Sir Robert and Lady Sainsbury sold their Modigliani painting ‘Portrait de Baranowski’ through Sotheby’s in 1998 to found the Sainsbury Institute for the Study of Japanese Art and Cultures. To commemorate this sale, Sotheby’s agreed to sponsor the Sotheby’s Senior Scholars grant, which bring eminent Japanese (and other overseas) scholars to the UK to promote Japanese art studies in the country.

Former Fellows

Professor Natsume Fusanosuke

2019 Sotheby’s Scholar
Graduate Course in Cultural Studies in Corporeal and Visual Representation, Gakushuin University

Natsume Fusanosuke is a manga critic and columnist. He teaches critical studies on manga and animation at Gakushuin University. He was awarded the Tezuka Osamu Cultural Prize in 1999. During the course of his career, he has engaged in debates surrounding manga as ‘anti-art’ seen many attempts to create exhibitions of manga and explored the boundaries between manga in Japan and graphic novels, bande dessinée and comics from other parts of the world.

Professor Morikawa Kaichiro

2018 Sotheby’s Scholar
Associate Professor, Meiji University

Tokugo Uchida

2016 Sotheby’s Scholar
Director, MOA Museum of Art

Dr Asano Shugo

2015 Sotheby’s Scholar
Director of Abeno Harukas Art Museum (Osaka) and Museum Yamato Bunkakan (Nara)

Professor Shimao Arata

2014 Sotheby’s Scholar
Professor of Art History, Gakushuin University

Professor Arakawa Masa’aki

2013 Sotheby’s Scholar
Professor of Art History, Gakushuin University

Professor Ohashi Koji

2012 Sotheby’s Scholar
Former Director of Kyushu Ceramic Museum

Professor Sano Midori

2010 Sotheby’s Scholar
Professor of Art History at Gakushuin University

Professor Kobayashi Tatsuo

2009 Sotheby’s Scholar
Professor Emeritus of Archaeology at Kokugakuin University
Related publication:
Jomon Reflections: Forager Life and Culture in the Prehistoric Japanese Archipelago

Professor Richard Pearson

2006 Sotheby’s Scholar
Professor Emeritus of Archaeology at the University of British Columbia