The
Order of Culture (文化勲章,
bunka kunshō) is a
Japanis an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, People's Republic of 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...
ese
orderAn order is a decoration, awarded by a government, a dynastic house, or a religious body to an individual, usually for distinguished service to a nation or to humanity.Modern orders and decorations can trace its origin back to the medieval Orders of Chivalry...
, established on February 11, 1937. The order has one class only, and may be awarded to men and women for contributions to
Japan's artJapanese art covers a wide range of art styles and media, including ancient pottery, sculpture in wood and bronze, ink painting on silk and paper and more recently manga, cartoon, along with a myriad of other types of works of art...
,
literatureJapanese literature spans a period of almost two millennia. Early works were heavily influenced by cultural contact with China and Chinese literature, often written in Classical Chinese. Indian literature also had an influence through the diffusion of Buddhism in Japan...
or culture; recipients of the order also receive an annuity for life. The order is conferred by the
Emperor of JapanThe of Japan is the symbol of the state and of the unity of the Japanese people. He is the head of the Japanese Imperial Family. He is also the highest authority of the Shinto religion...
in person on
Culture Dayis a national holiday held annually in Japan on November 3 for the purpose of promoting culture, the arts, and academic endeavour. Festivities typically include art exhibitions, parades, and award ceremonies for distinguished artists and scholars.-History:...
(November 3) each year.
The badge of the order, which is in gold with white enamel, is in the form of an
mandarin orangeAn orange—specifically, the sweet orange—is the citrus Citrus ×sinensis and its fruit. The orange is a hybrid of ancient cultivated origin, possibly between pomelo and tangerine...
blossom; the central disc bears three crescent-shaped
jadeJade is an ornamental stone.The term jade is applied to two different metamorphic rocks that are made up of different silicate minerals:...
s (
magatamaMagatama , are curved beads which first appeared in Japan during the Jōmon period.They are often found inhumed in mounded tumulus graves as offerings to deities . They continued to be popular with the ruling elites throughout the Kofun Period of Japan, and are often romanticised as indicative of...
).
The
Order of Culture (文化勲章,
bunka kunshō) is a
Japanis an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, People's Republic of 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...
ese
orderAn order is a decoration, awarded by a government, a dynastic house, or a religious body to an individual, usually for distinguished service to a nation or to humanity.Modern orders and decorations can trace its origin back to the medieval Orders of Chivalry...
, established on February 11, 1937. The order has one class only, and may be awarded to men and women for contributions to
Japan's artJapanese art covers a wide range of art styles and media, including ancient pottery, sculpture in wood and bronze, ink painting on silk and paper and more recently manga, cartoon, along with a myriad of other types of works of art...
,
literatureJapanese literature spans a period of almost two millennia. Early works were heavily influenced by cultural contact with China and Chinese literature, often written in Classical Chinese. Indian literature also had an influence through the diffusion of Buddhism in Japan...
or culture; recipients of the order also receive an annuity for life. The order is conferred by the
Emperor of JapanThe of Japan is the symbol of the state and of the unity of the Japanese people. He is the head of the Japanese Imperial Family. He is also the highest authority of the Shinto religion...
in person on
Culture Dayis a national holiday held annually in Japan on November 3 for the purpose of promoting culture, the arts, and academic endeavour. Festivities typically include art exhibitions, parades, and award ceremonies for distinguished artists and scholars.-History:...
(November 3) each year.
The badge of the order, which is in gold with white enamel, is in the form of an
mandarin orangeAn orange—specifically, the sweet orange—is the citrus Citrus ×sinensis and its fruit. The orange is a hybrid of ancient cultivated origin, possibly between pomelo and tangerine...
blossom; the central disc bears three crescent-shaped
jadeJade is an ornamental stone.The term jade is applied to two different metamorphic rocks that are made up of different silicate minerals:...
s (
magatamaMagatama , are curved beads which first appeared in Japan during the Jōmon period.They are often found inhumed in mounded tumulus graves as offerings to deities . They continued to be popular with the ruling elites throughout the Kofun Period of Japan, and are often romanticised as indicative of...
). The badge is suspended on a gold and enamel wreath of mandarin orange leaves and fruit, which is in turn suspended on a purple ribbon worn around the neck.
The order ranks between the
Order of the Sacred TreasuresThe is a Japanese Order, established on January 4, 1888 by Emperor Meiji of Japan as the Order of Meiji. It is awarded in eight classes...
, First Class and the
Order of the Rising SunThe Order of the Rising Sun is a Japanese order, established in 1875 by Emperor Meiji of Japan...
, Double Rays (second class).
System of recognition
The Order of Culture and Persons of Cultural Merit function together in honoring contributions to the advancement and development of Japanese culture in a variety of fields such as academia, arts and others.
Order of Culture
The Emperor himself presents the honor at the award ceremony, which takes place at the Imperial Palace on the
Day of Cultureis a national holiday held annually in Japan on November 3 for the purpose of promoting culture, the arts, and academic endeavour. Festivities typically include art exhibitions, parades, and award ceremonies for distinguished artists and scholars.-History:...
(November 3rd). Candidates for the Order of Culture are selected from the Persons of Cultural Merit by the Minister for Education, Science, Sports and Culture upon hearing views of all the members of the selection committee for the Persons of Cultural Merit. The Minister then recommends the candidates to the Prime Minister so that they can be decided by the Cabinet.
Persons of Cultural Merit
The system for Persons of Cultural Merit was established in 1951 by the
Law on Pensions for the Persons of Cultural Merit. The purpose is to honor persons of cultural merit by providing a special government-sponsored pension. Since 1955, the new honorees have been announced on the Day of Culture, the same day as the award ceremony for the Order of Culture.
Selected recipients
- Yoshiaki Arata
is a pioneer of nuclear fusion research in Japan and a former professor at Osaka University. He is reported to be a strong nationalist, speaking only Japanese in public...
- Akira Ifukube
Akira Ifukube was a Japanese composer of classical music and film scores, perhaps best known for his work on the soundtracks of the Godzilla movies by Toho.-Biography:...
(1914–2006).
- Ryukichi Inada (1874-1950).
- Kiyoshi Ito
was a Japanese mathematician whose work is now called Itō calculus. The basic concept of this calculus is the Itō integral, and the most basic among important results is Itō's lemma. It facilitates mathematical understanding of random events...
.>
- Donald Keene
Donald Lawrence Keene is a Japanologist, scholar, teacher, writer, translator and interpreter of Japanese literature and culture...
.
- Hideo Kobayashi (1902-1983).
- Makoto Kobayashi
is a Japanese physicist known for his work on CP-violation who was awarded one quarter of the 2008 Nobel Prize in Physics "for the discovery of the origin of the broken symmetry which predicts the existence of at least three families of quarks in nature."-Work:After completing his PhD at Nagoya...
.
- Toshihide Masukawa.
- Hantaro Nagaoka
was a Japanese physicist and a pioneer of Japanese physics in the early Meiji period.-Life:Nagaoka was born in Omura, Nagasaki Prefecture. After receiving his Bachelors degree in physics from the University of Tokyo in 1887, Nagaoka pursued graduate studies in Japan, working on magnetostriction...
(1865-1950).
- Nakamura Utaemon VI
Nakamura Utaemon VI Japanese:中村歌右衛門 real name Kawamura Fujio was a famous kabuki actor, known for his oyama roles. He had a fondness for stuffed animal bears and Profiterole sweets....
(1917-2001).
- Jirō Osaragi
was the pen-name of a popular Japanese writer in Showa period Japan, known primarily for his historical fiction novels, which appeared serialized in newspapers and magazines. His real name was .-Early life:...
(1897-1973).
- Seiji Ozawa
is a Japanese conductor, particularly noted for his interpretations of large-scale late Romantic works. He is most known for his work as music director of the Boston Symphony Orchestra and the Vienna State Opera.-Biography:...
.
- Osamu Shimomura
is a Japanese organic chemist and marine biologist, and Professor Emeritus at Marine Biological Laboratory in Woods Hole, Massachusetts and Boston University Medical School...
.
- Junjiro Takakusu (1866-1945).
- Kenjiro Takayanagi
was a Japanese pioneer in the development of television. Although he failed to gain much recognition in the West, he built the world's first all-electronic television receiver, and is referred to as "the father of Japanese television".-Career:...
(1899-1990).
- Morohashi Tetsuji
was an important figure in the world of Japanese studies and Sinology. He is best known as Chief Editor of the Dai Kan-Wa jiten, the most comprehensive dictionary of Kanji. Morohashi Tetsuji, ed. Tōkyō: Taishūkan shoten 大修館書店 ....
(1883-1982).
- Susumu Tonegawa
Susumu Tonegawa is a Japanese scientist who won the Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine in 1987 for "his discovery of the genetic principle for generation of antibody diversity." Although he won the Nobel Prize for his work in immunology, Tonegawa is a molecular biologist by training...
(1984).
- Eiji Yoshikawa
was a Japanese historical novelist, probably one of the best and most famous authors in the genre. Among his most well-known novels, most are revisions of past works. He was mainly influenced by classics such as The Tale of the Heike, Tale of Genji, Outlaws of the Marsh, and Romance of the Three...
(1892-1962).
Kenzaburo Oeis a major figure in contemporary Japanese literature. His works, strongly influenced by French and American literature and literary theory, engage with political, social and philosophical issues including nuclear weapons, social non-conformism and existentialism....
, 1994
NobelThe Nobel Prize is a Sweden-based international monetary prize. The award was established by the 1895 will and estate of Swedish chemist and inventor Alfred Nobel. It was first awarded in Physics, Chemistry, Physiology or Medicine, Literature, and Peace in 1901...
laureate and critic of the Japan's Imperial system, is the only person to have refused to accept an award of the Order of Culture.
External links