photos courtesy Nostos Books
This book just landed on our desk and we can’t stop flipping through the pages. Published by Bijutsu Shuppan-sha in Tokyo in 1991, the book compiles illustrations of vegetables created by graphic designer Tadashi Ohashi (1916 – 1998). Despite Ohashi’s realism, there is something nostalgic about the colors and compositions of each vegetable.
Simply titled Vegetables, the book compiles the illustrations that Ohara created for Kikkoman, where he spent a large majority of his career. This context makes the illustrations all the more interesting. Rather than place Kikkoman’s main product, soy sauce, front and center, Ohara chose to focus on foods that could be paired with soy sauce.
Unfortunately the book is out of print but Nostos Books in Tokyo occasionally has some copies.
