Support for Arts and Sciences
Arts and Culture Support
Continuing the Tsuzuri Project for Passing Down Japan's Cultural Assets
Canon has since 2007 partnered with the Kyoto Culture Association (NPO) on the Tsuzuri Project as a social contribution activity, seeking to preserve original cultural heritage while making use of high-resolution facsimiles of cultural assets. This project fuses Canon's latest digital technologies with traditional craftsmanship from Kyoto by creating high-resolution facsimiles nearly identical in appearance to the original assets.
In December 2011, Canon completed facsimiles of 20 of 50 Hojo wall paintings, which are important cultural assets stored at Kyoto's Kenninji Temple, and donated them for public display. Together with the 16 pieces completed and donated in 2010, this brings the total number of facsimilies created through the Tsuzuri Project for display at Kenninji to 36.
In May and November 2011, Canon also jointly sponsored a family workshop called Introduction to Folding Screen Art! at the Tokyo National Museum, which employed high-resolution facsimiles made through the Tsuzuri Project. 11 groups of elementary and middle school students and their parents, for a total of 26 participants were able to lay out a "Shorin-zu folding screen" (reproduced through the Tsuzuri Project) in their own way, and through the use of candlelight were able to enjoy seeing the difference between the screen as it appeared in the past and in contemporary lighting.
Workshop using high-resolution facsimiles
Canon Cats School Held Through Cooperation with the Kanagawa Prefectural Board of Education
Canon has been a sponsor of the musical Cats, produced by the Shiki Theatre Company in Yokohama, since November 2009, and also opened the Canon Cats Theater in Yokohama/Minato Mirai as part of our efforts to promote arts and culture and contribute to the community.
As part of our educational support efforts in 2010, we worked with the Shiki Theater to open the Canon Cats School. Created for local high-school students, the program involves watching a performance of the musical, observing training at the Shiki Theater performer training facility, and receiving dance instruction from the performers.
This school was held for the third time in August 2011. With the cooperation of the Kanagawa Prefectural Board of Education, 30 students from a high school dance club participated in the program. After watching the performance, the students took part in a special seminar held on the stage with the performers, paying close attention to the instruction they received.
Students getting direct instruction from performers
Announcement of the seminar results on the prized stage
Group photo
Research and Academic Support
Canon Foundation Research Grant Programs
Established in December 2008 to commemorate Canon's 70th anniversary, the Canon Foundation aims to contribute to the ongoing prosperity and well-being of mankind through a wide range of support activities for both organizations and individuals engaged in research, projects and education in various academic fields, beginning with science and technology.
Since 2009 the Canon Foundation has offered two research grant programs, known as the Creation of Industrial Infrastructure grant and Pursuit of Ideals grant, both of which are open to researchers working at universities, postgraduate research institutes, or other public research institutes located throughout Japan.
Creation of Industrial Infrastructure grants are presented for creative, pioneering, and groundbreaking research in the fields of science and technology that foster economic progress by making Japanese industry even stronger or by giving rise to new industry. Recognizing that regional development is also vital to Japan's economic development, we emphasize support for research focused on regional development or conducted at regional universities.
Pursuit of Ideals grants are given for research projects that show promise concerning issues set by the foundation from the perspectives of frontier, welfare, and sustainability.
13 projects were selected for Creation of Industrial Infrastructure grants in 2012, while four were chosen for Pursuit of Ideals grants on the theme of oceanic research.
Along with the research grant program, the Canon Foundation will continue to support researchers to provide them opportunities to actively pursue their dream-inspiring ideas.
2012 grant recipient list
| Research theme | Facility location Title and name |
Grant amount （Yen thousands） |
Research period | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Creation of artificial nucleotides for therapeautic applications | Graduate School of Engineering, Nagoya University Professor Hiroyuki Asanuma |
20,000 | 2 years |
| 2 | Three Dimensional Neuronal Culture for Verifying Neuronal Network Model | Center for Brain Integration Research (CBIR), Tokyo Medical and Dental UniversityAssociate Professor Itsuki Ajioka |
16,000 | 2 years |
| 3 | Fabrication of high quality proton-conductive oxide thin film and its fuel cell applications | Tsuruoka National College of Technology, Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering Professor Kiyoshi Uchiyama |
11,000 | 2 years |
| 4 | Development of high-sensitive imaging analysis system for monitoring of membrane protein functions in cytoplasmic membrane | Department of Material and Biological Chemistry, Faculty of Science, Yamagata University Associate Professor Takashi Okuno |
14,000 | 2 years |
| 5 | Near Infrared broadband light source based on multi-color InAs quantum dots developed for OCT |
Faculty of Systems Engineering, Wakayama University Associate Professor Nobuhiko Ozaki |
12,000 | 2 years |
| 6 | Development of simultaneous imaging method of temperature and water concentration in microscopic regions based on near-infrared spectroscopy | Graduate School of Science and Engineering, Tokyo Metropolitan University Assistant Professor Naoto Kakuta |
15,000 | 2 years |
| 7 | Development of superplastically foaming method to improve the reliability of refractry materials introducing controlled closed pores | Graduate school of natural science and technology, Okayama University Professor Akira Kishimoto |
16,000 | 2 years |
| 8 | Ultra-Low-Power Flat LSI Synthesis Technology for Green IT Innovation | Faculty of Science and Engineering, Waseda UniversityAssociate Professor Nozomu Togawa |
16,000 | 2 years |
| 9 | Organic Materials that Liquefy upon Light Irradiation-Construction of Basic Technology of Renewable Photosensitive Organic Materials | Electronics and Photonics Research Institute, National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST) Senior Researcher Yasuo Norikane |
20,000 | 2 years |
| 10 | Development of the cryopreservation technology for cell structures using polyampholytes | Japan Advanced Institute of Science and Technology, School of Materials Science Associate Professor Kazuaki Matsumura |
13,000 | 2 years |
| 11 | Development of colored battery made with polymer-type cathode material |
University of Tsukuba, Faculty of Pure and Applied Sciences Professor Yutaka Moritomo |
13,000 | 2 years |
| 12 | Studies of vascular mechanotransduction utilizing molecular imaging techniques | Graduate School of Medicine, University of Tokyo Lecturer Kimiko Yamamoto |
20,000 | 2 years |
| 13 | Creation of Ultra Low Power Nanoelectronics Based on Interface Engineering |
Osaka University Professor Heiji Watanabe |
14,000 | 2 years |
| Research theme | Facility location Title and name |
Grant amount （Yen thousands） |
Research period | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Comprehensive exploiment studies on deep-sea fish resources | School of Marine Science and Technology, Tokai University Professor Yoshihiro Ochiai |
10,000 | 3 years |
| 2 | "Urban Blue Carbon;" building a novel model of coastal carbon cycling | TPort and Airport Research Institute Dr Tomohiro Kuwae |
10,000 | 3 years |
| 3 | Search for supergiant deep-sea hydrothermal deposits in the kinawa Trough | Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology Program Director Ken Takai |
50,000 | 3 years |
| 4 | A mechanism of high biological production in the seasonal sea-ice area |
Hokkaido University, Institute of Low Temperature Science Associate Professor Jun Nishioka |
30,000 | 3 years |
Support for Industry/Academia Partnerships to Develop Japanese Optical Technologies
Optics technology is essential to a variety of industries, such as the production of cameras, lenses and other imaging devices, as well as ICT and medical equipment, and the decline in opportunities in Japan for the systematic study of optics technology has been an issue. To remedy this situation, Canon offered support to Utsunomiya University, which has a strong relationship with Canon Utsunomiya Office, where the Optics R&D Center is located, for the establishment of facilities for an industry/academia partnership. This resulted in the establishment of the Center for Optical Research & Education at Utsunomiya University in 2007, which is aimed at cultivating engineers and researchers for Japan's future optical industry and generating leading-edge optics technologies. The Center conducts basic research in optics technology to meet industry needs, and is attracting attention as one of the few such postgraduate institutes in Japan. Its goal is to become the global ”Center of Excellence” for optics technology research.
In addition to financial support, Canon also provides highly skilled engineers as optics technology lecturers. A research building outfitted with state-of-the-art testing equipment was completed in 2009. In 2011, an Optics Technology Gallery was installed near the entrance of the building with items provided by Canon.
The result has been the development of a number of research themes, for example the "Three-dimensional vector wave memory development project," which is the product of one of the Center's research activities. This project was selected for the Japan Science and Technology Agency (JST) Strategic Promotion of Innovative Research and Development Program.
Canon will support the Center in developing optics technologies in Japan.
Lecture at the Center for Optical Research & Education
