An institution for the encouragement of art, under the Minister of Education, established to honour and support artists of outstanding achievement in the various fields of art — fine art, letters, music, theatre and so on. It grew out of the art examination committee set up in 1907 to hold the Ministry of Education Art Exhibition (Bunten); in 1947 the “Imperial Art Academy” was renamed the “Japan Art Academy”. Under the Japan Art Academy Ordinance of 1949 it both carries out work contributing to the development of art and deliberates important matters concerning art, on which it may offer its opinion to the Minister or to the Commissioner for Cultural Affairs.