“gokinchotaikoku” (2015) by Daisuke Tajima. 194 × 334 cm
Don’t stand too close to Daisuke Tajima’s paintings. It’s pretty easy to lose yourself. Using just a black ink pen the 22-year old artist creates impossibly intricate and vertigo-inducing birds-eye view paintings of cityscapes. And his paintings aren’t small. Many of them are larger than the artist himself.
Stronger than steel and more flexible than nylon, spider silk is said to be the toughest material on earth. For the past 11 years a Japanese company has been attempting to harness that strength to create a new type of material with unprecedented versatility. They’ve now unveiled their working prototype: the Moon Parka.
“Soto,” meaning ‘outside’ in Japanese, is a new premium sake that’s been developed for a western audience
Faced with flat-lining domestic demand for their Sake, Japanese breweries have been increasingly looking for opportunities overseas to grow as their own population shrinks. And some breweries are turning to graphic designers to help rebrand and create a more appealing, more impactful product for those who find sake esoteric and inaccessible.
all photos by Yoshiro Masuda | click to enlarge
When STOCK opened last month in Tokyo it was clear that the 4-storied structure was much more than a co-working space. With a disproportionately large kitchen, STOCK and all its small details from the furniture to the orientation of offices were designed to bring people together, rather than having them work in isolation.
If you want to treat yourself to something special, head to the quiet neighborhood of Yakumo in Meguro, Tokyo where an unsuspectingly exquisite restaurant awaits. Originally opened in 2009 and perched on top of a hill, Yakumo Saryo offers a humble yet intricate dining experience that emphasizes ingredients and craftsmanship.
In 1986 a bar opened up in the heart of Tokyo. It was called Heartland and it quickly became the local favorite watering hole in its Roppongi neighborhood. It flourished in the 90s and early 2000s and, in collaboration with major brewery Kirin, even developed their own Heartland Beer. The minimalistic emerald-green bottle bared almost no packaging; only a large tree and roots embossed in glass on the side of the bottle.
The bar has since closed down but the beer lives on, and is offered at 100 restaurants around Japan. To commemorate the beer’s heritage a group of designers took on a painstakingly meticulous art project.
Saya, a Japanese schoolgirl whose only as real as the pixels on your screen
Although her looks indicate otherwise, Saya is not your typical Japanese schoolgirl. Her parents, Teruyuki and Yuki Ishikawa, have big dreams for their beautiful daughter. They want her to play a character in a movie they are self-producing. Where will she find the time with all her schoolwork? Not to worry. Saya is only as real as the pixels on your screen. Her soft cheeks, lush, black hair and hazel-brown eyes are all computer-generated imagery.
In an interview earlier this year Oki Sato, head of design firm Nendo, indicated that they were simultaneously working on 400 projects. Four Hundred. And I can’t even pour cereal and talk on the phone at the same time. They must be the busiest design studio in the world. So busy, in fact, that a retrospective of all their various projects had to be broken up into 3 parts throughout a period of over 2 months.
Photo by Dean Kaufman courtesy Grace Farms | click images to enlarge
October 9, 2015 marked the public opening of Grace Farms in New Canaan, Connecticut. Designed by luminary Japanese architects SANAA, the sinuous building takes its name from the way water meanders through rolling terrain. The serpentine structure slithers down a hill, forming pond-like spaces on its way that function as a library, commons, arts center and gymnasium. “Our goal with the River is to make the architecture become part of the landscape,” says the not-for-profit foundation’s president.
all photos by Nico Therin | click to enlarge
On a recent trip to Tokyo, French photographer Nico Therin heard that the Tsukiji Fish Market was going to be relocated. So he took the opportunity to head over there one day and take some photos. Being a historical and incredibly photogenic site, Therin is far from alone in his endeavor. But what makes this photo series stand out from all the others are the faces he captures; the ordinary workers who move the iconic fish market and its 2,000 tons of fish that are traded every day.
Japanese Aquarium Drops 2026 Version of Flowchart Illustrating Their Penguin Relationships. This Year There’s an English Version.
Antiwar Posters by Graphic Designer Shigeo Fukuda
Keisuke Aiso’s Ubume Sculpture that was Missappropriated as the Face of the Momo Hoax
Whimsical Ceramic Banana Peel Art by Koji Kasatani
Kirie Artist Carves Playful Narratives Into Tree Leaves
