Back in the 90s, magazine editor Kenji Kawakami coined the term Chindōgu, literally meaning “unusual tool” and gave birth to a global craze of wonky Japanese inventions that were simultaneously ingenious but also useless. Fast-forward 3 decades to internet-era Marina Fujiwara, who was born right around the time Kawakami was getting ready to publish his book The Art of Chindōgu.
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On the 75th anniversary of the atomic bomb being dropped on Hiroshima, a new photobook is being released by a university student and professor. What’s unique about the photographs is that they have been colorized and brought to life as if just taken the other day. Memories, imagination and technology worked hand-in-hand in the colorization process, which combined interviews with those seen in the pictures, people who remembered what was depicted in the pictures, and artificial intelligence. The team that worked on the book called the process “unfreezing memories.”
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With an extended work-from-home environment, do you find yourself missing your office cubicle? A new offering from Panasonic called Komoru (which translates as ‘seclude oneself’) will let you create your very own partitioned desk and cubicle in your living room.
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What season is it right now? Summer? Well, according to Japan’s ancient calendar it’s actually “Great Rains Sometimes Fall” (or 大雨時行; taiu tokidoki furu), the time of year when heat gives way to torrential downpours and evening showers.
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Spoon & Tamago began publishing in 2007 and for the last 13 years have dedicated the site to highlighting Japanese arts & crafts and authentically communicating elements of Japanese culture abroad. We want to continue doing this so today we’re reaching out to you – our readers. Maybe you’ve been reading since the early days. Maybe you just discovered us. Either way, today we’re thrilled to be able to offer a new way to deepen our relationship, support Spoon & Tamago, and, ultimately, develop a sustainable path to elevating and preserving the Japanese arts: the Spoon & Tamago Membership Program.
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Finally, a luxury handbag that caters to our interests! Japanese leather bagmaker Tsuchiya Kaban has created a hand-crafted work of art (or bag, if you prefer) whose sole purpose to to carry 1 watermelon.
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Photography by Kawasumi・Kobayasi Kenji Photograph Office
After a lengthy Covid-19 delay, the much anticipated Ace Hotel in Kyoto opened last month in June. The majestic hotel occupies a renovated Kyoto Central Telephone Company building, also known as the Shinpuhkan, which was designed in 1926 by architect Tetsuro Yoshida. Ace Hotel Kyoto, which represents the brand’s first Asia outpost, was designed by architect Kengo Kuma in collaboration with Commune Design.
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For close to 4 decades, Japanese artist Tokihiro Sato has been experimenting with long exposure photography. Specifically, he explores ideas of temporality by entering his own frame and creating tiny points of light or illuminated lines to record his movements through space.
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all photos by Tooru Akiyama
Matsuzaki Yochien is a 100-year old Kindergarten in Yamaguchi, Japan. And on the occasion of their 100-year anniversary the school wanted to expand, but in a thoughtful way that respects the community where they have looked after the local children for decades. So they decided to purchase an adjacent machiya and kura that had been built right around the time the kindergarten was founded.
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Happy Monday! It’s that time of year when the summer days begin to blur together so we thought we’d start off the week by admiring the washed out white and blue illustrations of Rei Kato, which truly are a summer vibe.
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Myaku-Myaku Footwear, Inspired by the Googly-Eyed Mascot for the Osaka Expo
Demographics Professor Warns that by 2531, Everyone in Japan Will be Named Sato
Japan Quietly Shines at Milan Design Week
Kenji Yanobe’s BIG CAT BANG is Now on Display at Ginza Six
Japan’s Stationery Award Offers a Return to the Primitive
