is a non-governmental artistic organization in Japan dedicated to ''

Nihonga ''Nihonga'' (, "Japanese-style paintings") are Japanese paintings from about 1900 onwards that have been made in accordance with traditional Japanese artistic conventions, techniques and materials. While based on traditions over a thousand years ...

'' (Japanese style painting). The academy promotes the art of Nihonga through a biennial exhibition, the ''Inten'' Exhibition .

History

The Nihon Bijutsuin was founded by Okakura Tenshin in 1898, together with a group of artists, including

Hashimoto Gahō was a Japanese Painting, painter, one of the last to paint in the style of the Kanō school. He was one of the first five painters to be appointed as an Imperial Household Artist and was one of the most authoritative painters in Japan at that ti ...

Yokoyama Taikan was the art-name of a major figure in pre-World War II Japanese painting. He is notable for helping create the Japanese painting technique of ''Nihonga''. Early life Yokoyama was born in Mito city, Ibaraki Prefecture, as the eldest son of S ...

, Shimomura Kanzan,

Hishida Shunsō was the pseudonym of a Japanese painter from the Meiji period. One of Okakura Tenshin's pupils along with Yokoyama Taikan and Shimomura Kanzan, he played a role in the Meiji era innovation of ''Nihonga''. His real name was Hishida Miyoji. He ...

and several others, in response to Okakura being ousted from the

Tokyo School of Fine Arts or is the most prestigious art school in Japan. Located in Ueno Park, it also has facilities in Toride, Ibaraki, Yokohama, Kanagawa, and Kitasenju and Adachi, Tokyo. The university has trained renowned artists in the fields of painting, sculp ...

. Nihon Bijutsuin moved with Okakura to Izura, Ibaraki (now the city of Ibaraki) in 1906. However, Okakura was soon recruited by

Ernest Fenollosa Ernest Francisco Fenollosa (February 18, 1853 – September 21, 1908) was an American art historian of Japanese art, professor of philosophy and political economy at Tokyo Imperial University. An important educator during the modernization of Japa ...

to assist in his efforts to introduce Chinese and Japanese arts to the western world via the

Museum of Fine Arts, Boston The Museum of Fine Arts (often abbreviated as MFA Boston or MFA) is an art museum in Boston, Massachusetts. It is the 20th-largest art museum in the world, measured by public gallery area. It contains 8,161 paintings and more than 450,000 works ...

, and soon lost interest in guiding the new organization. When Okakura died in 1913, the group dissolved. Nihon Bijutsuin was resurrected a year later in 1914 under Yokoyama Taikan, who relocated it back to Yanaka, Tokyo. In 1920, separate sections were established for

Japanese sculpture Sculpture in Japan began with the clay figure. Towards the end of the long Neolithic Jōmon period, some pottery vessels were "flame-rimmed" with extravagant extensions to the rim that can only be called sculptural, and very stylized pottery dog ...

and for western-style ( yōga painting), These separate sections were abolished in 1960, and currently the Institute is currently devoted exclusively to ''Nihonga'' painting. Nihon Bijutsuin should not be confused with 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 ...

or the Japan Academy of Arts, which are different organizations.

Inten Exhibitions

The most important function of Nihon Bijutsuin is the organization and promotion of the biennial fine arts exhibitions. The Spring Exhibition is held in early April, for two weeks at the

Mitsukoshi is an international department store chain with headquarters in Tokyo, Japan. It is a subsidiary of Isetan Mitsukoshi Holdings, which also owns the Isetan department store chain. History It was founded in 1673 with the (shop name) , selli ...

Department Store in Tokyo, followed by a tour around Japan for four months, at ten different locations. The sizes of the works which can be displayed is fixed at under 150 x 75 cm for rectangular works and under 106 x 106 cm for square works. The Fall Exhibition is held in September for two weeks at the

Tokyo Metropolitan Art Museum The is an art museum in Tokyo, Japan. It is one of Japan's many museums which are supported by a prefectural government. Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005)"Museums"in ''Japan Encyclopedia'', pp. 671-673. The current structure, designed by Kunio ...

, followed by a year-long tour to 10 different locations around Japan. The Fall Exhibition contains larger works, with 225 x 180 cm as the upper limit.

References

* Conant, Ellen P., Rimer, J. Thomas, Owyoung, Stephen. ''Nihonga: Transcending the Past: Japanese-Style Painting, 1868-1968''. Weatherhill (1996). *Westin, Victoria. ''Japanese Painting and National Identity: Okakura Tenshin and His Circle''. Center for Japanese Studies University of Michigan (2003).

External links

Nihon Bijutsuin home page
{{Authority control Arts in Japan 1898 establishments in Japan Arts organizations established in 1898

History

Inten Exhibitions

See also

References

External links