KINKARAKAMI: Takashi Ueda and the art of Japanese leather paper

A unique craft, once almost lost to the world, will be showcased at a new exhibition at Daiwa Foundation Japan House.

Craftsman Takashi Ueda is the only practitioner in the world of kinkarakami, the making of gold-embossed wallpapers from Japanese paper (washi). Highly labour intensive, it takes one person two weeks to complete 60cm² of paper. The results, however, are startling: this tactile product has the luxurious feel of fine Spanish leather.

‘Leather paper’, as this wallpaper became known in the West, was in high demand in Britain during the late 19th Century. It had its debut at the London International Exhibition of 1862, and soon architects and designers such as William Burges, Edward William Godwin and Christopher Dresser were using it. By the Vienna Exhibition of 1873, leather paper had gained considerable popularity and Japanese craftsmen busily supplied retailers like Liberty’s to cater for the strong demand.

From modest beginnings Japanese leather paper went on to adorn buildings such as Buckingham Palace and the Royal Institution.

Changes in fashion led to the decline of the industry. The technique for creating this magnificent paper was lost until Takashi Ueda became fascinated by the extraordinary history of kinkarakami and set about reviving this lost art form. The exhibition features examples of his work that have been used in recent restoration projects.

Takashi Ueda was born in Kyoto in 1934. In 1985, he established the Kinkarakami Institute and became involved in reviving this technique. Ueda has restored numerous cultural properties in Japan and has been named a ‘Bearer of Techniques Selected for Preservation’ by the Agency for Cultural Affairs, Japan. This is his first solo exhibition in the UK.