Research on Art Works

1. Research on Museum Collections

Bibliography

Japanese Council of Museums, Information and Resources Study Group (Zenkoku Bijutsukan Kaigi, Jōhō, Shiryō Kenkyū Bukai) (ed.). Zenkoku Bijutsukan Kaigi kaiinkan shūzōhin mokuroku sōran 2014 [Directory of Art Collection Catalogues of Member Museums of the Japanese Council of Museums 2014].Open in a new tab

An online bibliography of 900 art museum collection catalogues held by the 356 member organizations of the Japanese Council of Museums. Arranged by prefecture and then, by museum name. A useful tool to locate collection catalogues of certain museums. Possible to download in PDF or Excel format.

Nationwide

National Center for Art Research. SHŪZŌ: Japanese Museum Collection Search.Open in a new tab

A database of the art collections in Japanese certified museums, covering approximately 443,000 Japanese artworks from the Meiji period through present. Each entry includes artist name and artwork title, production year, media/technique, dimensions/duration, and name of holding institution, with some images. Indexed by artist’s name (authority controlled). In Japanese and English.

Agency for Cultural Affairs . Bunka Isan Dētabēsu (Cultural Heritage Database).Open in a new tab

An online database of about 270,000 national treasures and important cultural properties, and artworks held by museums and other organizations. Includes some images.

Ministry of Education, Cultural Bureau, Cultural Division (Monbushō Bunkakyoku Bunkaka). Zenkoku kōritsu bijutsukan shozō sakuhin mokuroku [Catalogue of Works in Japanese Public Art Museum Collections]. Tokyo: Ministry of Education, Cultural Bureau, Cultural Division.

• I: Japanese-style Painting, 1967: as of March 31, 1967.
• II: Western-style Painting, 1967: as of March 31, 1967.

Agency for Cultural Affairs,Cultural Affairs Department (Bunkachō Bunkabu Bunka Fukyūka) (ed.). Zenkoku kōritsu bijutsukan shozō sakuhin mokuroku [Catalogue of Works in Japanese Public Art Museum Collections]. Tokyo: Agency for Cultural Affairs, Cultural Affairs Department.

• III: Watercolor, Sketches, Sculpture, Handicraft, 1969: as of March 31, 1968.
• IV: Print Art, 1970: as of March 31, 1968.
• V: Calligraphy, 1971: as of March 31, 1968.

Union catalogues of public museum collections covering works from the Meiji period or after. Each volume is designated by media, and then arranged by prefecture, and by holding institution. The information was collected by the Board of Education of each prefecture governed by Ministry of Education, Cultural Bureau, Cultural Division (I, II) and Agency for Cultural Affairs, Cultural Information Division (III-V).

Agency for Cultural Affairs,Cultural Affairs Department (Bunkachō Bunkabu Bunka Fukyūka) (ed.) Zenkoku shiritsu bijutsukan shozō sakkabetsu mokuroku [Catalogues of Works in Japanese Private Art Museum Collections: by Artists]. Tokyo: Agency for Cultural Affairs, Cultural Affairs Department.

• I: Painting, 1973 (File name: B124805): as of March 31, 1972.
• II: Print Art, 1975 (File name: B124806): as of March 31, 1974.
• III: Sculpture, 1976 (File name: B124807): as of March 31,1975.
• IV: Handicraft, Calligraphy, 1977 (File name: B124808): as of March 31, 1976.

Union catalogues of private museum collections covering works from the Meiji period or after. Each volume is arranged by artist’s name. The information was collected by the Board of Education of each prefecture governed by the Agency for Cultural Affairs, Cultural Information Division.

Agency for Cultural Affairs, Cultural Affairs Department (Bunkachō Bunkabu Bunka Fukyūka) (ed.). Zenkoku kōritsu bijutsukan shozō sakuhin sakkabetsu mokuroku [Catalogues of Art Works in Public Art Museum Collections: by Artists]. Tokyo: Agency for Cultural Affairs.

• I: Japanese Painting, 1979.
• II: Western-style Painting, 1980.
• III: Sculpture, Handicraft, 1981. (File name: B124809)

Union catalogues of public museum collections covering works from the Meiji period or after. Each volume is arranged by artist. The information was collected by the Board of Education of each prefecture governed by the Agency for Cultural Affairs, Cultural Information Division.

Agency for Cultural Affairs (Bunkachō) (ed.). Zenkoku bijutsukan hakubutsukan shozō bijutsuhin mokuroku [Catalogues of Artworks in Japanese Museum Collections] Tokyo: Agency for Cultural Affairs.

• Painting: by Genre (Antique Art), 1986. (File name: B124810)
• Painting: by Artist, 1983. (File name: B124811)
• Painting: by Museums, 1983. (File name: B124812)
• Print Art, 1986. (File name: B124813)

Union catalogues of public museum collections covering artworks from pre-Meiji period era or after. The information was collected in 1982 by the Board of Education of each prefecture governed by the Agency for Cultural Affairs, Cultural Information Division.

Nihon Gakujutsu Shiryō Sōmokuroku Henshūbu (ed.). Nihon gakujutsu shiryō sōmokuroku [Catalogue of Academic Resources]. Tokyo: Asahi Shimbun.

• 1983 edition:Visual Art and Decorative Arts, 1982.
• 1983 edition: Calligraphy, Antiquarian Books, Manuscripts, 1982.
• 1988 edition: Visual Art and Decorative Arts, 1988.
• 1988 edition: Calligraphy, Antiquarian Books, Manuscripts, 1988.

Union catalogues of museum collections based on each museum’s catalogues and inventory. Includes object title, and artist name, media, dimensions, and production year. The 1983 edition has a supplement volume with a directory of the national and important cultural properties arranged by prefecture and museum.

National Diet Library. Japan Search.Open in a new tab

A platform for cross-search of digital resources in various fields including art. Includes over 29,000,000 items. In Japanese and English.

By Geographical Area or Organization

National Museums of Art . The Union Catalog of the Collections of the National Art Museums, Japan.Open in a new tab

An online union catalogue of the collections of five national museums (The National Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo, National Crafts Museum, The National Museum of Modern Art, Kyoto, The National Museum of Western Art, The National Museum of Art, Osaka), covering approximately 46,000 objects. Included in each entry are artist name, object title, production year, technique/art support, artist’s signature and chronology, acquisition date, name of holding institution as well as artwork images, provenance, exhibition history, and reference sources. In Japanese and English.

National Museums of Art. National Museum of Art Collections Search (betaversion).Open in a new tab

A cross-search database of collections and other art resources held by national museums including The National Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo, National Crafts Museum, National Film Archive of Japan, The National Museum of Modern Art, Kyoto, The National Museum of Western Art, The National Museum of Art, Osaka and The National Art Center, Tokyo. Possible to search artworks, films, books, scholarly research reports and “Art Commons” (a database of exhibitions held in Japan). In Japanese and English.

National Institutes for Cultural Heritage. ColBase Integrated Collections Database of the National Institutes for Cultural Heritage, Japan.Open in a new tab

A cross-search database of the five national cultural heritage institutes (Tokyo National Museum, Kyoto National Museum, Nara National Museum, Kyushu National Museum, Nara National Research Institute for Cultural Properties). Includes approximately 140,000 items with some images. In Japanese, English, Chinese and Korean.

Tokyo Metropolitan Foundation for History and Culture. ToMuCo Tokyo Museum Collection: Integrated Database Search for Metropolitan Museums.Open in a new tab

A cross-search database of about 400,000 objects and resources in six Tokyo metropolitan museums: Edo-Tokyo Museum, Tokyo Photographic Art Museum, Museum of Contemporary Art Tokyo, Tokyo Metropolitan Teien Art Museum, Tokyo Metropolitan Art Museum and Edo-Tokyo Open Air Architectural Museum. With some images. In Japanese and English.

Hokkaidō Board of Education (Hokkaidō Kyōiku Iinkai). Hokkaidōritsu Bijutsukan tō Shozō Dētabēsu [Collection Union Database of Hokkaido Prefectural Art Museums].Open in a new tab

A cross-search database of 14,000 artworks held by six Hokkaido prefectural art museums, including Hokkaido Museum of Modern Art, Hokkaido Prefectural Migishi Kotaro Museum, Hokkaido Asahikawa Museum of Art, Hakodate Museum of Art, Hokkaido, Hokkaido Obihiro Museum of Art, and Kushiro Museum of Art, Hokkaido. Provides artwork titles and artist names in Japanese and English. Includes images.

Waseda System Development (Waseda Shisutemu Kaihatsu Kabushiki Kaisha). MAPPS (Museum Archive Platform Projects) Gateway.Open in a new tab

A cross-search platform, is to search collections of the participating museums, including museum holdings and books, etc. Includes approximately 5,100,000 items.

2. Research on National Cultural Properties

Agency for Cultural Affair . Kuni Shitei Bunkazai tō Dētabēsu [National Cultural Properties Database].Open in a new tab

A database of approximately 32,000 national treasures and important cultural properties. Includes certified/registered object title, name of creator, production year as well as registration number, cultural property classification number, certified date, object location, and property owner. Also includes some images.

Agency for Cultural Affair (Bunkachō) (sv.), Mainichi Newspaper, Book Editorial Section (Mainichi Shinbunsha Tosho Henshūbu) (ed.). Kokuhō, jūyō bunkazai taizen [Complete Catalogue of National and Important Cultural Properties]. Tokyo: Mainichi Newspapers.

• 1-2: Painting, 2 volumes (published1997-1999).
• 3-4: Sculpture, 2 volumes (published 1998-1999).
• 5-6: Craft Art, 2 volumes (published 1998-1999).
• 7-8: Calligraphy, 2 volumes (published 1998-1999).
• 9: Archaeological Artifacts (published 1997).
• 10: Historical Documents (published 1998).
• 11-12: Architecture, 2 volumes (published 1998-2000).
• Supplemental volume: List Arranged by Property Owner (as of June 2000), General Name Index, Statistics (published 2000).

A complete catalogue of national and important cultural properties based on the information collected as of 1997. Includes photographs and architectural plans. A supplemental volume includes a list arranged by property owner (as of June 2000), a general name index and statistics.

Kokuhō, Jūyō Bunkazai Mokuroku Hensankai (ed.). Kokuhō, jūyō bunkazai sōgō mokuroku: Bijutsu kōgeihin hen [Complete Catalogue of National and Important Cultural Properties: Decorative Arts]. 2 volumes. Tokyo: Gyōsei, 1999.

A union catalogue of national and important cultural treasures of decorative arts. Information is as of June 1998. Arranged by prefecture. No images included.

Ōtani Shōgo, Hanai Hisaho, Nakamura Reiko, Masuda Miwako, and Miyake Sakura (eds.). Jūyō bunkazai no himitsu: Tōkyō Kokuritsu Kindai Bijutsukan 70-shūnen kinenten (Secrets of National Important Cultural Properties: an Exhibition Celebrating the 70thAnniversary of The National Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo). [Tokyo]: Mainichi Newspapers, Nikkei, Tōkyō Kokuritsu Kindai Bijutsukan, 2023.

An exhibition catalogue of all works of Japanese modern painting, sculpture, and craft art which are important cultural properties as of March 2023. Each artwork is supplied with artist name, artwork title, production year, technique/material, dimensions, name of artwork owner or lender, information on the first exhibition, date of cultural property certification as well as commentaries, a list of reference titles and images of artwork. Supplemented with a chronology of certified important cultural properties (modern painting, sculpture, and craft art). Published commemorating the 70th Anniversary of The National Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo. In Japanese and English.

Ningen kokuhō jiten: Jūyō mukei bunkazai ninteisha sōran. Kōgei gijutsu hen [Dictionary of Living National Treasures: Important Intangible Cultural Property Holders. Handicraft]. Newly enl. ed. Tokyo: Unsōdō, 2012.

Dictionary of living and deceased national treasures in the field of handicraft who were certified by the Cultural Property Protection Act of Japan, as of August 2012.

3. Picture Search

Tokyo National Research Institute for Cultural Properties . “Bijutsu Gahō” Shosai Zuhan Dētabēsu[ “Art Pictorial” Image Database ].Open in a new tab

A database of approximately 6,000 images which were published in “Nihon Bijutsu Gahō [Japan Art Pictorial]” (Gahōsha, June 1894-May 1899) and its successor, “Bijutsu Gahō [Art Pictorial]” (Gahōsha, June 1899-November 1924). Provides names of artwork and artist, and names of artwork holder/lender, exhibition information, awards, etc. Possible to search by name of artist and artwork.

Aoyagi Masanori, et al (eds.).Nihon bijutsukan (The Art Museum of Japan) [Japanese Art]. Tokyo: Shōgakukan, 1997.

An overview of Japanese art history from the Paleolithic to the Modern Age. Includes 3,000 images which can be searched by an index at the end. Also supplemented with a biographical dictionary and glossaries.

Tsuji Nobuo, Izumi Takeo, Yamashita Yūji, and Itakura Masaaki (eds.). Nihon bijutsu zenshū [Japanese Art Collection]. Tokyo: Shōgakukan.

• Vol. 16: Yamashita Yūji (ed.). Gekidōki no bijutsu: Bakumatsu kara Meiji jidai zenki [Art in the Turbulent Era: From the Bakumatsu to the Early Meiji Periods], 2013.
• Vol. 17: Kitazawa Noriaki (ed.). Zen’ei (Avabt-garde) to modan: Meiji jidai kōki—Taishō jidai [Avant-garde and Modernism: From the late Meiji to the Taishō Periods], 2014.
• Vol. 18: Kawata Akihisa (ed.). Sensō to bijutsu: Senzen, senchū [War and Art: Before and During World War II], 2015.
• Vol. 19: Sawaragi Noi (ed.). Kakuchōsuru sengo bijutsu: Sengo—1995 [Expanding Post-war Art: The Post-war period to 1995], 2015.
• Vol. 20: Yamashita Yūji (ed.). Nihon bijutsu no genzai, mirai: 1996-genzai [Japanese Art Today and its Future: 1996 to Present], 2016.
• Index volume, 2016.

A series of Japanese art collection catalogues arranged chronologically and by theme. Volumes 16-20 cover modern and contemporary Japanese art. Each volume contains rich color plates, articles, essays, commentaries on images and the chronology of the appropriate period. Prefaces and lists of artworks also in English. An index volume includes a list of plates by volume, and indexes separately by artwork title, artist name, artwork owner, and article author. Also supplemented with a map related to the period.

4. Auction Records

Tsumori Atsuo. Uritate mokuroku no shoshi to zenkoku shozai ichiran [Auction Catalogues and Their Locations]. Tokyo: Bensei Shuppan, 2001.

A bibliography of catalogues of auctions held by Art Club and other art dealers in Japan from the Meiji to Heisei periods. Also included are the names of institutions who own the catalogues.

Tokyo National Research Institute for Cultural Properties. Uritate Mokuroku [Auction Catalogues].

A database of approximately 2,500 auction catalogues held by Tokyo Research Institute for Cultural Properties. Each catalogue is accompanied by the name of the auction, venue, auction year, and date of bidding. Possible to search by venue, auction name and auction year. The fully digitized versions of the catalogues are available at a dedicated workstation in the Reading Room of the Institute (Uritate Mokuroku Dejitaru Ākaibu [Auction Catalogue Digital Archive]).

Tokyo National Research Institute for Cultural Properties . Uritate Mokuroku Sakuhin Jōhō [Works in Auction Catalogues].Open in a new tab

A image database of about 337,000 objects in 2,328 auction catalogues held by Tokyo Research Institute for Cultural Properties. The auctions were held before the end of World War II. Each entry is accompanied by names of creator and object, auction name, name of the object owner, auction venue, and the day of the sale completed. Possible to search by name of creator, object name, auction name, name of family who owned the item and auction venue. Scanned images of the auction catalogues can be viewed at a designated workstation in the Tokyo Research Institute for Cultural Properties Library (Uritate Mokuroku Dejitaru Ākaibu [Auction Catalogue Digital Archive]).

Tōkyō Bijutsu Kurabu Hyakunenshi Hensan Iinkai (ed.) Bijutsushō no hyakunen: Tōkyō Bijutsu Kurabu hyakunenshi [Hundred-year History of the Tokyo Art Club]. Tokyo: Tokyo Art Club, 2006.

Records of 2,600 auctions held at each Art Club (Bijutsu Kurabu) location in Tokyo, Osaka, Kyoto, Nagoya and Kanazawa from 1903 to 1943 as well as major auctions held in 1951 or after. Covers approximately 33,000 items sold for over 1,000-yen with name of auctioneer, names of creator and object name, the final auctioned price, name of auction organizer and holding information of auction catalogue. Includes images from the 2,500 major auctioned items. Indexed by names of creator, object and auction.

Tōbi Kenkyūjo (ed.). Tōkyō bijutsu shijōshi [History of Art Market in Tokyo]. Tokyo: Tōkyō Bijutsu Kurabu, 1979.

Records of approximately 850 auctions held by Tokyo Art Club (Tōkyō Bijutsu Kurabu) from 1911-1977. Includes about 20,000 important items sold with higher than base prices. Arranged by auction date. Includes some images. Separately indexed by artist name, by artwork name and by artwork sold for high price*, and by auction name. Published commemorating the 70th anniversary of Tokyo Art Club (supervised by Segi Shin’ichi). (*For the auctions held in the Meiji, Taishō and the early Shōwa periods, over 10,000yen; in the late Shōwa period, over 5,000,000yen)

(Translated by Yoshimura Reiko) (Published online: 2024-07-09)