14 Best Fine Arts Master's Degree Programs in Japan for 2024

Regarding expressive results as artworks, students work to further improve their skills and techniques and carry out research. They think about what artistic expression means in contemporary society and pursue their own themes and methods as expressive mediums. They strive to explore their own artistic visions and potential and establish personal themes while thinking about connections with society.

With the progression of researches in fine arts, design, and multiple media, independent specialized programs at the Graduate School of Fine Arts (Japanese Painting; Oil Painting and Woodcut Printing; Sculpture; Design; Ceramics; and Art History, Theory, and Conservation) were combined into the single Fine Arts program in 2007. This is not only to establish a system suited to the needs of the times; when education and research are sophisticated, and interdisciplinary studies are developed, but also to enhance each conventional specialization. Also, in order to apply the university's researches to practical endeavors, the Graduate School has established projects to reinforce interdisciplinary studies, and those to serve the development of the local community and society.

In the Graduate School of Design, we educate students and research on the various issues that are indwelling in the regional society. Through education and research, we aim to foster a professional who has advanced knowledge and is an expert in design. Our graduate students will be high-leveled specialists, researchers and educators who will contribute to the welfare of regional society by promoting industry, developing art and culture, restructuring and activating the community.

The Music and Arts Graduate School of the Okinawa Prefectural University of Arts aims to accomplish the objectives of developing students’ outstanding professional competence in various areas of the musical arts. Based on the above, and following the founding principles of the school, outstanding practical education shall be provided to students, with particular attention paid to the technical characteristics of Okinawa’s traditional performing arts, which have been inspired by the particular history, culture, and natural environment of this archipelago.

Established with the aim of fostering human resources with advanced knowledge and skills in the fields of art and design, the Master's Degree Program was the first to be officially approved at a private art university in Japan in 1964. The Master's Degree Program encompasses five majors. In addition to Painting, Sculpture, and Design, the Art Studies major was installed in 1998, followed by Ceramic, Glass, and Metal Works in 2002. The distinct class system with one-on-one tutelage by subject teachers continuing from the undergraduate course aims to improve expertise in the respective fields. For the fostering of internationally-minded human resources, our school accepts a large number of foreign exchange students. Furthermore, in conformity with requests for postgraduate adult re-education, a system divided into daytime and nighttime classes were introduced in 1995.

The Department of Sculpture was launched in 1887 with the establishment of a sculpture course as a specialist program. This was later expanded into a plastic arts department in 1899. With the school’s transformation into Tokyo Geijutsu Daigaku in the 1949 educational reforms, the department once again became the Department of Sculpture. The current sculpture building on the Ueno Campus was built in 1971, and the doctoral program was established in 1977. Each year, a certain number of graduate students do their creative work at the Toride Campus. Educational philosophy: The Department of Sculpture stresses the importance of developing highly sensitive graduates capable of developing a vision for the future of art from a broad-ranging, global perspective, based on the history of art to date and the traditions of Japanese art. It attempts to instill this perspective by focusing on a broad-ranging study of the plastic arts and seeks to cultivate graduates capable of working as creative artists, as well as providing instruction in various arts-related areas. In the master’s degree program, students are supported by and work within a unique educational structure based on studios tailored to each student’s research goals. In addition, community involvement programs encourage each student to draw fully on his or her talents, unconstrained by preconceived domains of practice and materials, thereby providing opportunities to examine the possibilities of art in connection with society.

In this course, students find their own subjects and create their art through observation and subjectivity, while adding depth to their creative visions. In supplementary classes, students hone in on their themes and learn to see their work more broadly. Students who complete this course go on to play important roles in the fields of art and education.

Students research, experiment with, and create in various expressive methods and mediums, while considering and researching issues without being limited to traditional art and design frameworks. Rather than producing tangible “things,” they come up with concepts, make plans, and carry them out, resulting in expression. In other words, they study the creative process itself and perform research while focusing on the importance of concepts. The overall research method combines investigation, collection, planning, study, and production (including a thesis).

Focuses on public policy for creative cultural industries, which includes policy support for non-profit groups and for-profit organizations.

The MA in ceramics consists of specialized training in porcelain (overglaze enameling technique, the study of its basic material, etc.), and stoneware and earthenware (glazed, unglazed, etc.). In each of these specializations, students acquire technical expertise as well as theoretical knowledge. In terms of educational content, first-year students undergo practical training in the adjustment of basic materials including clay and glaze, also in shaping techniques and comparative firing (including black-burnished and pit-fire ware). Second-year students conduct research on advanced shaping and firing techniques as well as decorative methods while working on their study projects.

The Japanese word for "sculpture", chokoku, contains the spatial concept of "cho" (or "horu": to carve) and the temporal idea of "koku" (or "kizamu": to chop). Just as old as mankind, the art of the sculpture is still being succeeded by artists around the world who keep exploring its possibilities day by day. In other words, a sculpture is a monument of space and time that continues endlessly from the past to the present and further into the future. Returning time and again to the fundamental question, "What is sculpture?", we need to keep searching for the meaning of art unconstrained by trends and customs, based on the history of all kinds of arts and techniques. The Department of Sculpture aims to foster individuals who challenge new and timeless artistic possibilities through theoretical and practical work in an ample production environment.

The challenge in this field is the construction of new relationships between artificial media and humans, and the issues involved in making man-made designs that fit human behavior. By connecting a wide range of disparate fields of study, such as research on technology for human-computer conversation, students can develop a broad understanding of the expressive potential of all kinds of media.

Keyboard Instrument Research Area The Graduate School of Music (Master's Program) Keyboard Instrument Research Area was established for the purpose of developing more advanced music art education and research and human resources that contribute to culture and society. In this keyboard instrument research area, in order to organically develop high-quality practical educational programs and enable activities in a wide range of fields, teachers of pianists and composers, as well as teachers of voice, strings, tubes, and percussion instruments. We have a comprehensive teaching system for music arts, including. In the piano research area, there is a "special research on instrumental music" centered on analysts to deepen the understanding of music, and a lesson to broaden the musical perspective through understanding other musical instruments by considering the technique of performance expression from the analysts. There are classes such as "chamber music training", language learning, reading the original book, invited professors from overseas, and practical training by pianists. In the completion test, one hour of performance and the result of the music research are required to be prepared as a treatise or program note. In the accompaniment research area, the goal is to cultivate in-depth knowledge of various musical instruments and voices, the ability to accurately read scores, etc., which are indispensable for professional accompaniment, and to fully support the co-stars while also expressing themselves. To give a practical lesson. Practical lessons including music analysis by the composer's instructor, "basic accompaniment exercises" to learn live harmony and arrangement necessary for understanding the work, instrumental music sonatas, songs, opera, oratorio, collepetitol, etc. There are "special research on instrumental music" that allows you to select what you want to learn, and "chamber music training" that is common to all majors in instrumental music. The work of accompaniment pianists is currently in great demand, but there are few places for full-scale learning. The goal of this graduate school is to thoroughly learn the abilities required as an accompaniment, pay attention to individual individuality, and finally establish a comprehensive view of music.

This program is comprised of oil painting and Japanese painting. For oil painting, students strive to enhance their experience in advanced artistic expression, focusing on canvas painting, printmaking, photo, installation, and performance art. For Japanese painting, students aim for expertise in materials and techniques as well as the study of diverse artistic expressions. Furthermore, special training classes with multiple and diversified studies approaches for materials and techniques serve to enhance the evolution of formative arts.