Wa is not just another book on Japanese design, but a real feast for the senses. Phenomenally designed, with illustrations printed on cream-colored velvet paper and bound with traditional stitching, this album delights at first sight.
It is divided into 6 chapters, grouped according to the material from which the presented objects are made: wood, metal, ceramics, glass, paper, fabrics and new materials. Each chapter is introduced by an essay which outlines the history and helps place the later-presented objects in wider context.
The album presents over 250 objects not chronologically, but arranged as to best understand how Japanese aesthetics developed. And so, next to a varnished five-story bento box from the 17th century, we will see wooden boxes made more than 300 years later, and a paper fan from the 18th century can be compared with that of the 21st century. Only the presents only new projects, including recycled plastic, aluminum, silicone or acrylic glass.
Among featured artists there are: Shiro Kuramata, Issey Miyake, Isamu Noguchi, Nao Tamura or Sori Yanagi. Kenya Hara himself wrote an introduction to this book, in which he shares his thoughts on what is the essence of Japanese design and style and what distinguishes it from the rest of the world.
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