Sanjo City in Niigata has a history of blacksmithing that dates back to the 17th century. Susceptible to flooding, the farmers of the region were struggling to make a living until a local magistrate went to Edo and convinced a number of blacksmiths to come and teach the farmers to make nails as a source of income. This decision led to the flourishing of an entire industry that still remains today. One of those blacksmith companies carrying on the legacy is Kondo Seisakusho.
OK ya’ll trivia time. Ramen (ラーメン): we all love it, right? Ultimate comfort food, late-night snack, hangover cure, etc. It’s become one of Japan’s most popular culinary exports.
Some know that men (麺) means noodle. But, have you ever wondered what Ra means?
artist Kotatsu Iwata’s series of works, “Coney Island Project”
For artists living in New York, Brooklyn’s Coney Island offers endless visual inspiration. The Italian-born futurist Joseph Stella was dazzled by its electric lights and intoxicating revolving machines. The American painter Paul Cadmus held a more satirical view, poking fun at the crowds of beachgoers by painting their bulging bodies and uncouth behavior in exaggerated form. For New York-based Japanese artist Kotatsu Iwata, Coney Island is depicted in a much more low-key yet equally arresting fashion.
Have you ever wanted to crawl inside a warm, freshly-baked loaf of bread and go to sleep? In what is perhaps the greatest thing since sliced bread, Japanese sofa and chair manufacturer Cellutane produces a line of bread-inspired beds that practically guarantee sweet dreams for anyone with a profound passion for pan (that’s Japanese for bread).
For years Japanese designer Kosuke Araki has been exploring plant-based materials and the techniques of processing them, in an attempt to find alternatives to synthetic plastics. In particular, he has focused his exploration on techniques rooted in Japanese culture. This eventually led to a project documenting the food waste we produce on a daily basis, and making a series of tableware from it.
Amazon Fashion’s new Tokyo photo studio | all photos by Daici Ano
Amazon’s foray into the fashion industry began way back in 2002 but in recent years it seems the behemoth online retailer has been getting more serious about apparel. It’s made several acquisitions but the big delta for the company will be ramping up its private label offerings and shaping its image into one that is more cool and trendy. Part of that strategy is better photography and better video. To that end, Amazon tapped Torafu Architects to create what is being called the company’s largest photo studio in the world.
all photos by Benjamin Beech
Over the weekend the annual Sanja Matsuri took place in Tokyo. Sanja (三社) literally means 3 shrines, and the 3-day festival is a celebration of the 3 men who founded Senso-ji temple in Tokyo in 645 AD. The celebration is known as one of the wildest and largest in Japan as parades and spectators crowd the streets of Asakusa. This year, Tokyo-based photographer Benjamin Beech was on the scene and captured these intimate portraits of some of the participants.
“An Idea is like a glass of milk,” said Oki Sato recently. “It’s good when it’s fresh.” Sato, who leads the multidisciplinary design studio Nendo, was speaking about his design process and how he manages to come up with fresh and creative ideas while juggling close to 400 projects simultaneously. And while balancing such a hectic schedule, he also found time to recently design a children’s book, in which he imparts his design wisdom in a simple story about a cup.
Explore, play, and wonder at gigantic, fantastical, artworks at Inflatable — a new summer exhibition at the Exploratorium, San Francisco’s iconic museum of art, science, and human perception. Born out of thin air, these dynamic sculptures include otherworldly organisms, a forest of cushiony columns, an inflatable insect-eye room, and more.
Curated by Christopher Jobson, founder and editor-in-chief of Colossal, Inflatable features existing works by Amanda Parer and Pneuhaus, and site-specific installations by Jimmy Kuehnle, Shih Chieh Huang, and Jason Hackenwerth.
Museumgoers will be able to enter an inflatable multi-lensed camera obscura that feels like stepping into the compound eye of an insect. Massive crouching inflatable humanoids will fill the building from floor to ceiling, making the West Gallery feel at times like a dollhouse. And visitors will feel they’ve entered a microscopic biological world thanks to a balloon artwork inspired by organic forms that will be constructed onsite, to deflate almost imperceptibly throughout the summer in a process that gestures toward biological decay.
Entry to Inflatable is included with museum admission.
Rated the #1 Museum in San Francisco on TripAdvisor, the Exploratorium is more than a museum; it’s an ongoing exploration of science, art, and human perception. Visitors of all ages can step inside a tornado, turn upside down in a giant curved mirror, walk on a fog bridge, and explore more than 650 hands-on exhibits. The museum offers all of this plus unique programs, discussions, and events; a café and restaurant; two stores; and more at the Exploratorium’s beautiful San Francisco bayside location on the historic Embarcadero.
Located on the historic Embarcadero between the historic Ferry Building and Pier 39, the Exploratorium provides stunning views of downtown and the San Francisco Bay. The museum is just a short distance from any of these popular San Francisco attractions: Fisherman’s Wharf, the Alcatraz ferries, and Colt Tower.
Learn more at exploratorium.edu/inflatable.
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Depending on where you sit on the Hello Kitty spectrum of kawaii-ness, this new shinkansen is either your high-speed train to heaven or hell. Earlier this year in March, news began to circulate, along with a bit of imagery, that Japan would be rolling out a Hello Kitty shinkansen.
Initially, the concept artwork suggested that Sanrio’s popular cat character, a symbol of Japanese cuteness, would adorn the exterior in pink and white. Now, not only do we have a launch date but also a look inside, which reveals more Hello Kitty cuteness than we could have imagined.
Winners of Japan’s 2027 Packaging Design Awards
Yuka Numata’s Haunting Sculptures of Children, Made from Fishing Line and Beads, Installed at Abandoned Elementary School
Tadao Ando Designed & Donated a Floating Library that Delivers Books to Children
Japanese Aquarium Drops 2026 Version of Flowchart Illustrating Their Penguin Relationships. This Year There’s an English Version.
1.8 million LEGOs used to create map of Japan
