0. Using tools from the MOMAT
Table of contents:
0.1 How to search for MOMAT exhibition information
This section is a guide to how to search for information related to exhibitions that were held at the MOMAT. Exhibition information primarily refers to the five following items of information.
- Exhibition dates and locations
- Works featured at exhibitions
- Artists featured at exhibitions
- Written materials created for the exhibition
- Brief reviews that evaluate the exhibition (exhibition reviews)
0.1.1 Exhibition History List
You can browse through information for exhibitions (special exhibitions) that were held at the MOMAT in the page below.
0.1.2 Exhibition Catalogs
Catalogs created to supplement exhibitions contain images, work data/descriptions, related writings, reference literature, biographies/portraits/chronicles of the artists, etc. These materials are compilations of the latest research at the time of the opening of the exhibition and are extremely valuable when researching information about artists and works.
a) How to search
Searching the MOMAT OPAC using the names of exhibitions or artists as keyphrases will yield results from the exhibition catalogs. When searching for catalogs of exhibitions held at the MOMAT, the items from the table of contents in a catalog can be used as keyphrases.
b) Call number
<Example> About MOMAT exhibition catalog call numbers [C*||NMA1||Exhibition Number]
Call numbers consist of three parts. For example, for the call number [CO||NMA1||457], “CO” (Catalogue One person) indicates a solo or retrospective exhibition, and “NMA1” (National Museum of Art) indicates that the exhibition was held at the MOMAT. “CG” (Catalog Group) in place of “CO” would indicate that the exhibition featured works from two or more artists. The numbers at the end are serial numbers (exhibition numbers) assigned to exhibitions held at the MOMAT. Materials in the Art Library are sorted in order of exhibition number. Catalogs can be found right away if you know the exhibition number.
Example:
| CO | ← “CO” = solo or retrospective exhibition / “CG” = Group exhibition |
|---|---|
| NMA1 | ← Exhibition held at the MOMAT |
| 457 | ← Exhibition number |
0.1.3 Newsletter
The Newsletter of the National Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo has been issued regularly since 1954. The content of articles featured in the newsletter has changed over the years, and articles have covered a variety of topics including announcements for special exhibitions, writings and reports related to exhibitions, descriptions of newly collected works, editorials related to artists featured in special and permanent exhibitions, and more.
a) Online
Some issues of the Newsletter of the National Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo can be viewed at The National Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo – Repository. Additionally, new issues are posted on the website. However, images of some works may be hidden due to copyright reasons.
b) Book form
Content from the newsletter can be found through the MOMAT OPAC by searching the keyphrase “Newsletter of the National Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo.”
To search for a specific past issue, please select year. Items from the table of contents in an issue of the newsletter can be used as a keyword or keyphrase for a search.
0.1.4 Bulletin
Research theses and investigative reports about works of art written by researchers from the MOMAT are posted in the Bulletin of the National Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo.
a) Online
The 11th issue and later can be read from the institution’s repository and website. However, images of some works may be hidden due to copyright reasons.
b) Book form
Searching the MOMAT OPAC using “Bulletin of the National Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo” as a keyphrase will yield results from the editions of the bulletin.
To search for a specific past issue, Please select year. Items from the table of contents in an issue of the newsletter can be used as a keyword or keyphrase for a search.
0.1.5 Annual Reports/Activity Reports
The Annual report, Independent Administrative Institution National Museum of Art, the National Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo is a report of museum activities that is issued every year. The reports contain records of exhibitions held from the opening of the museum in 1952 to last year. Information such as exhibition content, number of visitors, publications is published in the reports. If you know the year an exhibition was held, you can find information related to the exhibition by checking the report for that year.
Additionally, works that entered the MOMAT collection on the year in question (new acquisitions) are listed by genre. Annual reports are published each year, so they are useful for finding the latest works to enter the museum’s collection. As part of the published artwork data, the first exhibition in which the work was shown and the history of how the work entered the collection are included in addition to the name of the work and the artist, size and materials used (including techniques and support). However, images of works may not be included depending on the year of publication.
a) Online
Editions of the Annual report, Independent Administrative Institution National Museum of Art, the National Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo, published since 2002 can be viewed at the National Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo – Repository.
b) Book form
Searching the MOMAT OPAC using “National Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo Annual Report” as a keyphrase will yield results from the editions of the report. The data is categorized in the following order due to changes in the name of the publication: Kokuritsu kindai bijutsukan nenpō; Annual report, the National Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo; Annual report, Independent Administrative Institution National Museum of Art, the National Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo; Annual report, Independent Administrative Institution National Museum of Art, the National Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo. To search for a specific past issue, click “Find Past Issues” and enter the desired numbers in the “Volume,” “Issue,” “Year,” and “Month” fields.
- [Kokuritsu kindai bijutsukan nenpō], 1952– [MA||NMA1]
- Annual report, the National Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo, 1967–1999. [MA||NMA1]
- Annual report, Independent Administrative Institution National Museum of Art, the National Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo, 2000–2007.[MA||NMA1]
- Annual report, Independent Administrative Institution National Museum of Art, the National Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo, 2008–. [MA||NMA1]
0.1.6 Featured Artists
Names of artists featured in special exhibitions at the MOMAT (Art Museum/Crafts Gallery) between December 1952 and March 2012 can be found in “Index Search System for Works and Artists Featured in Art Musum/Crafts Gallery Exhibitions,” which was created when 60 years of the National Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo 1952–2012 was published. The listed exhibition number can be used to check information such as exhibition names from the “The MOMAT exhibition history list” introduced in “0.1.1 Exhibition History List.”
A system that allows you to search the names of artists (including group names) featured in special exhibitions is available at the MOMAT Art Library. In addition to artist information including the artist’s name (EU)(JA), years of birth and death, and aliases, you can find what exhibitions the artist’s works were featured in, and if a link to a featured works list is available, what works were featured. (The featured works list for each exhibition is currently being added.) This system is recommended for those who wish to conduct a diversified search to check the collection of articles from the Newsletter of the National Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo or video recordings of symposiums relevant to each exhibition, etc.
- Comprehensive Index of Exhibited Artists at the National Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo, at the Crafts Gallery Search (JA, EU)(In the Art library only)
0.2 How to search for works collected at the MOMAT
This section is a guide to finding information related to works collected at the MOMAT. Works information includes artist names, dates of creation, medium, support, measurements (cm), collection location, etc.
0.2.1 Collected Works
Works created in the 20th century to today in Japan and overseas are collected at the MOMAT. Collected works can be searched using either the Union Catalog of the Collections of the National Art Museums, Japan; or the collection catalog.
a) Union Catalog
The Union Catalog of the Collections of the National Art Museums, Japan allows you to search for information at the four museums where works are collected out of six Independent Administrative Institution National Museums of Art—MOMAT; National Museum of Western Art; National Museum of Modern Art, Kyoto; and the National Museum of Art, Osaka. You may also narrow your search to just works collected at the National Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo.
Listed information includes the artist’s name, name of work, year of production, materials (including techniques and support), form size (cm), number in set, measurements (cm), year and mode of acquisition, and name of museum. Depending on the work, additional information may be included such as images of the work, descriptions, provenance (who possessed the work previously), exhibition history (what exhibitions the work was featured in), and reference literature (literature that introduces the work). Data is generally updated at the end of each fiscal year. The update status can be checked on the website.
b) Collection catalog
The Catalogue of collections, the National Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo has been issued since 1973. Catalogues are categorized by field, and black and white images are displayed for every work. Listed information for each work includes the artist’s name, years of birth and death, title, year of production, materials (including techniques and support), form size, exhibition the work was first shown in, year and mode of acquisition. With regards to the genre and time period, the scope of the catalogue is indicated in the introductory remarks. Additionally, an index can be found at the end of each catalogue, allowing you to find artist names (written in both Japanese and English.)
- Catalogue of collections, the National Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo, 1973. [CC||NMA1||1973]
- Catalogue of collections, the National Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo. Paintings, 2004. [CC||NMA1||2004]
- Catalogue of collections, the National Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo. Watercolors and Drawings, Calligraphy, Sculpture, Supplementary materials, War record paintings, 2006. [CC||NMA1||2006]
- Catalogue of collections, the National Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo. Prints, 1993. [CC||NMA1||1993]
- Catalogue of collections, the National Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo. Ryusei Kishida Works and archives, 1996. [CC||NMA1]
- Supplement to catalogue of collections the National Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo, 1994. [CC||NMA1||1994]
- Supplement to catalogue of collections the National Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo. Isamu Wakabayashi Collected studies, 1994. [CC||NMA1]
- Collection catalogue of the National Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo. Crafts, 2003. [CC||NMA1||2003]
- Collection catalogue of the National Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo. Design, 2003. [CC||NMA1||2003]
The MOMAT catalogue of collections can be searched from the MOMAT OPAC by selecting “Advanced search” and entering [CC||NMA1||*] in the “Call number” field.
0.2.2 Images and Descriptions
a) Important cultural property
Important cultural properties collected at the MOMAT can be checked on the “Important cultural properties at the MOMAT” page on the website.
• MOMAT (Art Museum) HP > Collection > Important cultural properties at the MOMAT
b) Publications
Masterpieces from the National Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo is a guidebook containing color images of works accompanied by descriptions in English and in Japanese. Names of artists and works can be checked in the list at the end of the book.
Selected works from the collection of the National Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo are books containing color images and descriptions of 63 selected works as well as information about the artists and works. Selected works can be checked from the table of contents. A separate volume contains descriptions in English.
Masterpieces from The National Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo is a selection of 202 paintings representative of the works collected up to December 2004. This book contains color images of works and descriptions of works and artists in Japanese. An index of artists and list of works can be found at the back of the book (in both Japanese and English.)
Gallery guide to the collection of the National Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo contains descriptions of art movements in modern Japanese art accompanied by images of works collected at the MOMAT and at other museums. There are descriptions in Japanese for some of the featured works. The end of the book contains brief histories of artists, chronologies, and an index of names of notable people.
Gallery guide to the collection of the National Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo is a record of representative works collected at the MOMAT. This book contains color images of works and descriptions about works and artists in Japanese.
60 years of the National Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo 1952–2012 is a compilation commemorating the 60th anniversary of the opening of the National Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo. Ten newly collected works were selected for each fiscal year and featured alongside black and white images of the work and data related to the work.
b) Teaching materials
The “National Art Museum Art Card Set” was created by the staff at each national art museum in charge of promoting education. They utilize collected works for the purposes of educating people about art appreciation. The booklet contains color images, information, and descriptions alongside points of appreciation for works collected at the MOMAT, the National Museum of Modern Art, Kyoto; National Museum of Western Art; and the National Museum of Art, Osaka.
0.3 Materials related to works collected at the MOMAT and their artists
This section is a guide to help you research artists of collected works or previously exhibited works using materials created or archived at the museum.
[Bijutsukatachi no shōgen] is a book of 71 articles by modern Japanese artists compiled from the Newsletter of the National Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo. An index of names of artists can be found at the end of the book.
The Playback Artist Talks exhibition held at the MOMAT in 2013 was an exhibition that reflected on the Artist Talk events held between 2005 and 2011. This catalogue contains transcriptions of what was said by twelve featured artists during their Artist Talks.
0.3.2 Artist Files (Created at the MOMAT Art Library)
These are collections of ephemera for approximately 4,100 artists of works collected or exhibited at the MOMAT, filed by artist name. Since July 2019, these files have been searchable in the MOMAT OPAC. If you would like to view these files, please make a request at the counter. It may take time to fetch these files as they are very delicate. Thank you for your understanding.
0.3.3 Artist Sheets (Created at the MOMAT Art Library)
These are sheets created at the MOMAT Art Library for approximately 6,200 deceased persons with relevance to art that include newspaper cuttings of obituaries. They are sorted in kana syllabary order. (Updates for these sheets stopped in March 2019.) The sheets are shelved in the Art Library, but they cannot be searched for on the MOMAT OPAC. If you would like to find a sheet, please make a request at the counter.
- Artist Sheets