Since 2025 marked 100 years of the Showa era, events featuring the culture of a century ago were held in various places.
The “1925 Symposium & Architecture Tour,” held on November 29, 2025, in the lecture room at Ohara Museum of Art Kojima Torajiro Memorial Gallery, was one such event.
This report covers a symposium that explored the connections between archaeology, folk crafts, and art from multiple perspectives, using “Art Deco”—a decorative style that flourished 100 years ago—as its keyword.
The information presented is current as of the article’s publication in January 2026. Please note that it may differ from current information.
Overview of the “1925 Symposium & Architecture Tour”
The “1925 Symposium & Architecture Tour” was held as a related event for the special exhibition “1925” (Ichikyu Nigo), which ran at the Ohara Museum of Art and Kurashiki Archaeological Museum from Thursday, October 2, to Sunday, December 21, 2025.
In 1925, about 100 years ago, the International Exposition of Modern Industrial and Decorative Arts (the Art Deco Exposition) was held in Paris, France, and the “Art Deco style” became popular in architecture and design.
The event featured talks by three speakers, focusing mainly on architecture from 1925, followed by a discussion with specialists in archaeology, folk crafts, and art.
About the “1925” Special Exhibition
After opening remarks by Atsushi Miura, director of the Ohara Museum of Art and head of the Ohara Institute for the Arts, staff from the Ohara Museum of Art and Kurashiki Archaeological Museum explained the exhibits in the “1925” special exhibition held at the Ohara Museum of Art and Kurashiki Archaeological Museum.
At the Ohara Museum of Art venue, an exhibition titled “1925: Picasso, Fujita, Yakushiji—Connecting with 100 Years Ago” was held.
- Fujita Tsuguharu, who was active in Paris during the same period
- Works by Pablo Picasso
- Yakushiji Kazue, known as the architect of the main building of the Ohara Museum of Art, who made extensive use of the Art Deco style
The exhibition traced connections between the art and culture of the time, with these three figures as its key people.
The introduction to the relationship between Fujita and Picasso in Paris, and to Yakushiji, who designed buildings incorporating the “Art Deco style”—which originated in Cubism, championed by Picasso and others—and the connections between them, was very fresh and engaging.
Cubism
An artistic movement founded by Pablo Picasso and Georges Braque in the early 20th century. It was an innovative technique that depicted a subject on a single canvas by viewing it from multiple perspectives and breaking it down into geometric shapes (such as cubes) before reconstructing it.
With the cooperation of companies in Okayama Prefecture, the lost entrance light for the main building of the Ohara Museum of Art, designed by Yakushiji, was also recreated and exhibited using a 3D printer.
At the Kurashiki Archaeological Museum venue, an exhibition titled “1925: Archaeology a Century Ago—From Antiquarianism to Archaeology” was held.
Around 1925, people known as local historians, who “loved the old (antiquarianism),” gathered as independent researchers and began forming organized study groups.
In Okayama Prefecture, too, the Kibi Archaeological Society was established in 1928, laying the foundation for the study of archaeology as a discipline that “examines the old (archaeology).”
Construction of the Takahashigawa Tozai Yosui water intake and distribution facilities was underway in Kurashiki during this period, and this is thought to have made nearby archaeological sites easier to find.
The Western-style painter Kojima Torajiro, who established his atelier, “Mui-son-so,” in Sakazu near the construction site, also collected earthenware excavated locally, confirming his interest in Japanese archaeology.
About the Talks
On the symposium’s theme, “Opening Up 1925 Through Architecture,” talks were given by the following three professors.
- Ueda Yasutsugu
Professor Emeritus, Notre Dame Seishin University - Yoshida Koichi
Professor Emeritus, Yokohama National University - Yoshida Junichi
Professor, Osaka Sangyo University
Talk 1: “The 1925 Style as Expressed by Yakushiji Kazue”
The first speaker was Professor Emeritus Ueda Yasutsugu of Notre Dame Seishin University.
Professor Ueda is a leading authority on Yakushiji and also spoke at the lecture “Modern Kurashiki Seen Through Bank Architecture,” held at the Ohara Museum of Art in November 2025.
This time, his talk focused on buildings in the 1925 style (Art Deco style) designed by Yakushiji around 1925, as well as the global situation at the time.
Construction of the former head office of the Chugoku Bank began in 1925 and was completed in 1927. One of Yakushiji’s signature works, the building made extensive use of the Art Deco style.
The area around the main entrance features a distinctive Art Deco design based on curved plant forms (aloe). It has since been relocated to the entrance of the current head office, where it still welcomes many visitors.
Professor Ueda explained that the design of the columns and ceiling in the banking hall was modeled on the phoenix (a palm), and clearly expresses the characteristics of the Art Deco style.
Light bulbs were installed at the bases of the columns, and when the building was completed, they reportedly served as indirect lighting, casting beautiful shadows along the curved sections of the ceiling.
He also mentioned that Art Deco was used extensively at Yurin-so Villa, which we would visit later on the architecture tour.
During the architecture tour, Professor Ueda himself explained these details.
Lecture 2: “Art Deco Architecture in Japan”
The next speaker was Professor Emeritus Koichi Yoshida of Yokohama National University.
Professor Yoshida is a leading researcher of Art Deco architecture in Japan and has written numerous related books.
In 1925, after World War I, Art Deco architecture flourished as the decline of European nations and the rise of the United States became increasingly pronounced. Professor Yoshida explained that the ornamentation, which made extensive use of distinctive geometric patterns and curves, was intended to improve the finish of buildings.
In this lecture, he introduced many Art Deco buildings across Japan, both famous and lesser-known, as surviving examples.
Of the Art Deco buildings Professor Yoshida introduced in his lecture, I’ll pick out a few that I can show using photos I have on hand.
Lecture 3: “Kiuchi Shintaro and Art Deco Stained Glass”
The final speaker was Professor Junichi Yoshida of Osaka Sangyo University.
Professor Yoshida researches modern Japanese architecture and stained glass.
In this lecture, we explored the connection between Kiuchi Shintaro, a prominent figure in the history of stained glass in Japan, and Art Deco architecture.
Kiuchi began to distinguish himself as a disciple of Unosawa Tatsuo, known as a pioneer of stained glass in Japan, at the Unosawa Stained Glass Works, which Unosawa had founded.
Unosawa’s older brother, Yamamoto Kannoshin, founded the Yamamoto Kannoshin Construction Company, the predecessor of today’s Fujiki Construction.
After Unosawa’s death, Kiuchi went independent in 1916, establishing the Osaka branch of the Unosawa Stained Glass Works. Later renamed Reikosha, it produced many stained-glass works.
The stained glass in the Kojima Torajiro Memorial Gallery, the venue for the event, was also made by Kiuchi.
The stained glass installed in the windbreak vestibule of the former head office of the Chugoku Bank, introduced in Ueda’s lecture, was designed by Yakushiji and made by Kiuchi.
Like the design around the main entrance, it features an aloe motif and incorporates characteristics of the Art Deco style.
The lecture also introduced many buildings and stained-glass works, mainly in the Hanshin area. Of the stained-glass works introduced by Yoshida during the lecture, I’ll highlight Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation’s Osaka Main Office, which I can show using a photo I have on hand.
The “stained-glass shared reception room” is at the entrance to Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation’s Osaka Main Office. The magnificent stained glass covering the ceiling was made by Kiuchi.
1925 was known as the “Great Osaka Era,” one of the periods when Osaka was at its most vibrant, and it coincided with the rise of Art Deco architecture.
Listening to the lecture, I felt that Art Deco architecture, which was well suited to mass production through industrialization, also aligned with the Osaka people’s emphasis on practicality.
Discussion
After the lecture, a discussion was held with the three speakers and the following specialists in archaeology, Mingei, and art.
- Iwasaki Shiho
Associate Professor, Research Institute for the Dynamics of Civilizations, Okayama University - Jikuhara Yosuke
Designer who worked on publicity materials for the 1925 exhibition and member of the design unit COCHAE - Takaoka Chikako
Coordinator for the Ohara Museum of Art venue of the 1925 exhibition; Director of the Research Department, Ohara Museum of Art Foundation - Ban Yuko
Coordinator for the Kurashiki Archaeological Museum venue of the 1925 exhibition; researcher and curator, Research Department, Ohara Museum of Art Foundation
As the symposium’s subtitle, “Opening Up Further: Archaeology, Mingei, and Art,” suggests, the discussion featured lively debate on the relationship between the Art Deco style and archaeology, Mingei, and art.
During the discussion, Professor Iwasaki raised an intriguing topic about the connection between archaeology and the Art Deco style.
Professor Iwasaki explained that patterns frequently used in the Art Deco style—such as curves and zigzag lines, as well as repeating circles, triangles, and squares—can also be found on pottery used in rituals during the Yayoi and Kofun periods.
In response, Yoshida Koichi, an expert on Art Deco architecture, said:
“Arabesque patterns are also used in Art Deco architecture, and it seems to me that the fundamentals of human design have not changed since ancient times.”
Ueda also commented on patterns in the Art Deco style:
“Traditional Japanese patterns such as the checkerboard and seigaiha (blue ocean waves) had also made their way to Europe.”
It seems that there are examples of patterns long used in Japan also appearing in the Art Deco style.
It was an intellectually stimulating discussion that explored the connections between modern architecture, archaeology, Mingei, and art from multiple perspectives.
The symposium concluded with closing remarks by Akane Ohara, Representative Director of the Ohara Museum of Art Foundation.
Architecture Tour
After the symposium, a tour of Yurin-so Villa was held. I had visited Yurin-so Villa several times during special openings, but this was my first nighttime visit.
We toured the building while listening to Professor Ueda’s explanations, focusing on the 1925 style (Art Deco style) expressed by Yakushiji Kazue, the designer of Yurin-so Villa.
From the Writer
This symposium was held with experts from a wide range of fields—not just architecture—coming together.
The multifaceted interpretations of 1925 and the architectural style of the time (Art Deco), and their connections with archaeology, folk crafts, and art, confirmed that things that seem unrelated at first glance are connected by the threads of history.
Professor Yoshida Junichi’s talk about the stained glass that adorns Art Deco architecture was also very interesting, as I had never learned about the artists who created the stained glass.
Articles about the Ohara Museum of Art
“1925 Symposium & Architecture Tour: Opening Up 1925 Through Architecture—and Further Opening It Up to Archaeology, Folk Crafts, and Art” Information
| Name | 1925 Symposium & Architecture Tour: “Opening Up 1925 Through Architecture—and Further Opening It Up to Archaeology, Folk Crafts, and Art” |
|---|---|
| Date | Saturday, November 29, 2025, 10:00 a.m.–6:00 p.m. |
| Location | Ohara Museum of Art, Kojima Torajiro Memorial Gallery Lecture Room, and Yurin-so Villa |
| Admission | Free (however, admission tickets to either the Ohara Museum of Art or the Kurashiki Archaeological Museum must be presented) |
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