Spoon & Tamago

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Tracing the Footsteps of Traveling Ukiyoe Artist Kawase Hasui

The ukiyoe artist Kawase Hasui (1883-1957) lived through tumultuous times, but you wouldn’t know it from his woodblock prints. Sometimes referred to as a poet with the spirit of a traveler, Hasui traveled Japan in search of nostalgic and everyday landscapes that struck a chord in his own heart. Often depicting the quiet and forlorn, Hasui’s art was perhaps his way of coping with the dramatic shift that was occurring in Japan: a rapid and widespread drive to modernize and engage with the rest of the world.

An Indonesian Forest is Erased Away in a Time-Based Painting by Kei Imazu

November 7, 2021 / Johnny / Comments Off

all photos by Keizo Kioku | courtesy Anomaly

Japanese artist Kei Imazu, who is based in Indonesia, is currently wrapping up a large-scale exhibition at the Anomaly gallery in Tokyo. Along with numerous large-scale paintings is a time-based work that depicts the devastating impact that industry is having on earth’s ecosystem.

Get Lost in the World of Manga Artist Jiro Taniguchi

November 7, 2021 / Johnny / Comments Off

all photos courtesy Setagaya Literary Museum

The prolific Japanese manga artist Jiro Taniguchi, who passed away in 2017, left behind an immense body of work that continues to be admired both in his home country but also abroad. In Japan, he is perhaps best known for his illustrations in Kodoku no Gourmet (“Solitary Gourmet”), a cuisine manga written by Masayuki Qusumi. But his solo works like Aruku hito (“The Walking Man”) and Haruka na machi e (“A Distant Neighborhood”) had to travel overseas to really shine. A large-scale exhibition in Tokyo reflects on the craftsmanship, details and compositions that went into Taniguchi’s work using over 300 original drawings.

Japan’s Jimi ‘Mundane’ Halloween Costumes of 2021

November 1, 2021 / Johnny / Comments Off

Each year we look forward to Halloween, not for the ghosts and ghouls but for Japan’s jimi (mundane) halloween costumes: outfits so ordinary that they have to be explained.

The tradition was started in 2014 by a group of adults at Daily Portal Z who “kind of wanted to participate in the festivities of Halloween, but were too embarrassed to go all out in witch or zombie costumes.” So instead of the flashy and flamboyant costumes they had been seeing gain popularity in Japan, they decided to dress up in mundane, everyday costumes.

You can comb through social media using the hashtag #地味ハロウィン but below we present to you some of our favorites from this year’s festivities.

NHK’s Kohaku Music Festival Gets a New Logo

October 30, 2021 / Johnny / Comments Off

Kohaku Uta Gassen, commonly referred to simply as Kohaku, is a year-end music festival that has aired on Japanese television since 1951. Practically a national pastime, close to 40% of the population tune in as they reflect on the past year. This year, for the first time in almost 15 years, the program announced a new logo that signifies a small yet significant change.

Our Favorites from the 2021 Good Design Awards

October 29, 2021 / Johnny / Comments Off

The Good Design Awards, Japan’s oldest and most-comprehensive system for evaluating design, are doled out annually. And this week, the 2021 awards were announced. The theme this year was “Aspiration and Action with Consideration,” which verbalizes our wishes and hopes for a better world. You can see all the recipients here but below are a small selection of our favorites, which embody the spirit in forms of sustainability and inclusivity.

Japanese Artists Create Posters to Encourage Young People to Vote

October 27, 2021 / Johnny / 2 Comments

Five years ago Japan lowered the minimum voting age from 20 to 18 to encourage young people to get involved and have their say. But turnout rates of those in their 20s and younger has been alarmingly low: in the last lower house election, in 2017, the voting rate among people in their 20s was 34%, less than half that of those in their 60s. Vote Poster 2021 is a small but burgeoning movement in which illustrators, designers and manga artists create eye-catching posters that can be printed out or shared online, ultimately raising awareness and encouraging people to go out and vote.

Lei: a Non-Electric, Candle Powered Aroma Diffuser

October 23, 2021 / Johnny / Comments Off

Lei is an entirely self-sufficient aroma diffuser, powered only by the heat and gentle flame of a small candle. The generated power from the flame turns the propeller, which creates a light breeze that permeates your space with aromas from essential oils.

Pencils That Visualize the Graphite Grading Scale

October 20, 2021 / Johnny / Comments Off

Historically, pencil makers have used graphite grading scales like 2H or 2B to indicate the hardness and darkness of the core. Although there is a certain charm to these letters, for some it poses questions when selecting pencils. And because they typically come unsharpened when first purchased, there’s no way of testing them. So Japanese designer Kazuya Ishikawa came up with a simple way of visualizing what type of graphite is in each pencil.