The Dunhuang Project by Tokyo University of the Arts

Tokyo University of the Arts (TUA) is Japan's only national university for the arts and the highest institution for training artists in Japan.

In the late 1970s, famous Japanese painter Ikuo Hirayama (1930-2009) visited the Mogao Caves in Dunhuang for the first time. Deeply impressed by the art of Dunhuang's murals, he began to advocate for the protection and research of the Dunhuang caves and raise funds for the cause. In the 1980s, Hirayama actively facilitated collaboration between TUA and the Dunhuang Academy in fields such as Dunhuang studies, cave archaeology, and cultural relic preservation. Both parties planned to send scholars for professional training and academic investigations.

Since 1983, the Dunhuang Academy has successively sent over 50 researchers to TUA for training and study, hence playing an important part in the development of Dunhuang relics and various specialized fields of Dunhuang studies. TUA has also sent nearly 100 students majoring in fine arts, restoration, and other fields to the Academy for training. The two institutions have frequently arranged academic exchange seminars to share the results of their collaboration. In August 1988, Noboru Takeshita (1924-2000), then prime minister of Japan, visited China and toured the Mogao Caves in Dunhuang, after which Japan provided assistance on establishing the Dunhuang Cave Protection & Research Exhibition Center.

東京藝術大學敦煌項目

東京藝術大學是日本唯一的藝術類國立大學，在日本國內被公認為日本最高的藝術家培養學府。

20世紀70年代末，日本著名畫家平山郁夫第一次訪問敦煌莫高窟。受到敦煌壁畫藝術強烈沖擊的他，開始為敦煌石窟的保護與研究四處奔走，募集資金。20 世紀 80 年代，平山郁夫先生積極促成東京藝術大學攜手敦煌研究院，在敦煌學、石窟考古、文物保護等領域開展合作，雙方有計劃地互相派遣學者進行專業研修培訓和學術考察。

自1983年開始，敦煌研究院陸續派遣了50余位研究人員到東京藝術大學進行研修學習，在敦煌文物事業發展和敦煌學各專業領域發揮了重要作用。東京藝術大學也已派遣近百名美術、修復等專業的學生到敦煌研究院研修，定期或不定期合作輪流舉辦學術交流報告會，合作成果交流共享。1988年8月，時任日本首相的竹下登到訪中國，訪問了敦煌莫高窟，隨后援助建成敦煌石窟保護研究陳列中心。