is a municipal university of general art and music art in Kyoto

Kyoto

is a city in the central part of the island of Honshū, Japan. It has a population close to 1.5 million. Formerly the imperial capital of Japan, it is now the capital of Kyoto Prefecture, as well as a major part of the Osaka-Kobe-Kyoto metropolitan area.-History:...

, Japan

Japan

Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...

. Established in 1880, it is the oldest university of art in Japan. (The Tokyo National University of Fine Arts and Music

Tokyo National University of Fine Arts and Music

or is one of the oldest and most prestigious art schools in Japan. Located in Ueno Park, it also has facilities in Toride, Ibaraki, Yokohama, Kanagawa, and Kitasenju, Adachi, Tokyo...

 was established in 1885.) Among its faculty and graduates have been 16 recipients of the Order of Culture

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 or culture; recipients of the order also receive an annuity for life...

, 24 members of the Japan Art Academy

Japan Art Academy

is the highest ranking artistic organization in Japan. The Academy discusses art-related issues, advises the Minister of Education on art-related issues, and promotes art is the highest ranking artistic organization in Japan. The Academy discusses art-related issues, advises the Minister of...

, and 10 artists who have been designated living national treasures

Living National Treasure (Japan)

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...

.
It has been associated especially closely with nihonga

Nihonga

or literally "Japanese-style paintings" is a term used to describe paintings that have been made in accordance with traditional Japanese artistic conventions, techniques and materials...

painters from western Japan.

History

The university was founded in 1880 as the in temporary quarters at the imperial palace of Kyoto. Kyoto had lost its status as the capital of the nation in 1867, at the beginning of Meiji Period

Meiji period

The , also known as the Meiji era, is a Japanese era which extended from September 1868 through July 1912. This period represents the first half of the Empire of Japan.- Meiji Restoration and the emperor :...

, and the city was in danger of being left behind in the wave of modernization that was overtaking the country. In 1878, a group of painters petitioned the city government to establish a modern school of the arts to support the traditional arts and crafts, including painting, ceramics, and weaving. The school was founded with support from the city and national government leader Sanjo Sanetomi

Sanjo Sanetomi

Prince was an Imperial court noble and statesman at the time of the Meiji Restoration. He held many high-ranking offices in the Meiji government.-Biography:Born in Kyoto, Sanjō was the son of Naidaijin Sanjō Sanetsumu...

, and contributions from 93 Kyoto merchants.

In 1969, the university merged with a Kyoto college that became its Faculty of Music. The largest and most diverse faculty is Faculty of Fine Arts, which offers courses in traditional and modern fine arts and traditional crafts such as the ceramics, urushi lacquering, and dyeing and weaving. As of 1999, the university had a total of 307 full- and part-time faculty members and 902 students.

Faculties

• Faculty of Fine Arts
  • Fine Art
  • Design
  • Craft
  • General Science of Art
• Faculty of Music
  • Composition
  • Conducting
  • Piano
  • String Instruments
  • Wind and Percussion Instruments
  • Vocal Music

Notable alumni and alumna

Nihonga painters

• Fuku Akino
• Youson Ikeda
• Shoen Uemura
• Shoko Uemura: Eldest son of Shoen Uemura
• Atsushi Uemura: Son of Shoko Uemura
• Takeuchi Seiho
  Takeuchi Seiho
  was the pseudonym of a Japanese painter of the nihonga genre, active from the Meiji through the early Shōwa period. One of the founders of nihonga, his works spanned half a century and he was regarded as master of the prewar Kyoto circle of painters. His real name was Takeuchi...
  
  
• Tsuchida Bakusen
  Tsuchida Bakusen
  was the pseudonym of a Japanese painter in the Nihonga style, active during the Taishō and early Shōwa eras. His real name was .- Biography :...
  
  
• Insho Domoto
  Insho Domoto
  was a Japanese artist. His birth name was Sannosuke Dōmoto. He was a recipient of the Order of Culture in 1961.-External links:*...
  
  

Contemporary art

• Yayoi Kusama
  Yayoi Kusama
  is a Japanese artist whose paintings, collages, soft sculptures, performance art and environmental installations all share an obsession with repetition, pattern, and accumulation...
  
  
• Yasumasa Morimura
  Yasumasa Morimura
  Yasumasa Morimura is a Japanese appropriation artist. He was born in Osaka and graduated from Kyoto City University of Arts in 1978...
  
  
• Etsuro Sotoo
  Etsuro Sotoo
  Etsuro Sotoo is a Japanese sculptor strongly influenced by Antoni Gaudí. His interest in Gaudi led him to convert to the Roman Catholic Church. His most noted work is sculptures in the Sagrada Família.-External links:**...
  
  

Music

• Yutaka Sado
  Yutaka Sado
  is a Japanese conductor.While still in school, Yutaka Sado obtained a position in the Kansai Nikikai, a Japanese school of opera, where he had the opportunity to work with the New Japan Philharmonic and the Kyoto Symphony Orchestra, learning operatic repertoire. In 1987, he traveled to the United...
  
  : Conductor
• Hiroshi Miyagawa: Composer

External links

• Official website
• Official website (Japanese)
• Interview with Kohei Nawa; graduate from the Kyoto City University of Art