is the highest-ranking official artistic organization in Japan. It is established as an extraordinary organ of the Japanese

Agency for Cultural Affairs The is a special body of the Japanese Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT). It was set up in 1968 to promote Japanese arts and culture. The agency's budget for FY 2018 rose to ¥107.7 billion. Overview The age ...

(文化庁, Bunkacho) in the thirty-first article of the law establishing the

Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology The , also known as MEXT, is one of the eleven ministries of Japan that compose part of the executive branch of the government of Japan. History The Meiji period, Meiji government created the first Ministry of Education in 1871. In January 2001 ...

. The Academy discusses art-related issues, advises 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. ...

on art-related issues, and promotes arts in three categories: 1) fine art, 2) literary arts, 3) music, drama, and dance. It is closely associated with the annual Japan Art Academy Exhibition ''(Nitten''), the premier art exhibition in Japan; the Japan Art Academy originally ran the Nitten but since 1958 the exhibition is run by a separate private institution. The Japan Art Academy headquarters is in

Ueno Park is a spacious public park in the Ueno, Tokyo, Ueno district of Taitō, Tokyo, Japan. The park was established in 1873 on lands formerly belonging to the Buddhist temples in Japan, temple of Kan'ei-ji. Amongst the country's first public parks, i ...

, Tokyo. The Japan Art Academy should not be confused with the Japan Art Institute, which is a completely different organization.

History

The Japan Art Academy was founded in 1907 as the Fine Arts Reviewing Committee (''Bijutsu Shinsa Iinkai'') of the

Ministry of Education An education ministry is a national or subnational government agency politically responsible for education. Various other names are commonly used to identify such agencies, such as Ministry of Education, Department of Education, and Ministry of Pub ...

. It was intended to provide quality standards and a venue for art exhibitions in late

Meiji period The was an era of Japanese history that extended from October 23, 1868, to July 30, 1912. The Meiji era was the first half of the Empire of Japan, when the Japanese people moved from being an isolated feudal society at risk of colonizatio ...

Japan. The first of the organization's annual exhibitions, called the ''Bunten'', was held in 1907. In 1919 the Imperial Fine Arts Academy (''Teikoku Bijutsu-in'') was established by imperial decree, first headed by

Mori Ōgai Lieutenant-General , known by his pen name , was a Japanese people, Japanese Military medicine, Army Surgeon general officer, translator, novelist, Japanese poetry, poet and father of famed author Mori Mari, Mari Mori. He obtained his medical l ...

. Upon establishment of the Imperial Arts Academy, the Fine Arts Reviewing Committee was discontinued and assimilated into the new organization, with the ''Bunten'' exhibition accordingly renamed the ''Teiten''. After a number of structural changes were made to the organization in response to criticism of its relevance and politics, it was eventually reorganized into the Imperial Art Academy (帝国芸術院, ''Teikoku Geijutsuin'') in 1937, and the annual exhibition was renamed the ''Shinbunten''. After the end of

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, the dissolution of the

Empire of Japan The Empire of Japan, also known as the Japanese Empire or Imperial Japan, was the Japanese nation state that existed from the Meiji Restoration on January 3, 1868, until the Constitution of Japan took effect on May 3, 1947. From Japan–Kor ...

, and the start of the American

occupation of Japan Japan was occupied and administered by the Allies of World War II from the surrender of the Empire of Japan on September 2, 1945, at the war's end until the Treaty of San Francisco took effect on April 28, 1952. The occupation, led by the ...

, the Imperial Art Academy was restructured as the Japan Art Academy (日本芸術院, ''Nihon Geijutsuin''). Its annual exhibition was renamed the starting from the 1946 editions (spring and fall, to make up for the lack of an exhibition in 1945), abbreviated as ''Nitten'' (日展). In 1958, there was further re-organization whereby the Japan Fine Arts Academy became a solely academic and consultative body, and the organization of the Nitten annual exhibition was handled by a separate private company, the non-profit corporation Nitten (社団法人日展, Shadan Hōjin Nitten).

Membership

The Japan Art Academy consists of a maximum of 120 members, who are appointed for life. The Academy's membership is divided into the categories as follows. Section I: Fine Arts * Painting (since 2022) ** ''

Nihonga ''Nihonga'' () is a Japanese style of painting that typically uses mineral pigments, and occasionally ink, together with other organic pigments on silk or paper. The term was coined during the Meiji period (1868–1912) to differentiate it from ...

'' or Japanese-style Painting (until 2022) ** ''

Yōga is a style of artistic painting in Japan, typically of Japanese subjects, themes, or landscapes, but using Western (European) artistic conventions, techniques, and materials. The term was coined in the Meiji period (1868–1912) to distingui ...

'' or European-style Painting (until 2022) * Sculpture * Crafts * Calligraphy * Architecture and Design (since 2022) ** Architecture (until 2022) * Photography and Video Arts (since 2022) Section II: Literature * Novels and Playwright * Poetry * Critics and Foreign Literature *

Manga are comics or graphic novels originating from Japan. Most manga conform to a style developed in Japan in the late 19th century, and the form has a long history in earlier Japanese art. The term is used in Japan to refer to both comics ...

(since 2022) Section III: Music, Drama, and Dance * ''

Nōgaku is one of the traditional styles of Japanese theater. It is composed of the lyric drama '' noh'', and the comic theater '' kyōgen'' (狂言). Traditionally, both types of theatre are performed together, the ''kyōgen'' being interposed betwee ...

'' * ''

Kabuki is a classical form of Theatre of Japan, Japanese theatre, mixing dramatic performance with Japanese traditional dance, traditional dance. Kabuki theatre is known for its heavily stylised performances, its glamorous, highly decorated costumes ...

'' * ''

Bunraku is a form of traditional Japanese puppet theatre, founded in Osaka in the beginning of the 17th century, which is still performed in the modern day. Three kinds of performers take part in a performance: the or (puppeteers), the (chanters) ...

'' * '' Hōgaku'' or Traditional Japanese Music * '' Yōgaku'' or Western Classical Music * Dance * Drama * Film, including Television and

Anime is a Traditional animation, hand-drawn and computer animation, computer-generated animation originating from Japan. Outside Japan and in English, ''anime'' refers specifically to animation produced in Japan. However, , in Japan and in Ja ...

(since 2022)

List of leaders

(1919–1922) *

Kuroda Seiki Viscount was a Japanese painter and teacher, noted for bringing Western art theory and practice to a wide Japanese audience. He was among the leaders of the ''yōga'' (or Western-style) movement in late 19th and early 20th-century Japanese pai ...

(1922–1924) * (1924–1931) * (1931–1935) * (1937–1947) * (1948–1979) * (1979–1990) * (1990–2004) *

Shumon Miura was a Japanese novelist. He attended the University of Tokyo, and upon graduation joined the staff of the literary magazine ''Shin-Shicho'' (新思潮: "New Thought") in 1950. The next year, Miura published his first book. He then married fel ...

(2004–2014) * Kuroi Senji (2014–2020) * (2020–present)

Nitten

The claims to be the largest combined art exhibition of its kind in the world, attracting a great number of fans and

art critic An art critic is a person who is specialized in analyzing, interpreting, and evaluating art. Their written critiques or reviews contribute to art criticism and they are published in newspapers, magazines, books, exhibition brochures, and catalogue ...

s. The exhibition consists five art categories: ''Nihonga'' and Western Style Painting, Sculpture, Crafts and Calligraphy. During each exhibition, works of the great masters are shown alongside works of the new but talented artists. For ninety-nine years the exhibition (under its various names) was held at the Tokyo Metropolitan Art Museum (東京都美術館'','' Tōkyō-to Bijutsukan) in Ueno, but from the hundredth year in 2007 the exhibition venue was changed to the National Art Center Tokyo (国立新美術館, Kokuritsu Shin-bijutsukan) in

Roppongi Roppongi (, , 'six trees') is a district of Minato, Tokyo, Minato, Tokyo, Japan, famous for the affluent Roppongi Hills development area and popular night club scene. A few foreign embassies are located near Roppongi, and the night life is popu ...

. The Japan Fine Arts Exhibition decided not to award any of the top prizes in any of the 5 sections for 2013, following the revelation of fraudulent judging in the calligraphy section of the fiscal 2009 show. It was the first time since 1958, when the organization became a nonprofit corporation, that none of the prizes were awarded.

References

External links

Home page

Home page of the Nitten
{{Authority control . Organizations based in Tokyo Ueno Park Arts in Japan

Art Academy An art school is an educational institution with a primary focus on practice and related theory in the visual arts and design. This includes fine art – especially illustration, painting, contemporary art, sculpture, and graphic design. T ...

Arts organizations established in 1907 1907 establishments in Japan