Spoon & Tamago

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Oei Katsushika: an artist lost in her father’s shadow

“Night Scene in the Yoshiwara” by Katsushika Oei. The interplay of light and shadow is a distinct style rare in woodblock prints

If you’re familiar with the name Katsushika Hokusai, you probably also know that he was one of the most celebrated artists of the Edo Period in Japan. He created woodblock prints of Mount Fuji that, to this day, remain iconic imagery of Japan. Hokusai’s name lives on through both commercial and artistic appropriation. But there’s one part of this narrative that’s often omitted from history: Hokusai had a daughter, Oei Katsushika, who was an accomplished artist in her own right.

House For All: A Wooden Indoor Playground For Kids in Soma City

March 11, 2015 / Johnny / 1 Comment

House-for-All in Soma: tree-shaped pillars lift the timber lattice canopy to make the space light and airy.

Four years ago a devastating earthquake and tsunami destroyed 250,000 homes in the Tohoku region of Japan. In the wake of the tragedy, architect Toyo Ito established Home-for-All, an initiative to build small community centers in the heart of the acres of temporary housing. Funded by donations from around the world, for the last 4 years architects have worked pro bono to build a total of 12 Home-for-All buildings, instilling a sense of pride in the hard-hit areas of Tohoku.

Constellation: Starry Night Skies in Paper Shopping Bags by Yuken Teruya

March 9, 2015 / Johnny / Comments Off

all photos by spoon & tamago | taken with an iphone 5

Using paper shopping bags from upscale boutiques like Gucci and Barneys, Yuken Teruya creates views of starry night skies by cutting small holes into the bags. The ingeniously simple sculptures rely only on the light of the room to create an enchanting glow that illuminates the holes of varying sizes. And each bag – there were at least 10 – represents a view of the night sky as seen from a different part of the world.

“Uncovering small metamorphosis in familiar objects is an exercise which enables one to turn routine into moments of significance, making us more aware of the indefinite alterations in our surroundings,” said the artist.

New Sarutahiko Coffee Shop Opens in Tokyo

March 9, 2015 / Johnny / 1 Comment

The rumblings of Tokyo’s 3rd wave coffee movement have been erupting this year. Blue Bottle Coffee opened not 1 but 2 shops in Tokyo back-to-back; first in February and then again over the weekend. But the Silicon Valley-funded roaster isn’t the only one mounting a swift advance on Tokyo’s coffee connoisseurs. The home-grown Sarutahiko Coffee, which operates a popular caffeinating destination in Ebisu has now opened their 2nd location in Chofu, a western suburb of Tokyo.

Studio Visit With Ai Campbell

March 7, 2015 / Johnny / Comments Off

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Remembering Kenji Ekuan Through a Soy Wax Candle

March 5, 2015 / Johnny / Comments Off

Kenji Ekuan, the industrial designer who created the graceful (and now ubiquitous) soy sauce bottle, passed away on February 8, 2015 at the age of 85. In collaboration with artist Nao Matsumoto, we decided to remember him through a unique candle.

Using organic soy wax (so meta, we know!), Matsumoto recreates the elegant teardrop shape in the form of a candle to remember a true pioneer who helped spread the Japanese aesthetic.

The candle is available in our shop, but it’s also part of our Studio Visits exhibition, which opens tonight!

“No Soy Sauce, No Life” – Nao Matsumoto

Katamaku: Upcycled Stadium Roofing Used to Create Carrying Cases

March 4, 2015 / Johnny / Comments Off

katamaku: a series of carrying cases made from stadium and tent roofing | click images to enlarge

As we all know, the roofing material that covers massive stadiums has to be strong, durable and weatherproof. The plastic-like material is first extruded into a thin film. But when it’s cut into gigantic shapes that cover stadiums there’s a lot of excess material that gets thrown out. And as it turns out, explains Japanese design firm k2m, the material is permeable enough that it can be used for smaller things as well.

Cubist Typographical Renditions of Hokusai’s Woodblock Prints

March 2, 2015 / Johnny / Comments Off

The Japanese graphic designer Kenjiro Sano’s office is called Mr. Design. And it’s anything but a misnomer. After graduating from ad agency Hakuhodo, Sano worked on a diverse range of campaigns for major companies like Toyota and Suntory. He’s also created adorable mascots for any number of brands and even worked with Japan’s beloved Doraemon. One of my favorite series are the ads he created for Tama Art University.

His creative career is now the subject of a retrospective. And headlining the show is “HOKUSAI_LINE,” a new series of prints that are inspired by the legendary Ukiyo-e artist Katsushika Hokusai but created in a cubist, typographical style.

Sano’s cubist, typographical renditions are juxtaposed with the original characters created by Hokusai 150 years ago

Whimsical Wooden Automata by Kazuaki Harada

February 26, 2015 / Johnny / Comments Off

“Laugh Out Loud” is one of many automata created by Kazuaki Harada. It features a naked person (wearing only socks) boiling a teapot on his/her belly.

In case you’re like me and are wondering what exactly is an automaton, it’s a self-operating machine that dates back to the Hellenistic period of Greece. It’s one of the earliest forms of mechanical engineering and a prime example is the cuckoo clock. The devices relay on hydraulics, pneumatics, mechanics and a whole bunch of gears. In other words, they were the first analog computers.

Kazuaki Harada is a contemporary Japanese woodworker who creates whimsical wooden automata that perform all sorts of stunts simply by the turn of a handle. The devices are playful, silly and sometimes nonsensical. But they’re sure to make you chuckle.

Kamidana Shiro: A contemporary Japanese altar modeled after an iPhone

February 25, 2015 / Johnny / Comments Off

the kamidana is a series of household Shinto altars designed to look like an iPhone

Apple’s iPhone and iPad have undoubtedly become a global phenomenon, spawning sub-products and sub-industries all designed around the incredible reach these products have had. But the iPhone in particular has breached new, spiritual grounds in Japan. A Japanese woodworking company called moconoco has released a kamidana (a miniature household altar literally translated as “god-shelf”) in the shape of an iPhone.