everyone’s favorite ramen noodles, written traditionally as 拉麺
A Japanese web designer and typographer who simply goes by the name ‘Nozaki’ creates beautiful, pictorial Japanese typography that can sometimes walk a thin line between recognizable and unrecognizable. The phrases that are used are sometimes seasonal, sometimes random but in either case, Nozaki renders them with pictorial style that is enjoyable even if you can’t read Japanese.
Ever since establishing his own studio in 2006, designer and director Mikiya Kobayashi has placed great emphasis on material; namely, natural resources like wood. So it only made sense for Masterwal, a Japanese furniture manufacturer that has made a name for themselves by producing high quality furniture made from walnut wood, to team up with Kobayashi. Together, they recently unveiled YU, a new collection of elegant and minimalist furniture.
yahyel is a Japanese 5-piece indie band formed by sampler Miru Shinoda, vocalist Shun Ikegai and track maker Wataru Sugimoto. They’re joined by percussionist Kazuya Ooi and video artist Kento Yamada, who is responsible for the groups groundbreaking music videos. Together with Ikegai’s cosmic, falsetto voice and Sugimoto’s dystopian post-dub step tracks, the group creates futuristic sounds that are far removed from any Japanese context.
“In Hokkaido where I live, winters are harsh and snows are deep,” says photographer Eiji Ohashi. “Every day can become rather inconvenient” due to the constant snowfall. But heavy snows also bring wintry wonderlands and the discovery of small pleasures.
A Tokyo gun shop owner (Reuters)
In the wake of senseless domestic terrorism like the one we saw today in Las Vegas, Japan often becomes an example of how gun control can lead to a drop in gun violence. Take any year in recent history and Japan’s gun deaths per year are but a tiny fraction of the U.S.
Autumn is officially upon us. It’s the season of shorter days, brighter moons and bountiful harvests. Niigata prefecture, in Northern Japan, is known for its rice paddies and rice production. Around this time of year the rice harvest becomes a big deal, as well as the tons of rice straw, or wara, that is leftover. It can be plowed down as soil improver, fed to livestock, or even woven into decorative ornaments. But before any of that, for the past 9 years Uwasekigata Park has hosted a Wara Art Festival by teaming up with art students to create creatures, both large and small, from rice straw.
Often times Japanese design is more about improving upon an existing design, rather than creating something new. And when a well-thought out yet subtle redesign drastically improves the way we use something, that in of itself can be revolutionary.
all photos by Cédric Riveau for Spoon & Tamago
Yayoi Kusama, one of Japan’s most prolific and successful artists, surprised her fans and the art world in August when it was reported that the 88-year old artist was getting her own museum in Tokyo. The Yayoi Kusama Museum opens to the public today, October 1. We were there last week for a sneak peek into what visitors can expect from the 5-story building.
Shinji Ogawa’s black and white works are so meticulously rendered that they at first appear to be old photographs of architectural landscapes. And yet something seems off about them. Make no mistake – these are pencil drawings created by the artist, who clearly possesses a masterful drafting technique.
Shunga were a form of traditional pornography in Japan, made by Ukiyo-e artists in the form of woodblock prints. They were often printed on small pages and booklets that people would carry around with them wherever they went. And for obvious reasons they’ve become somewhat obsolete, yet they remain an important part of Japan’s cultural and artistic history, not to mention a testament to the skill and craftwork involved in producing them.
The 2024 Toyama Kei-Truck Gardening Contest
Myaku-Myaku Footwear, Inspired by the Googly-Eyed Mascot for the Osaka Expo
‘Puddle’ Are a Series of Flower Vessels Inspired by Puddles of Water
Shunga: Japanese Erotic Art from the 1600s – 1800s
Five Unique Experiences at Harajuku’s Latest Development Harakado
