Kyoto City University of Arts

is a public, municipal university of general art and music in Kyoto, Japan. Established in 1880, it is Japan's oldest university of the arts (the predecessor of Tokyo University of the Arts was founded in 1887). Among its faculty and graduates have been 16 recipients of the Order of Culture, 24 members of the Japan Art Academy, and 10 artists who have been designated Living National Treasures. It has been associated especially closely with nihonga painters from western Japan. History The university was founded in 1880 as the in temporary quarters in the grounds of the imperial palace in Kyoto. Kyoto had lost its status as the nation's capital in 1867, at the beginning of Meiji Period, and the city was in danger of being left behind in the wave of modernization overtaking the country. In 1878, a group of painters petitioned the city government to establish a modern school of the arts to support the traditional arts and crafts, including painting, ceramics, and weaving. The school was founded with support from the city and national government leader Sanjo Sanetomi, and contributions from 93 Kyoto merchants. The Faculty of Fine Arts originated from the Kyoto Prefectural School of Painting, founded in 1880, which was named "Japan's First Kyoto School of Painting" by Grand Minister Sanjo Sanetomi in June, and the opening ceremony was held in July at the former temporary building of the Jugōsato Goten Palace in the Kyoto Imperial Garden. The background to this event was that the Maruyama School, the Shijo School, and other schools of Kyoto art were in crisis due to the loss of patrons after the transfer of the capital to Tokyo, and the cold reception of traditional culture by the opening of civilization. In order to rebuild the art world, the citizens of Kyoto began to call for the establishment of a modern art academy to train artists; this school was founded as a result of their enthusiasm. The school was also intended to support the modernization of traditional applied arts, Kyoto's main industry, which had been stagnant since the advent of civilization, and to promote the art world, which was closely related to it. At the time, the environment surrounding the art world in Kyoto was severe. In 1864, the city was engulfed in warfare triggered by the urban warfare between the Shogunate and the Chōshū Domain(the Forbidden Gate Incident), and about 27,000 houses were burned down.