WITH Wales only days away from their first game in the Rugby World Cup in Japan, a new exhibition focusing on the artworks of Japanese artist Sakubei Yamamoto has been opened at Big Pit National Coal Museum.
Mr Yamamoto lived and worked as a coal miner for around 50 years in the Chikuho region in Japan.
In his 60s, he started recording his memories of life at the coal mine, through ink drawings and then watercolour paintings.
This new exhibition focuses on the artist’s memories of life at the coal mine, through high quality digital reproductions of his ink drawings and watercolour paintings.
Images have been displayed around the Big Pit site, creating a trail leading to an indoor exhibition area that provides more information about Mr Yamamoto’s work.
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Images from Amgueddfa Cymru-National Museum Wales’ collection are also being displayed, creating a comparison between the nature of coal mining in Wales and Japan, with particular reference to the impact on people and the communities.
Mr Yamamoto’s detailed folk art paintings and writings are recognised as rare and highly significant records of a personal experience of coal mining society in Japan.
In 2011, his collection was the first Japanese works to be awarded Memory of the World status, one of three major heritage programs sponsored by UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization).
“This exhibition is an opportunity to continue to celebrate the strong partnership between Wales and Japan which was developed during the Kizuna exhibition at National Museum Cardiff in 2018," said Dai Price, head of Big Pit.
“The artworks are very Japanese in style but any Welsh mineworker will recognise the type of work and the characters depicted.
A new exhibition by Japanese artist Sakubei Yamamoto comparing life in the coal mines in Japan and Wales has opened at Big Pit. Picture: Big Pit National Coal Museum.
“The exhibition provides an opportunity to display some of Japan’s cultural assets at a site that creates a direct connection with the lives of miners in the south Wales coalfield.”
It will be displayed until the end of September 2020.
The exhibition is a partnership with the Japan Society, Japan Foundation, Embassy of Japan, Bridge Together Project, Beyond 2020, Tagawa City Coal Mining Historical Museum, Tagawa City and Japan-UK Season of Culture 2019-20.
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