Important Preservation Districts for Groups of Traditional Buildings. (Japanese)
The winners of the 25th Kokka Prize, an award for remarkable research on Japanese and East Asian art, were announced. The Kokka Prize was given to an article titled ‘Kusha mandara to tenpyō fukko’ (in ‘Bukkyō bijutsu ronbunshū I: Yōshiki hen’, Chikurinsha, 2012) by TANIGUCHI Kōsei (Nara National Museum). The Kokka Special Prize was given to a monograph titled ‘Chūgoku sekkutsu bijutsu no kenkyū’ (Chūō kōron bijutsu shuppan, 2012) by HAMADA Tamami (Waseda University). (Japanese)
On October 4, the Okada Museum of Art (Director: KOBAYASHI Tadashi) opened in Kowakudani, Hakone, Kanagawa Prefecture, presenting a wide range of Japanese and East Asian art from ancient to modern times. The museum houses about 700 works of art collected by OKADA Kazuo, a businessman who developed his business in the manufacture of amusement machines. With five basement floors that create an exhibition area of 5,000 m2, it is the largest private museum of its kind in Japan. The exhibition, titled ‘Heritage of Beauty: Japanese, Chinese and Korean Art’ (October 4 – December 30), was held to celebrate its opening. (Japanese)
