All images © toha courtesy DDAA
Hender Scheme’s flagship store in Kansai is an adaptive reuse of a sixty-plus-year-old one-story wooden house near Umeda Station in Osaka. With a spacious area of around 175m² and impressive high ceilings, the store has been designed to reflect Hender Scheme’s unique aesthetic while honoring the building’s history. The goal was to create a retail space that serves as an extension of their fashion and product design approach.
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all images courtesy Furuya Design
Eshikoto is a brand created by Nizaemon Ishidaya, proprietor of the Kokuryu Sake Brewery which was founded in 1804 in the mountains of Fukui. With a motto not dissimilar to the famous quote from Field of Dreams–”if we make good sake, people will support it”–the brewery has been hand-crafting small batches of sake for over 200 years. Last year, the brand opened a new restaurant and sake tasting center that is nestled between the mountains of Fukui and sits along the Kuzuryu: the River of the Nine-Headed Dragon.
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All images © Osamu Morishita Architect and Associates
Built on reclaimed land that seamlessly blends the expanse of the sea with the majestic mountains, ‘See-Sea Park‘ is a new commercial complex spanning over an area of 10,800 square meters in Oimachi, Fukui. The structure aims to create a pleasant environment for people to gather while also providing a comfortable setting for new entrepreneurs and startups.
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“natsu no prelude” (prelude of the summer) by Yoko Tada won honorable mention last year from the Japan Watercolor Association
The painter Yoko Tada is having what some would call “a moment.” Last year her work was recognized by the Japan Watercolor Association, an organization founded almost 110 years ago that sponsors Japan’s oldest art show. This year she is publishing her first book of paintings. But her path to artistry has been anything but straight. She is turning 100 this year, and after over a 60-year gap, rekindled her love for painting in her 80s.
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The coronavirus pandemic had a drastic and immediate impact on Yuichiro Shimizu’s taxi business. As early as January 2020, Nichiei Taxi, a local business that has been servicing Saitama prefecture for over 50 years, saw their revenue drop by a staggering 80%. To save the company, and their roughly 40 employees, the team got together to brainstorm new business initiatives and they ended up hitting on something unexpected: growing wood ear mushrooms.
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Last month, the 107th High School Kanazawa City Sumo Tournament was held. The event has been held annually for over 100 years and attracts spectators locally but also from across Japan. But for the past 3 years, because of covid restrictions, the event had been held without spectators. So to welcome back the crowds, a series visual posters were created.
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According to statistics, Tokyo is home to over 1800 Shinto shrines. You have your major shrines like Meiji-Jingu and Hie Shrine but there are many other tiny shrines, often unstaffed and nestled in the depths of back streets and behind buildings. Tearing down a shrine would be considered incredibly bad luck so many smaller shrines have survived urban development in a way that buries them behind buildings, accessible only through alleyways or backstreets. These ‘hidden’ shrines of Tokyo have fascinated urban explorers because stumbling onto one can feel like slipping into a surreal, parallel universe.
With help from urban explorer toshibo, we present to you, with location data, a few of Tokyo’s hidden shrines. But surely there are many more out there. Do you know of any?
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The Tolerance traveling poster show is a socially driven initiative that asks prominent designers from around the world to create artworks with the word Tolerance in their language. The exhibition, which leverages art & design to spread its powerful message of respect for individuality, has made its way to Japan, the 46th host country.
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Tamatsukuri Kindergarten is a school for early-learning that is located in a forested region of Japan’s Chiba prefecture. For over 40 years the school has dedicated itself to nourishing the souls, minds and bodies of its pupils. In 2022, the school decided to renew its main building and hired architect Naoki Hashimoto and artistic director Haruka Misawa to oversee their vision.
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It’s said that shutter speeds of around 1/1000th of a second are necessary to really capture the detail of moving water in photography. So you can imagine the technical challenge of accurately capturing water as a three-dimensional object. Product designer Masahiko Tanoue has dedicated the last several years of his career to just this: creating glass tableware that beautifully replicates not only the shape and form of water but the way its transparency refracts light.
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The Humble Beef Bowl, Elevated to Fine Cuisine at New Gyudon Specialty Restaurant Kikiya
In Rare Exhibition, Kenya Hara Offers a Look Into His Design Process
This Wrapping Paper Turns All Your Presents into Bread
Kirie Artist Carves Playful Narratives Into Tree Leaves
Music Monday: Gen Hoshino’s Quarantine Collaborations
