The is a special body of the

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

ese

Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology 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 community ...

(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 agency's Cultural Affairs Division disseminates information about the arts within Japan and internationally, and the

Cultural Properties Protection Division Culture () is an umbrella term which encompasses the social behavior, institutions, and norms found in human societies, as well as the knowledge, beliefs, arts, laws, customs, capabilities, and habits of the individuals in these groups.Tyl ...

protects the nation's cultural heritage. The Cultural Affairs Division is concerned with such areas as art and culture promotion, art

copyrights A copyright is a type of intellectual property that gives its owner the exclusive right to copy, distribute, adapt, display, and perform a creative work, usually for a limited time. The creative work may be in a literary, artistic, education ...

, and improvements in the

national language A national language is a language (or language variant, e.g. dialect) that has some connection—de facto or de jure—with a nation. There is little consistency in the use of this term. One or more languages spoken as first languages in the te ...

. It also supports both national and local arts and cultural festivals, and it funds traveling cultural events in music, theater, dance, art exhibitions, and film-making. Special prizes are offered to encourage young artists and established practitioners, and some grants are given each year to enable them to train abroad. The agency funds national museums of modern art in Kyoto and Tokyo and

The National Museum of Western Art The is the premier public art gallery in Japan specializing in art from the Western tradition. The museum is in the museum and zoo complex in Ueno Park in Taitō, central Tokyo. It received 1,162,345 visitors in 2016. History The NMWA was es ...

in Tokyo, which exhibit both Japanese and international shows. The agency also supports the

Japan Art Academy is the highest-ranking official artistic organization in Japan. It is established as an extraordinary organ of the Japanese Agency for Cultural Affairs (文化庁, Bunkacho) in the thirty-first article of the law establishing the Ministry of Ed ...

, which honors eminent persons of arts and letters, appointing them to membership and offering ￥3.5 million in prize money. Awards are made in the presence of the

Emperor An emperor (from la, imperator, via fro, empereor) is a monarch, and usually the sovereignty, sovereign ruler of an empire or another type of imperial realm. Empress, the female equivalent, may indicate an emperor's wife (empress consort), ...

, who personally bestows the highest accolade, the

Order of Culture The is a Japanese order, established on February 11, 1937. The order has one class only, and may be awarded to men and women for contributions to Japan's art, literature, science, technology, or anything related to culture in general; recipien ...

. In 1989, for the first time two women — a writer and a costume designer — were nominated for the Order of Cultural Merit, another official honor carrying the same stipend. The Cultural Properties Protection Division originally was established to oversee restorations after

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. As of April 2018, it was responsible for 1,805 historic sites, including the ancient capitals of

Asuka Asuka may refer to: People * Asuka (name), a list of people * Asuka (wrestler), professional wrestler * Asuka (wrestler, born 1998), professional wrestler also known as Veny outside of Japan Places In Japan * , an area in Yamato Province (now ...

, Heijokyo, and

Fujiwara Fujiwara (, written: 藤原 lit. "''Wisteria'' field") is a Japanese surname. (In English conversation it is likely to be rendered as .) Notable people with the surname include: ; Families * The Fujiwara clan and its members ** Fujiwara no Kamatari ...

, 410 scenic places, and 1,027 national monuments, and for such indigenous fauna as

ibis The ibises () (collective plural ibis; classical plurals ibides and ibes) are a group of long-legged wading birds in the family Threskiornithidae, that inhabit wetlands, forests and plains. "Ibis" derives from the Latin and Ancient Greek word f ...

and

stork Storks are large, long-legged, long-necked wading birds with long, stout bills. They belong to the family called Ciconiidae, and make up the order Ciconiiformes . Ciconiiformes previously included a number of other families, such as herons an ...

s. In addition, over 10,000 items had the lesser designation of Important Cultural Properties, with fine arts and crafts accounting for the largest share, with over 10,000 so designated. The government protects buried properties, of which some 300,000 had been identified. During the 1980s, many important prehistoric and historic sites were investigated by the archaeological institutes that the agency funded, resulting in about 2,000 excavations in 1989. The wealth of material unearthed shed new light on the controversial period of the formation of the Japanese state. A 1975 amendment to the

Cultural Properties Protection Act Culture () is an umbrella term which encompasses the social behavior, institutions, and norms found in human societies, as well as the knowledge, beliefs, arts, laws, customs, capabilities, and habits of the individuals in these groups.Tyl ...

of 1897 enabled the Agency for Cultural Affairs to designate traditional areas and buildings in urban centers for preservation. From time to time, various endangered traditional artistic skills are added to the agency's preservation roster, such as the 1989 inclusion of a kind of ancient doll making. One of the most important roles of the Cultural Properties Protection Division is to preserve the traditional arts and crafts and performing arts through their living exemplars. Individual artists and groups, such as a dance troupe or a pottery village, are designated as '' mukei bunkazai'' (intangible cultural assets) in recognition of their skill. Major exponents of the traditional arts have been designated as ''

ningen kokuho is a Japanese popular term for those individuals certified as by the Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology as based on Japan's . The term "Living National Treasure" is not formally mentioned in the law, but is an informa ...

'' (living national treasures). About seventy persons are so honored at any one time; in 1989 the six newly designated masters were a '' kyogen'' (comic) performer, a chanter of ''

bunraku (also known as ) 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 ...

'' (puppet) theater, a performer of the ''nagauta

shamisen The , also known as the or (all meaning "three strings"), is a three-stringed traditional Japanese musical instrument derived from the Chinese instrument . It is played with a plectrum called a bachi. The Japanese pronunciation is usual ...

'' (a special kind of stringed instrument), the head potter making Nabeshima decorated porcelain ware, the top pictorial

lacquer-ware Lacquerware are objects decoratively covered with lacquer. Lacquerware includes small or large containers, tableware, a variety of small objects carried by people, and larger objects such as furniture and even coffins painted with lacquer. Befor ...

artist, and a metal-work expert. Each was provided a lifetime annual pension of ￥2 million and financial aid for training disciples. A number of institutions come under the aegis of the Agency for Cultural Affairs: the national museums of Japanese and Asian art in

Tokyo Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, with an estimated 37.468 ...

Kyoto Kyoto (; Japanese: , ''Kyōto'' ), officially , is the capital city of Kyoto Prefecture in Japan. Located in the Kansai region on the island of Honshu, Kyoto forms a part of the Keihanshin metropolitan area along with Osaka and Kobe. , the ci ...

Nara The National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) is an " independent federal agency of the United States government within the executive branch", charged with the preservation and documentation of government and historical records. It i ...

Osaka is a designated city in the Kansai region of Honshu in Japan. It is the capital of and most populous city in Osaka Prefecture, and the third most populous city in Japan, following Special wards of Tokyo and Yokohama. With a population of 2. ...

and

Fukuoka is the sixth-largest city in Japan, the second-largest port city after Yokohama, and the capital city of Fukuoka Prefecture, Japan. The city is built along the shores of Hakata Bay, and has been a center of international commerce since ancie ...

, the cultural properties research institutes at Tokyo and Nara, and the national theaters. During the 1980s, the

National Noh Theatre The National Noh Theatre (国立能楽堂, ''Kokuritsu Nōgaku Dō'') opened in Sendagaya, Shibuya, Tokyo, Japan in September 1983. The auditorium seats 591 for performances of Noh and Kyōgen, and there is also a rehearsal stage, exhibition area ...

and the

National Bunraku Theater The is a complex consisting of two halls and an exhibition room, located in Chūō-ku, Osaka, Japan. The complex was opened in 1984 as the fourth national theatre of the country, to become the headquarters of bunraku. History The Japan Arts C ...

were constructed by the government. As of April 2021, it is led by the Commissioner for Cultural Affairs,

Shunichi Tokura , is a Japanese composer and was the chair of the Japanese Society for Rights of Authors, Composers and Publishers (JASRAC) from 12 August 2010 to 31 March 2016. Early life Tokura began playing the violin at age 4. He spent his elementary and hi ...

. The agency is based in the

Chiyoda Ward is a special ward located in central Tokyo, Japan. It is known as Chiyoda City in English.Profile ...

. Main parts of the agency will move to

in 2022 or later, while other parts will remain in Tokyo.

List of commissioners

Hidemi Kon was a literary critic and essayist active in Japan during the Shōwa period. Early life Born in Hakodate, Hokkaidō, Kon Hidemi was the younger brother of writer, politician and Buddhist priest Kon Tōkō. His father was a captain of a steamer o ...

(June 15, 1968 – July 1, 1972) * (July 1, 1972 – September 12, 1975) * (September 12, 1975 – September 20, 1977) *

Tadashi Inumaru Tadashi (Kanji: 正, 禎, 忠, 荘, 匡史 Hiragana: ただし), Japanese masculine name, may refer to : *, the first aikido master to live and teach in the west *, Japanese manga story writer, novelist and screenwriter *, Japanese basketball coach ...

(犬丸直; September 20, 1977 –June 6, 1980) * Shinichiro Sano (佐野文一郎; June 6, 1980 – July 5, 1983) *

Isao Suzuki was a Japanese jazz double-bassist. Biography Born in Tokyo, Japan, Suzuki learned to play bass on United States military bases, and played early in his career with Shotaro Moriyasu, Hidehiko Matsumoto, and Sadao Watanabe. He led his own ense ...

(鈴木勲; July 5, 1983 – March 31, 1985) *

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 fell ...

(April 1, 1985 – September 1, 1986) * (September 1, 1986 – June 10, 1988) * Hiroshi Ueki (植木浩; June 10, 1988 – July 1, 1990) * (July 1, 1990 – July 1, 1992) * Hiroyuki Uchida (内田弘保; July 1, 1992 – July 25, 1994) *

Atsuko Tōyama Toyama Atsuko (遠山敦子) (born December 10, 1938) is a former bureaucrat in the Japanese Ministry of Education, Culture, Sport, Science, and Technology. She is a trustee of the Tokyo Organizing Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games ...

(July 25, 1994 – January 9, 1996) *Shigeru Yoshida (吉田茂; January 9, 1996 – July 1, 1997) * (July 1, 1997 – June 15, 2000) * (June 15, 2000 – January 18, 2002) *

Hayao Kawai (1928–2007) was a Japanese Jungian psychologist who has been described as "the founder of Japanese Analytical and Clinical Psychology". He introduced the sandplay therapy concept to Japanese psychology. He participated in Eranos from 1982. ...

(January 18, 2002 – November 1, 2006) *

Shinji Kondo is a masculine Japanese given name. Notable people with the name include: *Shinji Aoyama (真治), a Japanese film director *Shinji Aramaki (伸志), a Japanese anime director and mechanical designer * Shinji Hashimoto, a Japanese game producer ...

(近藤信司; November 1, 2006 – April 1, 2007) * (April 1, 2007 – July 14, 2009) * (July 14, 2009 – July 29, 2010) * (July 30, 2010 – July 7, 2013) * (July 8, 2013 – April 1, 2016) * (April 1, 2016 – March 31, 2021) *

(since April 1, 2021)

Organization

The agency contains the following divisions: *Policy Division – personnel matters, budget, awards system, dissemination, research *Planning and Coordination Division –

diet Diet may refer to: Food * Diet (nutrition), the sum of the food consumed by an organism or group * Dieting, the deliberate selection of food to control body weight or nutrient intake ** Diet food, foods that aid in creating a diet for weight loss ...

matters, promotion, museums, theaters,

Independent Administrative Institutions An Incorporated Administrative Agency (独立行政法人, ''Dokuritsu gyōsei hōjin'' or ''Dokugyo'' in abbreviation) is a type of legal corporation formulated by the Government of Japan under the Act on General Rules for Incorporated Administrat ...

*Cultural Economy and International Affairs Division – economy strategy, international cooperation *Japanese Language Division – improvement of Japanese language, education for foreigners *Copyright Division – copyrights, publishing rights, treaties *Cultural Resources Utilization Division –

World Cultural Heritage A World Heritage Site is a landmark or area with legal protection by an international convention administered by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). World Heritage Sites are designated by UNESCO for h ...

intangible cultural heritage An intangible cultural heritage (ICH) is a practice, representation, expression, knowledge, or skill considered by UNESCO to be part of a place's cultural heritage. Buildings, historic places, monuments, and artifacts are cultural property. Int ...

Japan Heritage is a programme sponsored by the Agency for Cultural Affairs, aimed at valorization by local governments and other bodies, that sees individual Cultural Property (Japan), Cultural Properties across the different categories as well as other not yet d ...

*First Cultural Properties Division – tangible cultural properties other than buildings, intangible cultural properties, conservation techniques *Second Cultural Properties Division – buildings, monuments, preservation districts * Religious Affairs Division – certification, technical guidance and advice *Culture and Creativity Division – utilization of cultural resources, support for cultural creation *Arts and Culture Division – liaison for organizations in Tokyo, educational standards for the arts *Food Culture Division *Cultural Tourism Division

References

External links

Agency for Cultural Affairs website

Cultural Properties for Future Generations
{{Authority control Culture ministries Cultural Properties of Japan Government agencies of Japan Japanese culture Arts in Japan Languages of Japan 1968 establishments in Japan

Overview

List of commissioners

Organization

See also

References

External links