歩み

　The 1st of February, 1889 was when the opening ceremony for the Tokyo Fine Arts School was held.Among the 65 new students were YOKOYAMA Taikan, SHIMOMURA Kanzan, ROKKAKU Shisui and other artists, who after graduation would go on to lead the modern Japanese art world. While the Technical Art School, established by the Ministry of Industry in 1876, aimed to transplant Western art appropriate to the era of civilization in Japan, the philosophy of the Tokyo Fine Arts School, newly established by the Ministry of Education, was to promote fine art unique to the nation.

　OKAKURA Kakuzo (also known as OKAKURA Tenshin), who would later become the second Director of the Tokyo Fine Arts School, was the mastermind who put this policy into practice, organizing the curriculum of the new school. Okakura was not a strict nationalist, and promoted the "natural development theory" of Japanese art in fine arts education. Initially, the school started out by teaching traditional painting and wood carving, but in 1896, seven years after the school opened, the Western Painting department was established, and sculptural education also started to incorporate Western styles.

　After Okakura resigned from his position in 1898, it was the fifth Director, MASAKI Naohiko, who supported the activities of the Tokyo Fine Arts School in the first half of the 20th century, throughout the Meiji, Taisho and prewar Showa periods. Masaki contributed greatly to the development of the school in the modern era, promoting commissioned production, actively accepting foreign students from East Asian countries, and collaborating with national policies regarding art.In 1935, the Masaki Memorial Gallery, which currently houses GACMA on the first floor, was built in honor of Masaki's extended service for the school.

　In 1949, the Tokyo University of the Arts was established, and the former Tokyo Fine Arts School was reorganized as the Faculty of Fine Arts of the new university.UENO Naoteru, the first president of the university, was a researcher specializing in aesthetics, but also devoted himself to various art administrations as Japan transformed from the postwar period to the period of rapid economic growth, and laid the foundation for the school as a national art university.Also important to note is HIRAYAMA Ikuo, the sixth and eighth president of the university, who contributed to the development of the university, and made great achievements in the field of cultural property conservation during and after the 1990s, in the Heisei era.

　As of March 2020, more than 20,000 students have graduated from the Tokyo Fine Arts School and the Faculty of Fine Arts. The long history of the school itself, from its foundation more than 130 years ago to this day, certainly overlaps with the history of modern and contemporary art in Japan.