FACULTY OF FINE ARTS / GRADUATE SCHOOL OF FINE ARTS

The journey that the Tokyo University of the Arts Faculty of Fine Arts has taken thus far is indeed that of modern Japanese art.
The origins of the Faculty of Fine Arts date back to 1885, when the Zuga Torishirabegakari (Painting Investigation Committee) was established within the Ministry of Education. The Zuga Torishirabegakari aimed to revive Japanese art, which had declined after the Meiji Restoration, and sent Tenshin Okakura (1863-1913) and Ernest Francisco Fenollosa (1853-1908) to the United States and Europe. The Tokyo Fine Arts School was established in 1889 based on the knowledge that they gained and became the foundation of the Faculty of Fine Arts.
The Tokyo Fine Arts School was established focusing on traditional arts and crafts such as Japanese painting, wood carving, metalwork, and Japanese lacquer work. However, in 1896 the Oil Painting course and Department of Design were newly established, and the 30-plus years during which Naohiko Masaki (1862-1940) was the principal, the teacher course dealing with art education and art research was established (1907), and the Department of Design was separated into Design and Architecture (1914). This formed the basic structure of the Faculty of Fine Arts, which continues to the present day.
Furthermore, after it was reorganized in postwar 1949 as Tokyo University of the Arts Faculty of Fine Arts, the graduate school was expanded for more advanced education and research, while exploring new artistic fields and social practice. The Conservation course (1995), Department of Intermedia Art (1999), and the Global Art Practice course (2016), emerged from there.
The Faculty of Fine Arts still holds the nickname “Bikou,” the abbreviation of the Tokyo Fine Arts School. Bikou’s tradition has been passed down from generation to generation, and it has produced numerous leading Japanese artists, researchers, critics, and conservators. The spirit of Bikou is the essence of the Faculty of Fine Arts, as it continues to maintain the perspective of contributing to society through art, while ensuring that tradition gets passed down, and responding to the changing world of art from a global perspective.
Statues of Tenshin Okakura and Naohiko Masaki, who laid the foundation for the Faculty of Fine Arts, remain on the school grounds to this day. Their sometimes warm, and sometimes stern gazes are still focused on the Faculty of Fine Arts.

Wataru Mitsui
Dean

1949: Tokyo University of the Arts Faculty of Fine Arts is established
Departments: Painting, Sculpture, Crafts, Architecture, Aesthetics and Art History
1963: Graduate School of Fine Arts master’s degree program is inaugurated
1965: The Faculty of Fine Arts’ Institute of Ancient Art Research is founded at Nara
1970: Art Museum is established on Ueno Campus
1975: Department of Crafts is reorganized into new Department of Crafts and the Department of Design
1977: Graduate School of Fine Arts doctoral program is inaugurated
1987: Toride Campus is established
1991: Classes begin at Toride Campus
1994: Toride annex of the Art Museum is established on Toride Campus
1995: The Department of conservation is established as an independent program within the Graduate School of Fine Arts
1998: Art Museum is restructured and renamed as University Art Museum
1999: Department of Intermedia Art is established at Toride Campus
2003: Graduate School of Fine Arts master’s degree program in Intermedia Art is inaugurated at Toride Campus
2004: Tokyo University of the Arts is incorporated as a National University Corporation

Facilities attached to the Faculty include the Institute of Ancient Art Research and the Photography Center, which support the educational and research activities of both the Faculty of Fine Arts and the Graduate School of Fine Arts. In addition, through the University Art Museum and its Toride Annex-both operated as university’s common education and research facilities-the Faculty and the Graduate School engage in various activities to strengthen ties to the community.

? ? The Faculty of Fine Arts has graduated numerous world-renowned artists, playing a central role in Japanese art from the days of the University’s predecessor, the Tokyo Fine Arts School. The Faculty of Fine Arts has established the following educational objectives.

1. To train superior artists, researchers, and educators while passing down artistic traditions and heritage
2. In pursuing multifaceted education and research, to deepen the individuality of Japanese artistic culture and to promote the development of an international artistic education environment in which diverse artistic cultures from around the world can interact
3. To further education in new fields, including multimedia expression and media art, thereby training artists and researchers capable of leading the art world
4. To communicate the results of education and research to society to help enrich the lives of all

1. Based on a curriculum focusing on thorough individual guidance and training in practical skills, to provide an education whose goal is creative research and encouraging the demonstration of creative abilities; to train graduates capable of serving in leadership roles as creators and researchers
2. To promote creative research for the purpose of generating independent and innovative creativity
3. To provide an environment in which students can engage in independent creative activity from the social perspectives demanded by contemporary art; to make available creative facilities that reach beyond the boundaries of the university to develop creativity in interactions with society.
4. To enhance the education and research environment including various incentive programs in which students can strive to develop individual talent by competing with each other; to expand student perspectives and frames of reference making use of activities such as work review meetings
5. To stimulate student creativity; to help students heighten creative skills based on the example set by faculty members in advanced creative research

? ? The Faculty of Fine Arts and the Graduate School of Fine Arts regards creative research based on individual concern and free will as the foundation of research in artistic domains, and therefore the faculty members are pursuing their creative research activities, drawing on diverse and preeminent expressive skills.

Based on the above concept, the research goals established by the Faculty and the Graduate School involve handing down the traditions of Japanese art accumulated up to the present day, taking leadership roles in the domain of new art, and advancing organizational social creative research activities including contributions to local communities through art. The Faculty and Graduate School seek to contribute to the development of artistic fields and the promotion of artistic culture in Japan, undertaking creative research within a framework that encompasses all aspects of the continually diversifying modes of contemporary artistic expression and based on the following three foundations:

The Faculty and the Graduate School promote research on art theory and history or fundamental research on traditional skills, contributing to creativity and conservation, while keeping in mind the characteristics of artistic domains. The goal is the development of new artistic modes and theories while passing on the traditions and heritage accumulated to the present day and establishing new expression means for the future.

Today, with strong demand for creative work that returns results to society, even individual creative activities must be fully open to the larger world. The Faculty and the Graduate School have launched various new efforts in this direction, including the public exhibition of works and joint research with local industry. They are also playing roles in creating new culture by advancing multifaceted activities, including workshops involving the participation of community residents.

In the domain of art, the Faculty and the Graduate School seek to create new methods of artistic expression and research by developing, through cross-functional efforts with other fields, the potential inherent in fields such as painting, sculpture, crafts, design, and architecture and so on. To this end, we courageously pursue transdisciplinary approaches and collaboration with other fields such as natural sciences, engineering, and medicine.

To develop international facilities and to advance exchange with diverse artistic cultures from around the world, the Faculty and the Graduate School have concluded exchange agreements with 27 universities and institutions from 14 countries and regions, including those in Asia and Europe. Intended to promote international exchange, these efforts include further acceptance of overseas students, student-exchange programs, and international exchange exhibitions of faculty members and students’ art works.