“Kazuo Yagi and His Family” at Chiba City Museum of Art from December 9; About 170 Ceramics, Textiles and Sculptures by Six Members of the Yagi Family

The special exhibition “Kazuo Yagi and His Family” will be held at the Chiba City Museum of Art (Chuo-ku, Chiba) from Wednesday, December 9, 2026 to Thursday, February 11, 2027 (national holiday). Ceramic artist Kazuo Yagi (1918–79) founded the avant-garde ceramics group Sodeisha in 1948. With about 170 works by Kazuo and his family, the exhibition traces the course of Japanese three-dimensional art from the modern era to the present. The work of six members of the Yagi family is shown: ceramics by his father, younger brother and eldest son, textiles by his wife and sculpture by his second son. The exhibition is timed to the 70th anniversary of the birth of the second son, Tadashi Yagi.

Kazuo Yagi, Sodeisha and the new horizon of “objet-yaki”

According to the museum, Kazuo Yagi founded the avant-garde ceramics group Sodeisha in 1948. He introduced the formal thinking of contemporary art into Japanese ceramics and opened up a new horizon known as “objet-yaki” (ceramic objects).

Centered on Kazuo, the exhibition presents the work of each family member. The museum describes the members of the Yagi family as having continually engaged with their times and kept creating in their respective fields.

What can visitors see? Ceramics, textiles and sculpture by six people across three generations

About 170 works by the Yagi family are shown. The six people introduced on the exhibition page are as follows.

• Isso Yagi (1894–1973): Kazuo’s father. Ceramics

• Kazuo Yagi (1918–79): Ceramics. Founded Sodeisha in 1948

• Sumio Yagi (1921–44): Kazuo’s younger brother. Ceramics

• Toshiko Takagi (1924–87): Kazuo’s wife. Textiles

• Akira Yagi (born 1955): Kazuo’s eldest son. Ceramics

• Tadashi Yagi (1956–83): Kazuo’s second son. Sculpture

As of October 20, the chapter structure and a list of the main works had not been published.

Why now? The 70th anniversary of Tadashi Yagi’s birth and the museum’s collection

The exhibition is held to mark the 70th anniversary of Tadashi Yagi’s birth. The images on the exhibition page are of two of Tadashi’s sculptures, “Untitled” (1982) and “Meson” (1980), both in the collection of the Chiba City Museum of Art.

The museum’s collection numbers about 10,000 works. Its collecting policy has three pillars: “works associated with the Boso region, centered on Chiba City,” “Japanese paintings and prints from the early modern to the modern period” and “contemporary art since 1945.” The exhibition is also an opportunity to see the work of Tadashi Yagi, a sculptor born into a family of ceramic artists, together with his family’s works.

Tickets, prices and the collection galleries

Admission is 1,500 yen for adults and 1,000 yen for university students, and free for elementary, junior high and high school students. Advance tickets, groups of 20 or more and Chiba City residents aged 65 and over pay 1,200 yen for adults and 800 yen for university students. Holders of a disability certificate and one caregiver are admitted free.

After 18:00 on Fridays and Saturdays, the “Night Museum Discount” takes 20% off admission. The exhibition ticket also gives access to “Selections from the Chiba City Museum of Art Collection” in the 5th-floor collection galleries. From December 8 to 27, the features are “Art Associated with Boso / Early Modern and Modern Paintings and Prints / Hitoshi Nomura.” From January 2027, they change to “Art Associated with Boso / Early Modern and Modern Paintings and Prints / Ryonosuke Shimomura, Kazuo Shiraga and Hisao Domoto.”

In the Children’s Atelier on the 4th floor, the participatory project “Tsukurikake Lab 22: Satoru Tamura | Becoming One Ton” runs until January 31. Admission is free.

Opening hours and access

Opening hours are 10:00–18:00, until 20:00 on Fridays and Saturdays, with last entry 30 minutes before closing. The galleries are closed on Mondays (except January 11), Tuesday, January 12, and over the New Year holidays from December 29 to January 3.

The address is 3-10-8 Chuo, Chuo-ku, Chiba. It is about a 15-minute walk from the East Exit of JR Chiba Station and about 10 minutes from the East Exit of Keisei Chiba-chuo Station. On the Chiba Urban Monorail, take a train bound for Kenchomae, get off at Yoshikawa-koen Station and walk five minutes. By Keisei Bus from the East Exit of JR Chiba Station (bus stop 7), take a bus bound for Daigaku Byoin or Minami-Yahagi, get off at “Chuo 3-chome” or “Yamatobashi” and walk about three minutes. There is a free mechanical parking garage underground, but vehicles taller than 155 cm cannot use it. The museum is currently holding the Chiba 900th anniversary special exhibition “The Moon and the Stars: When Art Connects” until November 23.

Editor’s perspective

Although the exhibition centers on ceramics, it also shows textiles and sculpture in the same venue. The exhibiting artists’ birth years span more than 60 years, from Isso in 1894 to Tadashi in 1956. The structure traces the flow of three-dimensional art from the modern era to the present through the unit of a family.

How Kazuo’s ceramics will be displayed alongside Toshiko’s textiles and Tadashi’s sculpture will become clear when the chapter structure is announced. Craft exhibitions this autumn and winter are summarized in [Autumn/Winter 2026] Design, Craft and Architecture Exhibitions. Among contemporary ceramics exhibitions, “Ceramic Resonance” is on view at the Bizen City Museum of Art in Okayama Prefecture until December 20.

Overview

Name: Kazuo Yagi and His Family
Dates: Wednesday, December 9, 2026 – Thursday, February 11, 2027 (national holiday)
Hours: 10:00–18:00 (until 20:00 on Fridays and Saturdays). Last entry 30 minutes before closing
Closed: Mondays (except January 11), Tuesday, January 12, New Year holidays (December 29 – January 3)
Venue: Chiba City Museum of Art
Address: 3-10-8 Chuo, Chuo-ku, Chiba
Admission: Adults 1,500 yen (1,200 yen), university students 1,000 yen (800 yen), elementary, junior high and high school students free. Prices in parentheses are for advance tickets, groups of 20 or more and Chiba City residents aged 65 and over. Holders of a disability certificate and one caregiver free. 20% off after 18:00 on Fridays and Saturdays
Organizer: Chiba City Museum of Art
Official website: https://www.ccma-net.jp/exhibitions/special/26-12-9-27-2-11/
*Information as of October 20, 2026. Please check the official website for the latest information.

*Top image: Sayado Hall of the Chiba City Museum of Art (former Kawasaki Bank Chiba Branch) (photo: Nodogoshi Taicho, CC BY-SA 3.0, from Wikimedia Commons)

*This article was compiled by the TOKYO ART SPHERE editorial team based on information on the Chiba City Museum of Art official website (as of October 20, 2026).

Text: TOKYO ART SPHERE Editorial Team