Tag: Japan

An Uncertain Future- Art after the Great East Japan Earthquake

M-KOS sends sincere commiserations to all the people affected by the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake.

Art charity event organized by Artists’ Action for Japan in Ibaraki prefecture, May 2011. Courtesy of Artists’ Action For Japan

The art scene in Japan has been changing dramatically since the recent chain of catastrophic events – the Great East Japan Earthquake, tsunami and Fukushima 1 nuclear power plant meltdown – which filled news networks around the world. These particularly devastated the Tohoku area, the seacoast areas of Iwate, Miyagi, and Fukushima prefectures. According to the Agency for Cultural Affairs, five national heritage sites were affected, such as the Zuigan-ji Temple in the Miyagi Prefecture, as well as damaging 143 important cultural properties. The well-known Rokkakudō temple, a hexagonal wooden retreat constructed in 1905 was swept off in the gigantic tsunami that occurred in the Izura coast, in the Ibaraki prefecture. This small yet historical architecture was constructed by Tenshin Okakura (1863-1913), a key contributor to the development of the arts in Japan. Responsible for the conservation of this temple, Ibaraki University has set up funds for reconstructing a new Rokkakudō. They have already started collecting building materials left ashore by the sea. The university states: ‘we are convinced that Restoration of Rokkakudo would be a symbol of revival from the earthquake and tsunami’.
Continue reading “Focus: Japan part II”

Contemporary art in Japan – new challenges in the land of the rising sun

M-KOS sends sincere commiserations to all the people affected by the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake.

Nobuyoshi Araki “Koki No Shashin (Photographs of A Seventy Year Old)” (2010) Courtesy of Taka Ishii Gallery via Yokohama Triennale website

Almost five months have passed since the Great East Japan Earthquake devastated the northern east coast of Japan. Still in the midst of recovery, the country is fraying with an unprecedented nuclear crisis as well as support infrastructures towards people and business affected in the disaster.

Japanese people are well known for demonstrating a strong solidarity in times of need, and the sphere of contemporary art has contributed in this relief effort. Numerous art galleries and museums organised charity auctions*, artists initiated special projects in support of refugee communities, and countless other initiatives have been recorded. Japan’s current social condition is in everyone’s mind and, needless to say, contemporary art is facing new challenges in the land of the rising sun.

Continue reading “Focus: Japan part I”