Tokyo is getting some cold weather right now, including a rare bit of snow. So it seems timely to introduce the photography of Yusuke Komatsu, who recently published a self-explanatory series of photographs titled Snow in Tokyo.
Continue readingTokyo is getting some cold weather right now, including a rare bit of snow. So it seems timely to introduce the photography of Yusuke Komatsu, who recently published a self-explanatory series of photographs titled Snow in Tokyo.
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D&DEPARTMENT, which I’ll refer to as D&D, is a unique Japanese company that’s taken on various forms over the years. But there’s one thing that hasn’t changed: their unwavering focus on long-life design. Established by Kenmei Nagaoka, a former colleague of graphic designer Kenya Hara, D&D was founded in response to the fast cycles of change in products around the world. It began as a 2nd-hand shop in the outskirts of Tokyo but has since grown to 11 outposts around Japan (as well as 1 in Korea and China) and has established themselves as purveyors of good, long-lasting design from all around Japan.
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Our immune system is essential to our health. It not only fights common ailments like cold and flu but recent medical breakthroughs have revealed its potential for fighting deadly diseases as well. But out of sight, out of mind, as the proverb goes, renders these friendly cells almost invisible, that is until we need them most. Japanese designer and illustrator Masanobu Ishii decided to create a series of detailed illustrations of the life-saving immune system cells.
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Japanese beverage maker Kirin launched a “Home Tap” service that brings this beautifully-designed, compact kegerator into the home. Home kegerators have never been appealing to me because they’re either too bulky, too ugly, or both. This is neither.
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Look down, not up, as you walk. But only if you’re headed to the Japanese Manhole Cover Festival happening in Tokyo. If you love Japanese manhole covers as much as we do, you’ll be excited to learn that the extravaganza will include everything from actual manhole covers and manhole cover goods (like doormats, miniatures, collector cards) to manhole cover cookies and snacks.
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You guys! This new spinning top from Japanese brand +d is brilliant!! It’s called Sp!n and when you spin it, an optical illusion of levitation reveals an exclamation point!!! Playfulness aside, it’s not every day that punctuation, or spinning tops, makes us this excited.
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Graduating art student Shun Onozawa has created a mesmerizing device as part of his graduation thesis project. Titled “Movement Act,” a total of 16 balls are loaded onto a star-shaped platform that continuously “juggles” the balls from side-to-side. The 16 balls move back and forth from 8 different directions, all passing through the middle, yet never colliding. It reminds me a little of Shibuya crossing.
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Narai-juku is a historic, picturesque part of Nagano that retains a historical row of Edo-period townhouses, or machiya. It was 34th of the 69 stations of the Nakasendo route that connected Edo to Kyoto and sits at the highest elevation of all stations. Steeped in history, Narai-juku is a nationally designated architectural preservation site with a grant system in place for renovations. But people aren’t exactly lining up to live here.
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Ryukyu glass is a type of handmade glass craft distinct to the island of Okinawa, part of the Ryukyu island chain in Japan. It’s said to have originated around the time of the Meiji Era (late 1860s) but took on a unique turn after World War II.
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One of the most appealing aspects of Ukiyo-e, at least for me, is that many of them depict actual locations. In particular, Utagawa Hiroshige was known for his landscapes; the most famous being The Fifty-three Stations of the Tokaido, which was the result of a procession between Edo and Kyoto. Now, an online Open StreetMap called Ukiyo-e Map has plotted over 200 of Hiroshige’s prints on a map of Japan so you can pin down the exact location they depicted several hundred years ago.
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