Fukuoka Asian Culture Prize

The Fukuoka Asian Culture Prizes(福岡アジア文化賞,후쿠오카아시아문화상) were established by Fukuoka City and Yokatopia Foundation to honor the outstanding work of individuals or organizations to preserve and create unique and diverse culture of Asia. There are three prize categories: the Grand Prize, the Academic Prize, and the Arts and Culture Prize.

In 1989, Fukuoka city held the Asia-Pacific Exposition (referred to as ‘Yokatopia’) with the concept of interaction between the Asia-Pacific region. The prize program was inaugurated in the following year to carry on the spirit of the Expo, and ever since then, the prizes have been given annually and the related official events including the award ceremony and the public forums by the prize winners have been held in every September, also known as ‘Asian Month’ in Fukuoka. In 1999, the school visits were added into the program to give a special lecture to children by the prize winners. The series of events offer the citizens ample opportunities to discover and experience the diversity of Asia.

Prize Categories

Grand Prize

To be presented to an individual or an organization in either the field of academics or arts and culture. The laureate must have made outstanding contributions to the preservation and creation of Asian culture and have exhibited the significance of Asian culture to the world. The prize is endowed with 5 million yen.

Academic Prize

To be presented to one or two individuals or organizations that have made outstanding achievements in the field of Asian studies, such as social and human sciences, contributing to the world’s understanding of Asia. The prize is endowed with 3 million yen.

Arts and Culture Prize

To be presented to one or two individuals or organizations who have made outstanding contributions in the diverse arts and culture of Asia. The category includes a wide range of fields such as the fine arts, literature, music, drama, dance, film, architecture, and so forth. The prize is endowed with 3 million yen.

Geographical Focus

East, South, and Southeast Asia (any regions located to east of Pakistan)

Past Laureates

Year	Prize Category	Name	Nationality	Occupation
1990	Special	Ba Jin(巴金)	China	Writer
1990	Special	Kurosawa Akira	Japan	Film Director
1990	Special	Joseph Needham	U.K.	Scholar of Chinese Science History
1990	Special	Kukrit Pramoj(คึกฤทธิ์ ปราโมช)	Thailand	Writer, Statesman
1991	Grand	Ravi Shankar	India	Sitar Player
1991	Academic	Taufik Abudullah	Indonesia	Historian, Social Scientist
1991	Academic	Nakane Chie	Japan	Social Anthropologist
1991	Arts & Culture	Donald Keene	U.S.A	Scholar of Japanese Literature & Culture
1992	Grand	Kim Wonyong	Korea	Archaeologist
1992	Academic	Clifford Geertz	U.S.A.	Anthropologist
1992	Academic	Takeuchi Minoru	Japan	Anthropologist
1992	Arts & Culture	Leandro V. Locsin	Philippines	Architect
1993	Grand	Fei Xiaotong(费孝通)	China	Sociologist, Anthropologist
1993	Academic	Ungku A. Aziz	Malaysia	Economist
1993	academic	Kawakita Jiro	Japan	Scholar of Ethnogeography
1993	Arts & Culture	Namjilyn Norovbanzad(Намжилын Норовбанзад)	Mongolia	Vocalist
1994	Grand	M. C. Subhadradis Diskul(หม่อมเจ้าสุภัทรดิศ ดิศกุล)	Thailand	Archaeologist, Art Historian
1994	Academic	Wang Gungwu(王賡武)	Australia	Historian
1994	Academic	Ishii Yoneo	Japan	Scholar of Southeast Asian Studies
1994	Arts & Culture	Padma Subrahmanyam	India	Traditional Dancer
1995	Grand	Koentjaraningrat	Indonesia	Anthropologist
1995	Academic	Hahn Kiun	Korea	Scholar of Education
1995	Academic	Karashima Noboru	Japan	Historian
1995	Arts & Culture	Nam June Paik	U.S.A.	Video Artist
1996	Grand	Wang Zhongshu	China	Archaeologist
1996	Academic	Phan Huy Le	Vietnam	Historian
1996	Academic	Eto Shinkichi	Japan	Scholar of Relations
1996	Arts & Culture	Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan(نصرت فتح على خاں)	Pakistan	Qawwali Singer
1997	Grand	Chheng Phon	Cambodia	Dramatist, Artist
1997	Academic	Romila Thapar	India	Historian
1997	Academic	Higuchi Takayasu	Japan	Archaeologist
1997	Arts & Culture	Im Kwontaek	Korea	Film Director
1998	Grand	Lee KiMoon	Korea	Linguist
1998	Academic	Stanley Jeyaraja Tambiah	U.S.A.	Anthropologist
1998	Academic	Ueda Masaaki	Japan	Historian
1998	Arts & Culture	R. M. Soedarsono	Indonesia	Dancer, Scholar of Dance
1999	Grand	Hou Hsiao Hsien(侯孝賢)	Taiwan	Film Director
1999	Academic	Obayashi Taryo	Japan	Ethnologist
1999	Academic	Nidhi Eoseewong(นิธิ เอียวศรีวงศ์)	Thailand	Historian
1999	Arts & Culture	Tang Da Wu	Singapore	Visual Artist
2000	Grand	Pramoedya Ananta Toer	Indonesia	Writer
2000	Academic	Than Tun	Myanmar	Historian
2000	Academic	Benedict Anderson	Ireland	Scholar of Politics
2000	Arts & Culture	Hamzah Awang Amat	Malaysia	Shadow Play Master
2001	Grand	Muhammad Yunus(মুহাম্মদ ইউনূস)	Bangladesh	Economist
2001	Academic	Hayami Yujiro	Japan	Economist
2001	Arts & Culture	Thawan Duchanee(ถวัลย์ ดัชนี)	Thailand	Painter
2001	Arts & Culture	Marilou Diaz-abaya	Philippines	Film Director
2002	Grand	Zhang Yimou(張芸謀)	China	Film Director
2002	Academic	Kingsley Muthumuni De Silva	Sri Lanka	Historian
2002	Academic	Anthony Reid	Australia	Historian
2002	Arts & Culture	Lat	Malaysia	Cartoonist
2003	Grand	Hokama Shuzen	Japan	Scholar of Okinawan Studies
2003	Academic	Reynaldo C. Ileto	Philippines	Historian
2003	Arts & Culture	Xu Bing	China	Artist
2003	Arts & Culture	Dick Lee	Singapore	Singersongwriter
2004	Grand	Amjad Ali Khan	India	Sarod Maestro
2004	Academic	Li Yining(厲以寧)	China	Economist
2004	Academic	Ram Dayal Rakesh	Nepal	Scholar of Folk Culture Studies
2004	Arts & Culture	Sembukuttiarachilage Roland Silva	Sri Lanka	Conservator
2005	Grand	Im Dongkwon	Korea	Folklorist
2005	Academic	Thaw Kaung	Myanmar	Librarian
2005	Arts & Culture	Douangdeuane Bounyavong	Laos	Textile Researcher
2005	Arts & Culture	Tashi Norbu	Bhutan	Traditional Musician
2006	Grand	Mo Yan(莫言)	China	Writer
2006	Academic	Shagdaryn Bira	Mongolia	Historian
2006	Academic	Hamahita Takeshi	Japan	Historian
2006	Arts & Culture	Uxi Mufti	Pakistan	Culture Expert
2007	Grand	Ashis Nandy	India	Social and Cultural Critic
2007	Academic	Srisakra Vallibhotama(ศรีศักร วัลลิโภดม)	Thailand	Anthropologist, Archaeologist
2007	Arts & Culture	Ju Ming(朱銘)	Taiwan	Sculptor
2007	Arts & Culture	Kim Duk-soo	Korea	Traditional Performing Artist

External links

• Fukuoka Asian Culture Prize