Spoon & Tamago

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Relive Japan’s Asset Bubble of the 1980s Through Art at the Sompo Japan Nipponkoa Museum of Art

Seiji Togo “Surrealistic stroll” (1929). Permanent collection of the Sompo Japan Nipponkoa Museum of Art

At an auction in London in 1987 a mystery buyer paid a record $39.9 million for Vincent van Gogh’s “Sunflowers.” And a week later it was revealed that a Japanese insurance company, little-known at the time, had made the expensive purchase. Apparently, Yasuda Fire and Marine Insurance, who was celebrating its centennial the next year, saw the painting as an appropriate birthday present to itself. The purchase not only made the company famous but it also set off an art-buying craze amongst Japanese companies who were at the top of the world thanks to an overheated economy and rapid acceleration of asset process. No one saw the cracks that would burst Japan’s bubble just 4 years later.

The Dollhouse Chair Combines Play, Seating and Storage

December 14, 2014 / Johnny / Comments Off

all photos by Akihiro Ito courtesy Torafu Architects

Large children’s toys almost always pose the same problem: space. And the issue is magnified for those living in dense cities or small areas. But every once in a while a product comes along that aims to solve, or mitigate to some extent, the burden placed on parents to maintain sanity within an increasingly crowded play pen. The Dollhouse Chair, by Tokyo-based Torafu Architects, appears to be simply a chair. It’s much more.

Shirokuma Tea Bag Holder Makes Steeping Tea More Fun

December 13, 2014 / Johnny / Comments Off

It can be a dull 3 minutes waiting for your tea to steep. But not anymore, thanks to the shirokuma tea bag holder. The porcelain mug lid not only keeps your tea warm but it’s also adorned with an adorable polar bear (shirokuma, in Japanese) who sits patiently with a fishing pole waiting for something to bite.

Optical Illusion Placemat Appears to Warp Under the Weight of Tableware

December 10, 2014 / Johnny / 1 Comment

When Albert Einstein proposed his theory of relativity and described space-time as a smooth “fabric” that can be bent and manipulated, I’m pretty sure he wasn’t thinking it would be applied to placemats. But sure enough, Japanese design studio A.P. WORKS has turned that “fabric” into a fantastic optical illusion.

Packaging Design for Mizkan Vinegar by Taku Satoh

December 9, 2014 / Johnny / 2 Comments

Exactly 210 years ago a man named Matazaemon Nakano branched out from the sake brewing business and began a career in rice vinegar. And for more than 2 centuries The Mizkan Group has been producing vinegar, one of the key ingredients to sushi, and other condiments. Indeed, the company’s success is due, in part, to the popularity of Japanese cuisine. And to commemorate 210 years of vinegar making the company asked designer Taku Satoh to create a commemorative vinegar box.

Papa’s Maze Featured on Japanese TV

December 9, 2014 / Johnny / 2 Comments

the original spoon & tamago blog post on Japanese TV

Earlier this week Fuji TV’s FNN News interviewed Kazuo Nomura – we know him better as “Papa” – the creator of Papa’s Maze. It was a significant event because not only did it expose the identity of the creator, who up until now has remained anonymous on the internet and communicated only through his daughter, but it also marked the TV debut of Spoon & Tamago!

Shiseido’s Interactive Stained Glass Window in Tokyo

December 8, 2014 / Johnny / 2 Comments

Now through December 25th, walk by Shiseido’s Ginza showroom and you’ll do a double-take at its church-like stained glass window. Whereas typically the colored glass slowly changes from the light of the sun, the Japanese cosmetics company’s window will become animated before your very eyes. That’s because it’s made digitally using transparent LCD monitors, instead of glass and metallic salts like they did 1000 years ago.

Marshmallows That Look Like Cats in Hot Chocolate

December 7, 2014 / Johnny / Comments Off

Need some extra cuteness for your hot chocolate this winter season? How about a cat paw? Or even better, a whole cat? The Yawahada Marshmallow Shop creates adorable cat-themed marshmallows modeled after a cat named Hirokichi. (Depending on your vantage point, these can either be taken as uber-cute or a cruel image of a cat drowning.)

Locked in the ether: photographs of flowers in thawing ice by Kenji Shibata

December 6, 2014 / Johnny / Comments Off

Kenji Shibata. “11:53:36” (2014). lambda print, 72.1 × 96.4 cm | click images to enlarge

Ice is frozen, which is obvious. But what’s not always so obvious is that ice can signify, both symbolically and in reality, the stopping or slowing of time. Locked in ice, life can be preserved and time can literally be frozen. Which is what makes the thawing of ice all the more poignant and, for Kenji Shibata, an ideal subject to photograph.