japanese art, design and culture

When the powerful tsunami waves moved across the Oshika Peninsula, eventually surging into the Northern coast of Japan, it was both an act of violence but also a chain reaction of nature that originated deep below the sea. Inspired by the sheer force of earth’s geological formations, and the immense volume of our atmosphere, industrial designer and head of Studio Archimedes Soichiro Kanbayashi created Back Up Japan. The topographic low tables, at their base, represents the four main islands of Japan, which then rise up and expand in volume like mushrooms.

The piece was carved and stacked using Japanese cedar, Kanbayashi tells me, with a large portion of the curves having to be hand-carved and sanded to obtain their ideal shape. It was originally created for the Monokeiro 11/11 exhibition, which was held on November 11, 2011 in Kyoto on the 8-month anniversary of that fateful day.

Upside down view of the low tables

Many thanks to Mr. Kanbayashi for helping to obtain images

PARTY is giving the term “product placement” a whole new meaning

The boys at PARTY have done it again. The creative lab that just formed last year have been doing a number of music videos for the Japanese band androp, including a spectacle of a show that used 250 Canon SLRs. But their latest video is pretty great, and I like the track too. In what is perhaps the first direct tie-up between buyable products and music, PARTY is giving the term “product placement” a whole new meaning.

The video was inspired by the heavily dance-influenced track, but also by the lyrics, which sings about the different languages spoken around the world and how each language casts its own glow of hope upon mankind. The group decided to create a series of high-tech toys that move and dance in response to music – that universal language that every culture can relate to. Each toy is unique, signifying our diversity. All 10 toys will eventually be put up for sale through ebay but for now only the cute little rocker is available. It’s asking $5000, so that should be a clue as to how much the other toys are going to sell for. I would love to get that flying mirror ball!

source: @akiko_saito

Before you get too excited, let’s get one thing clear: Sample, despite what the name might have you believe, is not giving anything away for free. They’re very much in business and it’s one of minimal wooden goodness. Tapping into the collective creativity of Japanese designers across Japan, Sample has selected a few of their favorite sample projects and turned them into actual products.

Behind the idea is a concept they call “a little bit of good.” And in the case of their gorgeous hinoki wood peripherals, it refers to the production process of using rounded timber that was leftover from forest thinning. Recycling materials + offering a lifeline to a dying traditional art by providing a constant source of work is certainly a little bit of good in my book.

Ripple

Designed by Taiji Fujimori, Ripple (3,150 yen) not only provides an elegant resting spot for your phone but always keeps you charger in place.

i isu

iDesigned by Katsushi Nagumo, i isu (3,780 yen) gives your iPhone it’s own iChair.

Kinodai

Often times a single family will have multiple devices. Kinodai (39,900 yen) is a holder of 2 pads and 2 phones. It even comes with storage. Designed by Takashi Kirimoto.

Calm Trees

A minimal beauty of an iPad stand. Calm Trees (3,400 yen) works with iPad 1 or 2, as well as your iPhone 4. It was designed by Tonerico.

You can purchase any of these products by navigating the Japanese website, or you can use a forwarding service.

What a cool daycare space. Kiddy Shonan C/X (C-Cross) opened last year in the Shonan bayside area of Kanagawa. Designed by Makoto Tanijiri (Suppose Design Office) the space features numerous houses under a single wide-open space. Each house is designated for a certain activity – art, music and dance. Even the bathrooms are housed within their own house. The individual spaces come together to form a miniature community, helping to foster a sense of citizenship, as well as stimulating curiosity and sensibilities.

Kiddy Shonan is located (Gmap) on the 2nd floor of the Ozawa Takagi building, a short walk from Tsujido Station.

source: Suppose Design Office website

What a lovely little paperweight by UK-based Japanese designer Tomoko Azumi. Laser-engraved twigs are embedded within the crystal glass, creating varying views of a seemingly haphazard bird’s nest that appears to float within the solid glass object. I love how the dimple on top makes it not only a paperweight but a placeholder for small things as well. Nice touch.

Nest will be on display at Maison et Objet starting tomorrow, January 20, along with several candle holders that Azumi designed for Monna Studio (you can see them here, here and here).

Source: Tomoko Azumi’s newsletter

“Functioning is not merely the function of things, but also their mystery.”
- Jean Baudrillard

I don’t always understand the cerebral postmodernist commentary that comes out of French social theorist Jean Baudrillard’s mouth. But for some reason the above quote makes complete sense to me. We’re surrounded by tons of objects wherever we go, and we interact with them on a daily basis, forming relationships with many of them. But the significant relationships are created not by the object dictating its function, but rather by us, the user, engaging with the object and defining the function. From ambiguous forms rise curiosity and inquisition, thus inviting personal and subjective interpretation.

Canada-based designer Miya Kondo created these “Objects of Empathy,” a symbolic representation of an ideal relationship to objects. The sculptural forms are simple, stoic and beautiful, yet they are wholly ambiguous. With no agenda of their own they present themselves as malleable sponges, ready to be defined by the user.

Source: hitspaper | Miya Kondo

When it comes to the miniaturization of objects, Japan is second to none. But what I often find the most beauty in, and in turn the crystallization of Japanese aesthetics, is not their miniature electronics or their miniature house wares, but their miniature trees, or an art form well known to all as bonsai. In their first exhibition of the new year, Design Gallery 1953 (located within the Matsuya Ginza department store) chooses the Bonsai as their primary lens to explore the many qualities and beauties of Japanese aesthetics.

And artistic direction by Kenya Hara ensures and exquisite experience. If you’re around, go check out the show, which runs until January 23.

What an amazing pharmacy designed by Osaka-based architecture studio Ninkipen. Completed in November of last year, the store represents the latest addition to the Kansai-based Global Pharmacy chain. What’s enthralling (and what I would like to know more about) is that, according to the architects, the store was built on an old road that had been illegally occupied since the end of WWII, hence it’s narrow width – just 4 meters. The architects attempted to preserve history within their designs by creating an elongated store that mimics the look of a road.

Osaka is well-known – notorious, if you will – for their illegally occupied spaces. They were often utilized by black markets and other dark forces who continued to elude the reach of government and authority, even into modern times. I wonder what this space was previously used as?

Looking out from the store you can still see where the road is rounded off – the remnants of an intersection

source: Ninkipen

Combining astronomy and good eats sounds too good to be true. But in their celestial collection of planetary chocolates, chocolatier L’éclat of the Righa Royal Hotel Japan have done just that. The chocolaty solar system includes Mercury (coconut mango), Venus (cream lemon), Earth (cacao), Mars (orange praline), Jupiter (vanilla), Saturn (rum raisin), Uranus (milk tea) and Neptune (capuccino) – sorry, pluto is no longer considered a planet.

Each are sold individually (400 yen) but if you order the set (3,800 yen) they’ll throw in the Sun – a flaring delicacy of criollo chocolate and pineapple. You can order online (3,200 yen; Sun not included)or you can use a forwarding service.

But if meteorites are more your thing, they’ve got a collection of those as well, featuring 8 chocolates modeled after major meteorites that have been discovered around the world.

(thanks for the tip masako!)
source: ufunk | L’éclat

On chilly nights, I would kill to just snuggle up to a kotatsu and never leave. Kotatsu is a heated blanketed coffee table, invented in 14th century Japan, and can be found in most Japanese homes during the winter. While they are the focal point of Japanese homes during the winter, they usually aren’t the prettiest furniture.

I came across this (economical and totally custom) IKEA kotatsu hack:

Materials:
1      Portable fan heater (≈ $20+)
2      Lack coffee table (≈ $30+)
1      Mysa Gras comforter (≈ $10+)
1      Duvet/Comforter cover (optional)
2-4  Snille chair backs (optional)

Construction:

1.  Shorten the legs of one of the Lack tables to 7 and 7/8 inch (20cm).
CAUTION: Make sure you’re cutting the bottom of the legs and not the top.
2.  Attach the legs to one table top
3.  Lay the quilt over top
4.  Place the second tabletop on top of the quilt. The friction/weight of the upper tabletop is sufficient to keep it from sliding around. but add Velcro if necessary.
5.  Place the fan heater under the table and away from the comforter. You can keeping the heater off to one side to allow maximum knee room underneath but be careful of creating fire hazards.

*Materials can be changed for similar items. Just make sure the comforter will leave enough overhang when placed on top of the table to trap heat.

You can create your custom, and much more modern looking, IKEA kotatsu for under $100!

WARNING: Unattended and misuse of kotatsu and kotatsu hardware are a cause of fires and injury. Make sure you consult the fan heater instructions and upkeep of equipment to prevent any accidents.

Source: IKEA Hackers