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Yōga and Handmade
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| ©Ken Sasaki |
Venue: nca | nichido contemporary art
Date: 3.21 (fri.) – 5.10 (sat.) 2025
Gallery hours: Tue. – Sat. 11:00 – 19:00 (Closed on Mondays, Sundays and National Holiday)
Opening reception: 3.21 (fri.) 17:00 ～ 19:00
Exhibiting artists: Setsuko Migishi / Ken Sasaki / Sawako Tanizawa / I-Ting Hou / Yoko Kamoi / Asuka Miyata / Yui Usui
nca | nichido contemporary art is pleased to present the group show Yōga and Handmade curated by Yoko Nose.
As far as art practices go, “Yōga” (Japan’s Western-style painting) and “handmade” respectively find themselves at the very opposite ends. Since the modern period, genres such as “painting” or “sculpture” which were conceived as practices to create artworks to be collectively enjoyed, were solely considered a male prerogative, while “handicrafts” - knitting, embroidery or needlework for instance - which were to be practiced in the privacy of one's home, were treated as women’s hobbies. A woman’s desire to aspire to become a painter in the beginning of the Showa period, or more specifically a Yōga painter, was met with strong opposition from both family and society. While nihonga (Japanese painting) was taught to young women to impart them education and good manners, “Yōga” was socially accepted as a lifelong calling for young men. Furthermore, “handmade” practices were associated with the female domain as they were believed to be socially and economically inferior, second even to crafts. If we look at the richness of expressions of contemporary art where, throughout the years, different materials and domains have been intersecting and blending with each other, appliques, cutouts and other elements which are essential to handmade practices, can be spotted here and there brilliantly exposing the actual value that lies in domestic work and the consumer society, a refreshing take indeed from the traditional stance. Moreover, acts such as knitting or sewing, while functioning as tools to collect stories, simultaneously provide care and community building experiences to local areas. Conversely, when considering “Yōga”, it seems as if Modern Japanese Art as a term in itself has grown stale, losing its original prestige. With this exhibition I want to bring together these two very opposite practices “Yōga” and “Handmade” and it seems very fitting to do so here at nca | nichido contemporary art which happens to be the contemporary division of galerie nichido a long-established art gallery focusing on Yōga artists.
Opening its doors in 1928, with a long history of dealing Yōga painting, over the years galerie nichido has presented works by artists such as Saburosuke Okada, Ryuzaburo Umehara, and Sotaro Yasui, to name a few, and, while indeed a smaller group than their male counterpart, the gallery has also displayed works by female painters such as Setsuko Migishi, Yuki Katsura and Hamae Sakurai. While being admonished by her father to not make nihonga, an attitude that mirrored the common thinking of that time, Setsuko Migishi (1905-1999) ended up finding her way to Yōga painting instead. And it was actually at galerie nichido where, after the war, Migishi promptly picked up her career again in September 1945. Furthermore, Yoko Kamoi (1928-1985), sister of galerie nichido’s legendary painter, Rei Kamoi, advanced the cause of women’s liberation through her original and comfortable underwear designs in the 50’s when all that was available to women was simple, plain white undergarments. Contemporary artist Ken Sasaki chooses common objects such as domestic items and cleaning tools, unlike subjects indeed in Yoga painting as in clear contrast with its being an expression of prestige, for his painstaking oil paintings. Through cutout techniques, Sawako Tanizawa draws on the image of Yoga painter Satoe Arima (1893-1978) who studied under Saburosuke Okada (1890-1954), exploring the idea superimposed at that time of what a woman should be like, and the hidden strength and oppression of female Yoga artists hidden in that historical background. Displayed together with Yoko Kamoi’s panting, Yui Usui’s undergarments and bed covers made through the use of applique and patchwork techniques, give visibility to memory and domestic work that has become invisible in our society. By blending embroidery and documentary pictures, Taiwanese artist I-Ting Hou highlights practices such as needlework or gardening which were promoted in Taiwanese schools as part of the “Good Wife, Wise Mother” educational program conceived for young women during Japan’s colonial rule of the country. Asuka Miyata has been active in the creation of the so called Knittingʼn Stitching Group in local areas where participants can meet and through their engaging in handcraft practices mutually exchange and knit their stories. The work of these contemporary artists, who have embraced, the essence of “handmade” practices and the struggle of past female artists, despite coming from a history that used to look down upon them, may be now rebelling to an exclusive art system thanks to the very freedom, extravagance and humor that characterize them.
Yoko Nose (Curator)
Yui Usui (b. 1980, Tokyo, Japan / Currently lives in Saitama, Japan)
Through a handmade practice that consists of embroidery, appliques and patchwork, backed by interviews and research, Usui gives visibility to the violence and oppression suffered by women throughout history while also bringing to the fore the domestic work that has become invisible in our society.
Yoko Kamoi (1925-1991, Osaka, Japan)
Kamoi designed colorful undergarments that women could enjoy as an alternative to the only option available at that time, after the war, of simple white underwear, and by so doing she revolutionized the lingerie’s world. The older sister of painter Rei Kamoi, she pursued a rather versatile career as a writer, doll maker, painter and fashion designer.
Ken Sasaki (b.1976, Kanagawa, Japan / Currently lives in Tokyo, Japan)
A piece of cloth, tablecloth or a tennis ball are just some of the familiar, yet, rather unconventional items from a traditional perspective that Sasaki uses for his oil paintings. These works make us aware once more of the unconventional nature of their subject, items that are usually overlooked in everyday life, and cast a light on issues concerning with the care and labor that take place inside the house.
Sawako Tanizawa (b. 1982, Osaka / Currently lives in Kyoto)
Tanizawa’s practice centers around the idea of “woman” as fabricated since the start of the modern era, using cutout techniques that had been cast aside within the art system. Such works are an attempt to pay homage to these women while freeing them from the oppression they suffered from, and simultaneously raise questions on stereotypical ideas regarding female artists.
HOU I-Ting (b. 1979, Kaohsiung, Taiwan / Currently lives in Taipei, Taiwan)
Hou questions gender norms that are arbitrarily applied based on biological sex and on the mentality fostered by both the education system and the working environment that women experienced during the colonial years and as part of Taiwan’s economic system, by relying on techniques such as needlework and the use of cooking appliances which have been automatically associated with women.
Setsuko Migishi (1905-1999, Aichi, Japan)
Migishi was active both before and after the war. She moved to Tokyo in 1921 to study Yōga. She studied under Saburosuke Okada at the Hongo Yōga Kenkyujo (Hongo Institute for Western Painting) to eventually further he studies at the Joshi Bijutsu Gakko (now the Women's College of Fine Arts). In 1924 she marries fellow Yōga painter Kotaro Migishi who passed away in 1934. Followed this event, Migishi decides to professionally work as a painter. In 1947 she co-founded the Joryū Gaka Kyōkai which she eventually left.
Asuka Miyata (b. 1985, Aichi, Japan / Currently lives in Mie, Japan)
While carrying on her artistic practice creating works with different materials and tools, for example threads and a converted electronic knitting machine, since 2017 Miyata has been recording the experience of the community-based project named Minato Knittingʼn Stitching Group which she has been setting up in different areas to engage with the local people regardless of their age or background.
