December 26, 2019Japan Arts Council

Japan Cultural Expo launches
official social media accounts
Tokyo, December 26— Official social media accounts were launched today for the Japan Cultural
Expo, a nationwide festival celebrating the finest in Japanese arts and culture with various
programs including exhibitions, performing arts productions, and arts festivals.
The Expo introduces the arts of Japan to the world, based on the theme of Humanity and Nature.
Starting in 2019 and scheduled to run until 2021, it will showcase 10,000 years of the arts andculture in Japan, including fine arts and cultural treasures, the performing arts, media arts, music,literary arts, food and nature, daily life, design, and fashion. This comprehensive expo will also
explore the arts in the context of creating an inclusive society, living with other cultures, andrecovering from natural disasters.
The Japan Cultural Expo social media accounts will be regularly updated to provide visitors withdetails about programs, venues, dates, the creative process, and much more.

For inquiries about this release, contact:
Japan Cultural Expo PR & Communications Office
Email: press@japanculturalexpo.jp
Hours: 9:30-17:30 JST (closed Saturdays, Sundays, and holidays)

Account information
TwitterFacebook@enJPCultureExpo@JapanCulturalExpo

https://twitter.com/enJPCultureExpo

https://www.facebook.com/JapanCulturalExpo/

About the Japan Cultural Expo
Overview
Under the overarching theme “Humanity and Nature in Japan,” the Japan Cultural Expo is anationwide festival of Japanese arts and culture led by the Agency for Cultural Affairs and the Japan
Arts Council, organized in cooperation with government ministries and agencies, culturalinstitutions, local governments, and private organizations. Timed to coincide with the 2020 Tokyo
Summer Olympic and Paralympic Games, events held all over the country will display the “arts ofJapan” for the appreciation and enjoyment of not only Japanese audiences but visitors fromoverseas.
Concept
For more than 10,000 years, from primeval times to the present, the arts of Japan have been theexpression of respect for the diversity of nature and the landscape. “Art” is inspired by the belief
that each and every thing is endowed with a vital spirit and by a feeling of reverence for the beauty
manifested therein. Traditions cherishing the nature and the climate of the land have been passed
down in all aspects of daily life and art. We can see that embrace of nature’s beauty in the arts
throughout the ages: decorated pottery of ancient Jōmon times, carved or cast Buddhist statuary,
paintings on folding screens or in ukiyo-e prints, designs on lacquerware and other traditional crafts,
kimono and textiles, Noh and Kabuki performing arts, modern arts of anime and manga. Art
embodies the way nature resonates within and imprints itself upon the human heart. Art displays
the ways people treasure that sense of beauty.
Appreciation of arts by not only Japanese themselves but people of other countries and membersof upcoming generations will surely nurture innovation and creativity into the future.
We hope that this festival will create exhilarating encounters, deepening respect for diversity,celebrating universality, and aspiring for world peace.
https://www.ntj.jac.go.jp/nihonhaku/