WA: The Essence of Japanese Design

by Rossella Menegazzo, Stefania Piotti, Kenya Hara

Explore the enduring beauty of Japanese design through some 250 objects, ranging from bento boxes, calligraphy brushes, and Shoji sliding doors to Noguchi’s Akari lamp, the iconic Kikkoman soy sauce bootle, and a modern-day kimono designed by Issey Miyake.

Printed on craft paper and bound in the traditional Japanese style, WA features stunning, full-page illustrations and an introduction by MUJI art director Kenya Hara.

Genres: Design, Art, Japan, Nonfiction, Reference, Art Design, Philosophy

288 pages, Hardcover

First published May 8, 2014

Reviews

[Cindy Pham · Rating 2 out of 5]

I disliked the unnecessarily complicated format of book. The essays are dense and dry without speaking to you like a human, which seems contradictory to the values that Japanese design puts forth. They also constantly reference pictures on other pages, requiring you to flip back and forth, when a simple annotation next to the images they’re talking about would have been more user-friendly. The design choice to have double pages is questionable; I’m not sure if the aesthetic is worth having a much heavier book and empty pages stuck together on the inside. The photos and content themselves are beautiful, but I wouldn’t necessarily credit the work of Japanese designers onto two Italian authors—therefore I’m evaluating this book based on its writing and construction of the book, which is not as intuitive as other design books I’ve read.

[Lorenzo Diaz campos · Rating 5 out of 5]

No me pude resistir a la deliciosa manufactura de este libro en cuanto lo vi, una atinadísima elección que desde la portada misma deja clara la intención. La cultura japonesa, por su milenaria tradición y sobre todo por su extraordinaria continuidad, ofrece un campo fértil al diseño como disciplina artesana. Las autoras hacen su acercamiento al diseño contemporáneo japonés desde la perspectiva histórica, fundamentando en ella su esencia y significado.
Me llamó la atención que en su texto Menegazzo —una de las dos autoras—haga referencia a la crisis actual del diseño japonés, y porque no decirlo de todo su modelo económico, partiendo de una declaración que hiciera Issey Miyake hace más de diez años en el 2003. Claramente coloca como un momento de inflexión el devastador Tsunami de Sendai y los movimientos que de ahí surgieron. Hace especial énfasis en la labor de Toyo Itto y la comunicación de su esfuerzo que se materializó en la pasada Bienal de Arquitectura de Venecia.
A partir de esta reflexión las autoras exploran la manera japonesa (WA) de hacer las cosas. Capítulo por capítulo analizan cinco grupos de materiales estrechamente relacionados con las artes y maestranzas artesanales milenarias de las islas japonesas. En el último capítulo hacen un acercamiento a los “nuevos materiales”. Una profunda investigación pone en evidencia la estrecha relación entre objetos históricos y contemporáneos. La esencia como línea de referencia, el nombre de los creadores siempre en segundo plano.
El libro retrata con fidelidad la situación actual del diseño japonés y deja claro el valioso bagaje con el que cuenta para crearse un futuro extraordinario.

[capt. madness · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's quite good album-like book with different types of Japanese designs grouped by materials. Yet in my opinion descriptions (short, essay-like introductions to each parts) were sometimes quite messy. Best one was by Kenya Hara since it was very much article full of descriptions but also visualisations - pictures so that we could understand what the author of the article is talking about.

Unfortunately for me two Italian authors especially in first two articles were quite picking and choosing what to show us even tho the descriptions of some parts were so long.

I especially remember this one description of tachi vs katana swords. Were we got only one picture of katana (although I'm still not sure if they were right looking at the steel end) but no tachi picture to compare - only a description. Which won't really tell us much if we cannot see it and compare by ourselves.

Having much of photographic memory - jumping through pages to see pictures was a bit annoying as well. I would much rather have a pic next to the description so I don't have to stop my reading to go and search for the picture.

Also it was a first time I've seen binding like this. With a pages that are empty inside. It didn't make quite sense to me since it only made a book much heavier but didn't really make a reading better. Just didn't understand design choice I guess.

[Matt Bertram · Rating 5 out of 5]

The material and construction of this book alone gets a 5 star! Wonderfully tactile and simple. The content is also excellent. Highly recommended if you're interested in such topics!

[Avi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Beautiful photos of Japanese design, and a decent amount of well written (but sometimes obscure unless you’re already familiar with the subject) text.

[Karl · Rating 1 out of 5]

Boring

[Heather · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fun book Dillon got for me about ancient and modern Japanese design trends! Lots of pretty pictures to flip through

[Azabu · Rating 3 out of 5]

The authors distill centuries of the wabi-sabi way of life in this elegantly curated photograph album of everyday items. Defining wa as ‘simple form and the natural material’ combined with craftsmanship, they spotlight over 200 objects by mostly modern artists like Isamu Noguchi who appear “to be looking both back to the past and forward to future developments”. A pithy introduction by art director Kenya Hara of the MUJI chain credits 15th century shogun Ashikaga Yoshimasa as the father of the esthetic of “emptiness”. Six sections sorted by material run the gamut from bamboo to ceramics to plastic to illustrate ‘shogun style.’ In the Textiles section the authors demystify the kimono with a bow to fashion innovator Issey Miyake and his Reality Lab Project Team . Fans of Reiko Sudo, co-founder of NUNO, the industrial design house, will be pleased to find her contribution to sustainable materials prominently mentioned. Although she arrived one hour late to a meeting with my American friend in 2008, I can't resist her jewel box of a shop in the Axis building in Tokyo's Roppongi district. While minimalism may not be everyone’s cup of green tea, it certainly is mine.

[Nathan · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is beautiful. The design is simple and clear, and the tactile feeling of having it in your hands is like no other book I've held. I will pick this book up again and again just because it feels so good to touch. It is great to read a design book that physically embodies what it talks about.

The content is good, but not great. There are beautiful photos of objects, but many books can be said to have that. Each section of the book has a four to six page introduction about objects and some history. In some instances this format feels perfect, giving just enough background information. Other times it feels as though there just wasn't enough to provide insight to the photos that follow.

Even with that criticism of content, I am happy to own this book because of its tactile sensation. The introduction by Kenya Hara is on point with his other writings on the philosophy and larger thoughts on design.

[Ellery · Rating 4 out of 5]

A treasure. This book makes you look at - and appreciate - life, nature, art and design on a whole new level. Fascinating to see the inter connectivity of spiritual and natural elements across such a vast array of design.

[Joris Vermeulen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Het knapste kunstboek van 2014. Elk aspect van dit boek klopt. De binding, het papier. Het esthetisch aspect is aanwezig in elk vormelijk als inhoudelijk kenmerk. I really love It.