Japanese designer Ryuichi Kozeki has created a new series of sculptural desk lamps called “Figure of Light.” The pieces, explains the designer, are inspired by the skylight of the Pantheon in Rome, and so it only made sense that the material also pay homage to ancient roman techniques as well.
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all photos courtesy Izu Shabonten Zoo
Back in 1982, a zookeeper at Japan’s Izu Shabonten Zoo was cleaning one of the Capybara pens with warm water when they noticed that a group of them had gathered in a puddle of warm water and were soaking their feet and bums. These large yet gentle rodents loved water but the winter chill was too much for them, so the the zoo keeper had the idea of filling a pool with hot water. Sure enough, the Capybara’s climbed in and seemed overwhelmed with joy. Ever since, the zoo has maintained an annual winter tradition of hot baths for their Capybaras and this year they’re celebrating the 40th anniversary of the tradition.
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Working with a soldering iron and an air filtration mask, Japanese artist Nina Nomura melts holes into everyday plastic products, rendering them with an otherworldly perforated skin that resembles molecular structures. The meticulous process gives the inorganic plastic a new sense of life.
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Japan’s aging demographics is a well-known issue that’s been talked and written about countless times. But combined with a greying population, the country has also seen another long-term trend: population growth in city centers, spurred by younger generations moving from suburban to urban areas. Combined, the two issues have resulted in what the Japanese government dubs genkai shuraku (限界集落) or marginal village: areas that are at risk of disappearing altogether due to their demographics.
Various creative efforts to revitalize these regions—it’s believed there are over 750 of them—has been somewhat successful with young professionals taking a renewed interest in Japan’s outer suburbs. One of the latest initiatives is Nipponia Kosuge: an attempt to transform a village of just 700 people into a sprawling, interconnected hotel.
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It’s officially fall, ya’ll. And that means the spookiest holiday of them all. Do you have any Halloween parties on the calendar? Or maybe you’re just looking to introduce some spooky spirits into your everyday? Well look no further, for we’ve found the perfect halloween accessory you didn’t know you need: ghost chopstick rests handmade by a glass artisan based in Nagano, Japan.
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“Steam Locomotive on the Yokohama Waterfront” (1874) by Utagawa Hiroshige III. Courtesy Kobe City Museum.
Almost exactly 150 years ago the first railway route in Japan opened on October 14, 1872 and connected what is current-day Shinbashi to Yokohama. A symbol of modernization, Japan’s railway network gradually expanded nationwide and would become what is arguably one of Japan’s most successful public infrastructure initiatives. Trains not only carried people but they carried ideas, dreams and concepts. Soul-stirring locomotives, rails gleaming in the evening sun and the hustle and bustle of train stations would all go on to inspire artwork that captured the sentiment of the time.
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Tsuyoshi Hisakado’s “River” (2022) on display at Ota Fine Arts in Tokyo
For the first time in four years, the artist Tsuyoshi Hisakado had a new solo exhibition in Tokyo. One of his works was composed of multiple frames that filled almost the entire wall. A single white circle near the center immediately attracts your eye, beckoning you to step closer. And as you do, order emerges out of chaos. The sheets of paper are, in fact, filled with the digits of π (pi), the mathematical constant. Beginning in the circular negative space at the center of the piece, the continuous, eternal sequence of numbers spiral outwards. In certain areas they have been torn apart and broken up numerous times but the fragments together form one big current and undulation.
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Autumn is officially upon us. It’s the season of shorter days, brighter moons and bountiful harvests. Niigata prefecture, in Northern Japan, is known for its rice paddies and rice production. Around this time of year the rice harvest becomes a big deal, as well as the tons of rice straw, or wara, that is leftover. It can be plowed down as soil improver, fed to livestock, or even woven into decorative ornaments. But before any of that, for the past 9 years Uwasekigata Park has hosted a Wara Art Festival by teaming up with art students to create creatures, both large and small, from rice straw.
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all photos by Takumi Ota courtesy Oniki Design Studio
CRAFSTO is a new Japanese fashion accessory brand that places sustainability at the forefront of their business model. Working mainly with cacti and other plant-derived vegan leather, CRAFSTO has developed what they call “future-oriented craftsmanship.” And their ethos extends not only to their products but to the walls of their new Tokyo shop and beyond.
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all images courtesy Ayumi Shibata
Yesterday was the autumnal equinox: the official start of fall. And if you’re in Tokyo, there’s no better way to welcome in the season than at the KITTE, the design-forward commercial complex right outside Tokyo Station. Now through October 10th, kirie artist Ayumi Shibata, inspired by the fall foliage of a forest, has installed one of her largest works in the atrium of KITTE.
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