is an official Japanese recognition and honor which is awarded annually to select people who have made outstanding cultural contributions. This distinction is intended to play a role as a part of a system of support measures for the promotion of creative activities in Japan. By 1999, 576 people had been selected as Persons of Cultural Merit.

Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (Japan) The , also known as MEXT or Monka-shō, is one of the eleven Ministries of Japan that composes part of the executive branch of the Government of Japan. Its goal is to improve the development of Japan in relation with the international communit ...

''Culture 2000''.
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System of recognition

The Order of Culture and Persons of Cultural Merit function in tandem to honor those who have contributed to the advancement and development of Japanese culture in a variety of fields, including academia, arts, science and sports.
''Yomiuri Shimbun.'' October 29, 2008.

Persons of Cultural Merit

Certificate of the Person of Cultural Merit for Maki Kawai 20211103

The 1951 ''Law on Pensions for the Persons of Cultural Merit'' honors persons of cultural merit by providing a special government-sponsored pension. Since 1955, the new honorees have been announced on the same day as the award ceremony for the Order of Culture.

Order of Culture

The award ceremony, which takes place at the Imperial Palace on the Day of Culture (November 3). Candidates for the Order of Culture are selected from the Persons of Cultural Merit by the

Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology The is a member of the Cabinet of Japan and is the leader and chief executive of the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology. The minister is nominated by the Prime Minister of Japan and is appointed by the Emperor of Japan. ...

, who then recommends the candidates to the Prime Minister. The final decisions are made by the Cabinet.

Selected recipients

Makoto Asashima is a Japanese developmental biologist known for his pioneer research on Activin. He is Professor Emeritus of the University of Tokyo and Yokohama City University. He is also Vice President of the Tokyo University of Science. Contribution Asashi ...

, developmental biologist *

Seiji Ozawa Seiji (written: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , or in hiragana) is a masculine Japanese given name. Notable people with the name include: *, Japanese ski jumper *, Japanese racing driver *, Japanese politician *, Japanese film directo ...

, conductor * Hisao Domoto, abstract painter *

Toru Funamura TORU or Toru may refer to: *TORU, spacecraft system *Toru (given name), Japanese male given name *Toru, Pakistan Toru Mardan Toru is a village and union council in Mardan District of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. It has an altitude of 291 m (958 f ...

, composer * Toshi Ichiyanagi, composer * Akira Isogai, bio-organic chemistry researcher *

Tota Kaneko Tota may refer to: People * Tota (bishop), the Bishop of Selsey (in what is now England) in 786 * Tota Roy Chowdhury, an Indian Bengali male actor * Tota Singh, Indian politician * Vincenzo Tota, Italian medical doctor specializing in sports medici ...

, haiku poet * Asami Maki, choreographer *

Makoto Nagao was a Japanese computer scientist. He contributed to various fields: machine translation, natural language processing, pattern recognition, image processing and library science. He was the 23rd president of Kyoto University (1997–2003) and the ...

, information engineering * Tomijuro Nakamura, Kabuki actor * Tatsuo Nishida, linguist *

Man Nomura A man is an adult male human. Prior to adulthood, a male human is referred to as a boy (a male child or adolescent). Like most other male mammals, a man's genome usually inherits an X chromosome from the mother and a Y chro ...

, Kyogen actor * Sayume Okuda, craftswoman * Hiroyuki Sakaki, electronic engineer * Koichi Shimoda, physicist *

Kiichi Sumikawa Kiichi (written: , , , , , or ) is a masculine Japanese given name. Notable people with the name include: *, Japanese politician *, Japanese equestrian *, Imperial Japanese Navy admiral *, Japanese politician *, Japanese mixed martial artist *, J ...

, sculptor *

Kenichi Tominaga is a masculine Japanese given name. Possible writings Ken'ichi can be written using different kanji characters and can mean: *賢一, "wise, one" *健一, "healthy, one" *憲一, "constitution, one" *謙一, "humble, one" *建一, "build, one" * ...

, economic sociologist * Naoya Shiga (1951), author * Hideki Yukawa (1951), physicist * Masuji Ibuse (1966), author (for the work Black Rain). * Haruko Sugimura (1974), actress *

Motoo Ōtaguro (January 11, 1893 – January 23, 1979) was a Japanese music critic. He is considered a pioneer of music criticism in Japan. Biography Early life Ōtaguro was born in Tokyo, on January 11, 1893. He was born into a wealthy family; his father was ...

(1977), music critic *

Susumu Tonegawa is a Japanese scientist who was the sole recipient of the Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine in 1987 for his discovery of V(D)J recombination, the genetic mechanism which produces antibody diversity. Although he won the Nobel Prize for his w ...

(1983), medical researcher * Hisaya Morishige (1984), actor *

Fuku Akino was a Japanese painter. She was born in Futamata, Iwata-gun, Shizuoka Prefecture (currently, Nimata Town, Tenryu Ward, Hamamatsu City). She became known by her paintings of Indian themes, landscapes and peoples. Life and career Akino got ...

(1991), Nihonga painter * Ryotaro Shiba (1991), writer *

Isuzu Yamada was a Japanese stage and screen actress whose career spanned seven decades. Biography Yamada was born in Osaka as Mitsu Yamada, the daughter of Kusudu Yamada, a shinpa actor specialising in onnagata roles, and Ritsu, a geisha. Under her mothe ...

(1993), actress *

Migishi Setsuko Migishi Setsuko (三岸節子, January 3, 1905 – April 18, 1999) was a Japanese ''yōga'' (Western-style) painter. Known for employing vivid colors and bold strokes for still-life and landscape, Migishi contributed greatly to the establishmen ...

(1994), painter *

Jakucho Setouchi (15 May 1922 – 9 November 2021; born formerly known as was a Japanese Buddhist nun, writer, and activist. Setouchi wrote a best-selling translation of '' The Tale of Genji'' and over 400 fictional biographical and historical novels. In 1997 ...

(1997), Buddhist nun and author * Mitsuko Mori (1998), actress *

Koji Nakanishi was a Japanese chemist who studied bioorganic chemistry and natural products. He served as Centennial Professor of Chemistry and chair of the Chemistry Department at Columbia University. Early life Nakanishi was born in Hong Kong on May 11, 1 ...

(1999), chemist * Marius Berthus Jansen (1999), historian * Ito Masami (2000), judge * Ishimura Uzaemon XVII (2000),

Kabuki is a classical form of Japanese dance- drama. Kabuki theatre is known for its heavily-stylised performances, the often-glamorous costumes worn by performers, and for the elaborate make-up worn by some of its performers. Kabuki is thought ...

actor * Shotaro Yasuoka (2001), writer *

Donald Keene Donald Lawrence Keene (June 18, 1922 – February 24, 2019) was an American-born Japanese scholar, historian, teacher, writer and translator of Japanese literature. Keene was University Professor emeritus and Shincho Professor Emeritus of Japane ...

(2002), educator * Shozo Shimada (2004), artist * Ken Takakura (2006), actor *

Tatsuya Nakadai is a Japanese film actor. He was featured in 11 films directed by Masaki Kobayashi, including '' The Human Condition'' trilogy, wherein he starred as the lead character Kaji, plus ''Harakiri'', '' Samurai Rebellion'' and '' Kwaidan''. Nakadai ...

(2007), actor *

(2008), biologist *

Nakamura Tomijyuro V Nakamura may refer to: Places *Nakamura, Kōchi, a former city in Kōchi Prefecture, Japan *Nakamura-ku, Nagoya, a ward in Nagoya city in Aichi Prefecture, Japan People *Nakamura (surname), a list of people with the surname Other uses *Nakamura s ...

(2008), Kabuki actor * Taiho Koki (2009),

sumo is a form of competitive full-contact wrestling where a '' rikishi'' (wrestler) attempts to force his opponent out of a circular ring ('' dohyō'') or into touching the ground with any body part other than the soles of his feet (usually by t ...

wrestler * Yoshihide Kozai (2009), astronomer * Sayuri Yoshinaga (2010), actress *

Hideji Ōtaki was a Japanese actor. He has served as President of the Mingei Theatre Company. Career After serving in World War II, he became interested in the theater and helped found the Gekidan Mingei troupe in 1950. He gained fame for his television work ...

(2011), actor *

Matsumoto Kōshirō IX Matsumoto (松本 or 松元, "base of the pine tree") may refer to: Places * Matsumoto, Nagano (松本市), a city ** Matsumoto Airport, an airport southwest of Matsumoto, Nagano * Matsumoto, Kagoshima (松元町), a former town now part of the c ...

(2012), Kabuki actor * Hayao Miyazaki (2012), film director, animator, manga artist, producer, and screenwriter *

Shun'ichi Amari , is a Japanese scholar born in 1936 in Tokyo, Japan. Overviews He majored in Mathematical Engineering in 1958 from the University of Tokyo then graduated in 1963 from the Graduate School of the University of Tokyo. His M. Eng. in 1960 was e ...

(2012), mathematician * Hiroko Takenishi (2012), author * Mitsumasa Anno (2012), artist, children's author *

Nobutaka Hirokawa (born March 25, 1946) is a Japanese neuroscientist and cell biologist famous for research on the kinesin superfamily of motor proteins. He has been President and Chair of the Board of Trustees at the Human Frontier Science Program since 2012. ...

(2013), neuroscientist and cell biologist * Tamio Yamakawa (2014), biochemist *

Tsuneko Okazaki is a Japanese pioneer of molecular biology known for her work on DNA replication and specifically for discovering Okazaki fragments, along with her husband Reiji. Dr. Tsuneko Okazaki has continued to be involved in academia, contributing to m ...

(2015), molecular biologist * Tsumura Setsuko (2016), novelist * Nakamura Kichiemon II (2017), Kabuki actor * Mutsuo Takahashi (2017), poet *

Hisashi Yamamoto (born July 16, 1943) is a prominent organic chemist and currently a member of the faculty at the University of Chicago and professor of Chubu University. Life Born in Kobe, Japan, Yamamoto earned a B.S. at Kyoto University in 1967 and a Ph.D. at ...

(2018), chemist *

Moto Hagio is a Japanese manga artist. Regarded for her contributions to ''shōjo'' manga ( manga aimed at young and adolescent women), Hagio is considered the most significant artist in the demographic and among the most influential manga artists of al ...

(2019), manga artist *

Shigeru Miyamoto is a Japanese video game designer, producer and game director at Nintendo, where he serves as one of its representative directors. Widely regarded as one of the most accomplished and influential designers in the history of video games, he ...

(2019), video game developer * Koichi Sugiyama (2020), composer *

Yoshiyuki Tomino is a Japanese mecha anime creator, animator, director, screenwriter, songwriter and novelist best known for creating the ''Gundam'' anime franchise. He was born in Odawara, Kanagawa Prefecture, and studied at Nihon University's College of Ar ...

(2021), Mecha anime creator, animator, songwriter, director, screenwriter, novelist

Notes

References

* Peterson, James W., Barry C. Weaver and Michael A. Quigley. (2001). ''Orders and Medals of Japan and Associated States.'' San Ramon, California: Orders and Medals Society of America.

External links

* Japan, Cabinet Office
Decorations and Medals in Japan
** Decoration Bureau

*

Japan Mint The is an Independent Administrative Institution of the Japanese government, responsible for producing and circulating the coins of Japan. The agency has its head office in Osaka with branches in Saitama and Hiroshima. The Japan Mint does no ...

Production Process
{{DEFAULTSORT:Person of Cultural Merit Awards established in 1951 Orders, decorations, and medals of Japan Japanese awards 1951 establishments in Japan