Japanese Design

Japanese Design Interviews

Korin Japanese Trading Corp. - Fostering Cultural Education and Understanding through Japanese Kitchenware
Korin Japanese Trading Corp., founded by President Saori Kawano in 1982, has been an industry leader in the distribution and import of fine Japanese knives, tableware and restaurant supplies to Japanese and American restaurants and hotels. Read more >

Two Seminal Exhibitions: "The French Connection" and "Guided by the Brush"
"The French Connection: Five Japanese Women Ceramists and Their Passion for France" and "Guided by the Brush" are two seminal exhibitions showcasing Japan's foremost female ceramists and calligrapher at the Joan B. Mirviss LTD located at 39 East 78th Street in New York through August 3rd, 2012. Read more >

Supporting Tohoku companies - JETRO invites 50 world buyers
JETRO invited 50 people from regions around the world to support business and expand exports of Tohoku companies that incurred massive damage from the Great East Japan Earthquake. Read more >

'Basics Plus,' a popular household goods chain in Manhattan
Basics Plus, a specialty store for household goods and everyday items, focuses on specific types of needs and has opened two new stores in Manhattan this past September, expanding to a chain of nine stores. Read more >

Chari & Co - A bicycle brand in NY with Japanese creators
Chari & Co is a specialty bicycle shop that was established in the Lower East Side of New York by two Japanese men, Yuki Goto and Yosuke Kamibeppu, in 2008. It is a retail, wholesale, and consignment shop that sells Japanese, Italian, and French bicycle parts, including for cyclocross and road bikes. Read more >

Upcoming Events

Designing Nature - The Rinpa Aesthetic in Japanese Art
May 26, 2012 - January 13, 2013
The Metropolitan Museum of Art [Map]
New York, NY
Event Website

"Rinpa" is a modern term that refers to a distinctive style of Japanese pictorial and applied arts that arose in the early seventeenth century and has continued through modern times. Literally meaning "school of Korin," Rinpa derives its name from Ogata Korin (1658-1716), a celebrated painter from Kyoto. It embraces art marked by a bold, graphic abbreviation of natural motifs, frequent reference to traditional court literature and poetry, the lavish use of expensive mineral and metallic pigments, incorporation of calligraphy into painting compositions, and innovative experimentation with new brush techniques.

Silver Wind: The Arts of Sakai Hoitsu
September 29, 2012 - January 6, 2013
Japan Society [Map]
New York, NY
Event Website

Japan Society Gallery presents the first American retrospective of Sakai Hoitsu, master of the bravura gesture, a samurai aristocrat turned Buddhist monk who dedicated his life to art and poetry. Triumphs of compositional daring and sumptuousness, Hoitsu's paintings and those of his chief pupil Suzuki Kiitsu (1796-1858) made a defining Japanese contribution to world art.

Tokyo 1955 - 1970
November 18, 2012 - February 25, 2013
The Museum of Modern Art [Map]
New York, NY
Event Website

From the mid-1950s through the 1960s, Tokyo transformed itself from the capital of a war-torn nation into an international center for arts, culture, and commerce, becoming home to some of the most important art being made at the time. Tokyo 1955-1970 provides a focused look at the extraordinary concentration and network of creative individuals and practices in this dynamic city during these turbulent years. Featuring works of various media-painting, sculpture, photography, drawings, and graphic design, as well as video and documentary film-the exhibition offers a story of artistic crossings, collaborations, and, at times, conflicts, with the city as an incubator. It introduces the myriad avant-garde experiments that emerged as artists drew on the energy of this rapidly growing and changing metropolis.

Art Theater Guild and Japanese Underground Cinema, 1960-1986
December 6, 2012 - February 10, 2013
The Museum of Modern Art [Map]
New York, NY
Event Website

In conjunction with the gallery exhibition Tokyo 1955-1970: A New Avant-Garde, The Museum of Modern Art and The Japan Foundation present the most comprehensive U.S. retrospective ever devoted to the Art Theater Guild, the independent film company that radically transformed Japanese cinema by producing and distributing experimental, transgressive, and genre-shattering films from the early 1960s until the mid-1980s.

Printsource
January 15, 2013 - January 16, 2013
Penn Plaza Pavilion [Map]
New York, NY
Event Website

Printsource is the premier market for textile and surface design offering original and vintage textile and surface design collections from over 10 countries, for apparel, home textiles and paper goods.

Design Industry Facts

• TRADE SHOWS IN JAPAN (Furniture, Gift, Craft)
• "GOOD DESIGN" Products Database
• JAPAN INSTITUTE OF DESIGN PROMOTION

Design Headlines

Monocle's Top 50 in Travel for 2012
December 26, 2012
Completing this year's review of exceptional travel-related artifacts from Monocle is a list of the Top 50 in Travel for 2012. JAL ranks in 46 at 'Best Turnaround,' Tokyo Haneda Airport ranks 41 at 'Best Asian Airport,' and ANA's basic amenities kit wins 'Best Amenities' with its simple and useful line-up. Read more>

Visionary Award: Yoshiharu Fukuhara
December 26, 2012
Yoshiharu Fukuhara, a renaissance man of Japanese beauty, made Shiseido into a major player on the world stage by marrying the cultural wellspring of the East and the dynamism of the West. Read more>

'NO MORE WAR' - Surrealist Terrors from a Visionary Japanese Pop Artist
December 26, 2012
There are conventional ways to describe Japanese artist Keiichi Tanaami: Pop Art superstar. Designer of album covers for The Monkees and Super Furry Animals. Subject of dozens of solo exhibitions and inspiration to megastar artists like Takashi Murakami.'NO MORE WAR' focuses on a fruitful but tortured period of Tanaami's career. Read more>

An Information Kiosk that Doubles as a Pastel-Hued Playground
December 26, 2012
Japanese architecture firm Torafu Architects has come up with an ingenious way to improve upon the mall information booth, one of the least effect advertising ploys around: turn it into a playground. Read more>

Marc Newson for Dom Perignon 'Kyoto' Champagne Cooler
December 26, 2012
Renowned Australian designer, Marc Newson's latest design creation, the 'Kyoto' champagne cooler for Dom Perignon, was developed with the help of Japanese company, Seikado - a metal work studio established in Kyoto in 1838. Made from pewter, the cooler is inspired by the armor of Japanese military nobles. Read more>

Pantone Names Emerald Color of the Year for 2013
December 26, 2012
Pantone has announced that its color of the year for 2013 is Pantone 17-5641 Emerald, a choice which corresponds well to color trends currently seen on the catwalk and elsewhere. Read more>

Winners of Good Design Award 2012 Announced
December 3, 2012
The Good Design Awards is a comprehensive program for the evaluation and encouragement of design organized by Japan Institute of Design Promotion (JDP). This year, the Good Design Grand Award went to TV program, "Design Ah!" See the full list>

For Muji's Unsung Designers, Imperfection Breeds Good Design
December 3, 2012
In a short produced by Herman Miller, the design duo behind hundreds of Muji's no-brand products speaks to why and how they work. Read more>

An Exhibition Charts the Rise of Tokyo's Avant-Garde
December 3, 2012
MOMA surveys the aftermath and rebirth of Tokyo following World War II through the lens of art. Read more>

Yoshida & Co x Medicom Toy 400% Bearbrick
December 3, 2012
2012 marks the 77^th anniversary of Yoshida & Co. To celebrate, they've teamed with Medicom Toy to present a 400% Beabrick with influence drawn from the Porter bags that Yoshida is internationally known for. Read more>