Butterfly Stool designed by Yanagi Sori　　Photo courtesy of Tendo Mokko

We’ve got two sake glasses designed by Yanagi Sori. They are tiny with long stems (more than 2cm in length). They stand beautifully on the table. I thought that it is a thoughtful design. During summer times, people enjoy drinking Japanese sake on the rocks, and naturally will hold the glasses by the stems. This ensures that the sake does not warm up through contact with the hand. I suddenly understand that these small glasses are proof of Yanagi Sori’s wisdom. The beauty of “yo” (literally meaning function or use), advocated by Yanagi’s father and founder of the Mingei (folk craft) Movement in Japan, Yanagi Muneyoshi, is showcased in these glasses.

The beauty of yo is a catchphrase among Japanese designers and artisans. This year I have interviewed a dozen of pottery makers and asked them what is considered the most essential when they are creating their work. A number of them said that “it has to be easy to use and easy to hold. It has to show the beauty of yo.” For instances, a large teapot has to have a handle that is large enough to fit four fingers to hold it. When the teapot is filled with water, it becomes heavy. A good handle allows you to hold it steadily. When you pour milk from a jug, it’s common that some milk travels down the side of the jug and drops on the table. Therefore, the spout of the jug has to be carefully designed. If the circumference of a mug is too big, hot beverage will be cool down very fast but the mug user can smell the aroma of tea or coffee easier. So the question is how to strike a balance. Before considering whether a product is beautiful or not, craftsmen naturally think about whether it is easy to use and whether it is functional. The aesthetics of shapes and lines are all developed on the basis of functionality. This is the meaning of “the beauty of yo”, a concept advocated by Yanagi Muneyoshi. Today, this concept is entrenched in the Japanese culture and has become “collective conscience” among artists in Japan. Yanagi Sori perhaps was one of those who was strongly influenced by this idea.

Since he was a child, Yanagi had befriended with artists and artisans who upheld the importance of functionality and soul satisfying. He often visited markets together with his father and prominent pottery artist Kawai Kanjiro. They were looking for items that could showcase the beauty of yo and become collections of the Japan Folk Crafts Museum. Yanagi Muneyoshi’s consuming passion for the arts and crafts, his appreciation of everyday ordinary objects, and his forte to discover beauty in them with his pair of sharp yet gentle judging eyes had a lot of impact on his son. When Yanagi became a designer, he introduced the concept of “the beauty of yo” to industrial design.

When Yanagi was still a student, the concept of “industrial design” was not yet known in Japan. The so-called product design in those days refers to bespoke items made by artisans, or any types of objects created out of the needs of daily living, or simply copycat versions of foreign designs. “If a design is not to the service of society, mankind, the masses and daily living, arts have no grounds of existence.” As the age of 23, Yanagi came across this quote when he was reading Le Corbusier’s La Ville Radieuse in the Ueno Library. He found that this is very similar to the aestheticism advocated by his father and the book had many resonances for him. Yanagi started thinking of how to create a quality product while people were affirmative to the use of modern technology. Later on, Yanagi Sori’s design indeed incorporated technology just like how Le Corbusier did, and his design also infused with elements of care to the user.

Ice cream sometimes freezes rock-solid. The handle of the ice cream spoon needs to be longer than usual so as to make it easier to lever the ice cream and the user feels more comfortable to hold it. Usually, the mouth of the saucepan is on the left hand side and it becomes a left hander’s headache. Therefore, Yanagi designed a saucepan with two mouths. He had observed what was missing in our daily life, and amended the models numerous times so as to design a product that is more user-friendly.

In 1957, Yanagi participated in the Salone Internazionale del Mobile together with other Japanese designers like Watanabe Riki. Yanagi showcased a series of white porcelains and his well-known Butterfly Stool. The stool is made of moulded plywood with gentle curving that is reminiscent of a butterfly’s wings. The design was highly acclaimed overseas and put Japanese industrial design in the spotlight.

While so skillful in using industrial technology to produce low-cost yet quality products, Yanagi had been careful when it comes to mass production. During his visit to the United States, he had witnessed that low-quality products were manufactured in large quantity and those products would very soon become unwanted and replaced by some other low-quality products. He felt very sad about this. As an industrial designer, Yanagi saw that it’s the designer’s responsibility to master new technology and create things that can meet the needs of the masses. He had spent years to design the stool because he understood that if flaws were discovered during the manufacturing stage, it would produce massive wastes.

Yanagi’s career in design was extensive. He had designed the Olympic torch holder and highway noise barrier walls. He taught in higher education institutions like Kanazawa College of Art. He also served as the head of the Japan Folk Crafts Museum founded by his father. But this award-winning designer’s dream was not to become famous. “Objects that are created by unknown craftsmen and used extensively are the best objects. My goal is to become an anonymous designer.” Good-valued products that serve people’s needs mean that they are caring. Even Yanagi’s designs were created decades ago, they are never out-of-date.