Concept

The Housen Cultural Foundation was established in August 2009 as a foundation that would contribute to the preservation and promotion of Japan’s art and culture. In specific terms, its goal was to support graduate students and graduate school research laboratories that were training the creators who would perform these tasks.

There are two pillars that underlie our efforts to preserve and promote the art and culture of Japan. The first is to properly convey the precious heritage of our past to the future. The second is to create new culture. For both of these pillars, the cultural assets of Japanese painting and sculpture, which Japan is the only country in the world to have preserved, and Japanese films, which have unique qualities found nowhere else in the world, are at the forefront of our efforts.

The Two Pillars of Preserving and Promoting
the Art and Culture of Japan

• We must convey the precious heritage
  of our past to the future.
• We must create new culture.

We think of the significance of the Housen Cultural Foundation as a foundation in this way.

The cultural assets of Japanese painting and culture, with their attendant world-class preservation and restoration techniques, are the basis of Japan’s support for global art and culture. Furthermore, Japanese films have been overlooked by the Japanese people ourselves despite their worldwide recognition. Contributing to the development of these two things is something desired by people worldwide, and Japan will be leading the way in the transition from a material civilization to a spiritual civilization. We at the Housen Cultural Foundation wish to contribute to the spiritual wellbeing of the people of Japan and the world.