Review of Japanese Culture and Society, vol. 28 (2016)

Distributed for Jōsai International Center for the Promotion of Art and Science, Jōsai University

From The City of the Future (1960) in this issue. Kikutake Kiyonori, Marine City, 1971. Drawing with felt-tip pen, 64 cm x 64 cm. Photo by Jean-Claude Planchet. Musee National d’Art Moderne, Centre Georges Pompidou, Paris France. © CNAC/MNAM/Dist.RMN-Grand Palais/Art Resource, NY. Courtesy of Kikutake Architects.

The Review of Japanese Culture and Society, volume 28 opens with an editors’ introduction:

…“Japanese design” possesses one of the most recognizable profiles, albeit one with multiple personalities. Notions of minimalism, Zen, wabi-sabi, and cute are often ascribed as inherent attributes of Japanese design. This profile operates  across media and disciplines, from graphic design to architecture and interiors, product and furniture design, and fashion and newer industries like interaction or experience design. On the one hand, we hear of “Zen minimalism” associated with architecture, interiors, and the simple lines and matte surfaces of sophisticated product design, and on the other hand, a sort of frenetic hyper-cute sensibility associated with youth culture and digital design.
Design and Society in Modern Japan: An Introduction, by Ignacio Adriasola, Sarah Teasley, and Jilly Traganou

DESIGN AND SOCIETY IN MODERN JAPAN

Japan’s Industrial Arts: Present and Future (1917) (translated by Penny Bailey)
by Yasuda Rokuzō

Industrial Arts and the Development of Japan’s Industry (1932) (translated by Penny Bailey)
by Kunii Kitarō Continue reading “Review of Japanese Culture and Society, vol. 28 (2016)”