Yamaga Seika

Before you go

Seika Yamaga was born in Kyoto to a family running a letterpress printing business, and studied Nishijin textile design and Japanese painting from his teens before becoming a pupil of Kamisaka Sekka. In 1927 he won special selection (tokusen) in the newly established arts-and-crafts division of the Imperial Exhibition with 'Oranda-sen' (The Dutch Ship), and was named a Person of Cultural Merit in 1969. His original 'teori-nishiki' compressed the divided labour of Nishijin weaving into one person's hands: design, underdrawing, yarn selection and weaving, all done alone. The exhibition unfolds in a prologue, four chapters and an epilogue, covering the world of teori-nishiki, his studies in Japanese painting, design and old textiles, festival hangings, memories of an era, and spatial design.

• The key visual: 'Constellation, Moon, Rocket' (1958), over 3 metres tall

Booking

Adults ¥1,800 (tax incl.; ¥1,600 advance / groups of 20+), university, vocational and high-school students ¥1,300 (¥1,100 advance/groups), junior-high and younger free; pair ticket ¥3,000 (two adult tickets, advance only). Buy via the museum's ART PASS online tickets, Lawson Ticket, Ticket Pia, eplus and others, or at the door. Student tickets require student ID.

Good for

Anyone interested in textile craft, modern Kyoto art, or festival culture. Free junior guides for junior-high students and younger (limited quantities) make it family-friendly; weaving workshops are also offered.

How it differs

Pair it with 'Zen and Ghibli' (Higashiyama Cube, 3 October–6 December) in the same museum: same-day mutual ¥100 discounts apply with a paid ticket for either show. Unlike a general craft fair, this show traces the full process from underdrawing to woven work through pieces and documents; the Gion and Nagahama festival hangings, normally seen only at the festivals, can be viewed up close.

In 1900, at 15, Yamaga apprenticed to a Nishijin design master; in 1910 he joined the circle of the designer Kamisaka Sekka, whom he admired, exhibiting designs, paintings and textiles. At 42, his 'Teori-nishiki Oranda-sen' won special selection at the Imperial Exhibition, and he resolved to stand as a textile artist. Thereafter he produced festival decorations, votive hangings and stage curtains alongside Imperial and Nitten exhibits, and took on interiors for hotels and ocean liners, working for the craft's development and the training of successors. This is the first retrospective in about 40 years, since the 1985 'Founder of Modern Textile Art: Seika Yamaga' show.