Special Exhibition “Fabrics from across the Oceans: All about Yamamoto Hatsujiro Textile Collection”
September 9 (Wed.) to October 18 (Sun.)
Overview of the exhibition
The Osaka Museum of History will hold a special exhibition titled “Fabrics from across the Oceans: All about Yamamoto HatsujiroHatsujiro Textile Collection” in the Special Exhibition Hall on the 6th floor from September 9 (Wed.) to October 18 (Sun.), 2015.
During the Age of Discovery, an era began in which people and goods around the world were connected by sea, and these connections drove interactions of different cultures. The East India Company started to trade in Asia, and exported colorful fabrics made in India to various parts of the world across the oceans. The fabrics that were taken west to Europe are considered to have triggered the Industrial Revolution, while those sent east to Indonesia and its vicinity influenced the design of Indonesian traditional textiles.
This exhibition shows the textile collection of Yamamoto Hatsujiro (1887–1951) for the first time to the public. This isthe earliest collection of Indian and Southeastern Asian textiles in Japan , and pieces are thought to have been brought to Japan in the prewar days of the Showa period. Yamao Kunmei (1903–1999), a Japanese painter active in Indonesia in the mid-1930s, played an important role in establishing this huge collection, which today consists of approximately 300 textile works itemsin total. With funds provided by Yamamoto, who was already known as an art collector in those days, Yamao purchased ceramics and textiles in Indonesia and brought them to Japan during the prewar days, thus contributing to this substantial collection.
This exhibition explores theYamamoto Hatsujiro’s textile collection in full extent, shedding light on when and how the collection was made, and how the textile works miraculously survived an air raid in 1945 at the end of the Second World War, while during which many of Yamamoto’s other art collections had beenwere lost.
| Special exhibition: Fabrics from across the Oceans: All about Yamamoto Hatsujiro Textile Collection | ||||||||||
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| Organizers | Osaka Museum of History; Osaka City Museum of Modern Art, Planning Office; The Sankei Shimbun | |||||||||
| Sponsors | Consulate-General of the Republic of Indonesia in Osaka; The Sankei Sports; The Yukan Fuji; Sankei Living Shimbun; Kansai Telecasting Corporation; Osaka Broadcasting Corporation | |||||||||
| Supporting organization | New Color Photographic Printing | |||||||||
| Collaborator | Dharma Budaya | |||||||||
| Exhibition period | September 9 (Wed.) to October 18 (Sun.), 2015 Closed on Tuesdays. *However, the museum is open on September 22 (Tue. and a national holiday) and closed on September24 (Thu.) instead. |
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| Exhibition Planning Committee members | Iseki Kazuyo (Osaka University of Arts) Utsumi Ryoko (Osaka Seikei University) |
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| Hours | 09:30-17:00 (Fridays during the exhibition period 09:30-20:00) *Please enter 30 minutes prior to closing. |
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| Exhibition space | 6th floor, special exhibition room | |||||||||
| Venue |
*The fees in brackets indicate prices for those in groups of 20 people or more. *Admission is free for junior high school-aged children and younger, as well as individuals with a disability certificate, etc., (plus one accompanying person each). *Advance tickets can be purchased at the Osaka Museum of History, or through Lawson Ticket (L-code: 54132) and Ticket PIA (P-code: 766-953) for a limited period from July 30 (Thu.) to October 30 (Fri.) 2015. |
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| Number of exhibits | Approx. 120 (Some works have a limited display period) | |||||||||
| Profile of Yamamoto Hatsujiro |
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Yamamoto Hatsujiro was born in 1887 in Okayama Prefecture to a family of landlord. After graduating from Tokyo Higher Commercial School (present-day Hitotsubashi University), he joined Kanegafuchi Cotton-Spinning Co. In 1915, he married a daughter of Yamamoto Hatsujiro who owned a textile business in Seba, Osaka, and in 1920, succeeded the name of Yamamoto Hatsujiro from his father-in-law. He rancompanies named Yamahatsu Shoten and Yamahatsu Sangyo, producing and selling knit underwear and hair coloring products. While expanding his business operations, he began collecting works of art and became one of the most prominent art collectors in the Kansai region. In 1945, however, he lost many works in his collection when an air raid hit his house in Ashiya. He died in 1951 at the age of 64. In 1983, his son, Yamamoto Kiyoo, donated 574 works from hisfathers collection, including paintings by Saeki Yuzo, works of calligraphy of Zen priests and textile works, to the new museum to be built by the City of Osaka.