Yamaga Seika Handwoven Brocade Wall Hanging “Constellation, Moon, Rocket" 1958, Collection of the museum
Yamaga Seika, a pioneer of textile art. This long-awaited retrospective—the first in 40 years—will be held at Kyoto City KYOCERA Museum of Art.
Yamaga developed teori-nishiki (handwoven brocade), a distinctive form of textile art in which the artist oversees every stage of production, from design and material selection to the weaving process itself. Through representative works and archival materials, this exhibition traces the career of this little-known Kyoto-born artist, featuring tapestries created for the Gion Festival as well as spatial decorations produced in collaboration with architect Murano Togo, among other works.
Born into a family engaged in letterpress printing in Kyoto, Yamaga Seika (1885–1981) began studying Nishijin-ori textile design and nihonga painting in his teens. He later became a student of Kamisaka Sekka, under whom he further expanded the scope of his artistic practice.
Yamaga gained recognition after developing teori-nishiki (handwoven brocade), a form of tapestry weaving in which the artist personally undertakes every stage of production—from design and yarn selection to the weaving process itself. In 1927, he was awarded a Special Prize in the newly established Arts and Crafts category of the Imperial Art Exhibition (Teiten) for his work Handwoven Brocade: Dutch Ship.
Yamaga’s choice of subject matter was remarkably diverse and unconventional. For festival decorations and ritual hangings, he employed traditional motifs such as celestial maidens and cloud dragons, while works submitted to official exhibitions—including wall hangings—featured strikingly modern imagery such as locomotives, rockets, and Tokyo Tower. While devoted to the preservation of textile traditions across the Meiji, Taisho, and Showa eras, Yamaga was also a rare figure endowed with a bold, forward-looking creative spirit.
This exhibition marks the first retrospective of Yamaga Seika’s work in 40 years.
Yamaga Seika Handwoven Brocade Wall Hanging “Constellation, Moon, Rocket" 1958, Collection of the museum
Information
Period
September 19 (Sat.) – December 20 (Sun.), 2026
Time
10:00〜18:00 (last admission: 17:30)
Venue
Main Building（South Wing）1F
Closed on
Mondays, except pubic holidays
Yamaga Seika (1885-1981)
Yamaga Seika was a textile artist active from the Meiji through the Taisho and Showa eras. Born as the seventh child into a family that operated one of the oldest letterpress printing businesses in Kyoto, he began his artistic career in 1900 at the age of fifteen, apprenticing under a Nishijin textile designer.
In 1910, he realized his long-held ambition to study under the designer and artist Kamisaka Sekka. Yamaga joined Katsumi-kai, the creative group led by Kamisaka, and presented works in textile design, nihonga (Japanese-style painting), and woven art.
In 1927, at the age of forty-two, Yamaga exhibited Handwoven Brocade: Dutch Ship at the Imperial Art Exhibition (Teiten), where the Arts and Crafts category had just been newly established. The work received a Special Prize, prompting him to commit himself fully to a career as a textile artist.
Through teori-nishiki, a mode of creation based on the artist’s complete control of the production process, Yamaga helped establish textile art as an independent artistic genre. He produced a wide range of works, including submissions to the Teiten and Nitten exhibitions, festival decorations, votive hangings, and curtains. He also designed interior decorations for hotels and luxury ocean liners.
Committed to the advancement of craft arts and the mentoring of younger generations, Yamaga was designated a Person of Cultural Merit in 1969.
Organizers: City of Kyoto, Sankei Shimbun, Yomiuri Telecasting Corporation
Touring Exhibition Information Dates: February 20 (Sat.) – April 11 (Sun.), 2027 Venue: Tokyo Station Gallery (For inquiries: Tokyo Station Gallery, TEL. 03-3212-2485) Organized by: Tokyo Station Gallery (East Japan Railway Culture Foundation), Sankei Shimbun
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