+ Tadanori Yokoo

+ takato yamamoto

+ Sudjai Chaiyapan

Sudjai Chaiyapan was born in Bangkok in 1969. He graduated from Silapakorn University, Faculty of Painting, Sculpture and Graphic Art.  His style is often surrealistic and full of symbols. In his earlier work, the artist's focus has been on environmental degradation such as in his series from the late 1990s. In his latest work he focuses on love and relationships. Depictions of bodies surrounded by flowers, such as roses and lotuses, are characteristic of his most recent series.  The flowers represent his emotions and tell tales of the artist’s experiences in his relationships. To enhance the emotional effect, all of them are depicted in a surrealist setting.  A technical signature of his very unique style is that in addition to using a brush, he uses the edge of a cutter to produce very fine lines.   In 1997 Sudjai won the ASEAN Art Awards in Thailand. He has also won prizes from private corporations as well as from international bodies such as the UN (Our World in the Year 2000 - The United Nations Millennium Art Exhibition) for his artwork reflecting on environmental awareness. Sudjai also participated in the Osaka Triennale in Japan in 1996.  

http://www.thavibu.com/thailand/sudjai_chaiyapan/THA1400.htm

+ marching band of japan

+ YenHung Kuo

http://www.flickr.com/photos/yhkuo/

+ chusen Tenugui

Chusen is a traditional japanese dying method and Tenugui is simply ‘a piece of dyed cotton cloth’.


factory workshop , a photo by sillyhancox on Flickr.

+ Hiroko Takahashi is a artist and designer who makes moern kimonos. she works with exceptional craftsmen to achieve uniquely dyed fabric, using an ancient japanese technique called chusen.


Tenugui by HIROCOLEDGE use the traditional dyeing method called “chusen,” where you pour the dye over the fabric.

Hiroko is actively involved in the manufacturing, and she even dyes some of the fabrics herself.
http://pingmag.jp/2008/12/12/hirocoledge/


+ this site illustrates the entire process in a factory in japan

http://spacetothinkdesign.wordpress.com/2010/04/28/the-making-of-‘chusen’-tenugui/

+ ahh japan...

http://inhabitat.com/giant-fruit-shaped-bus-stops-line-streets-in-japan/fruit-bus-stops-japan-ameblo-jp5/?extend=1

+ tokyo of the future

'metabolism - the city of the future' exhibition poster

in tokyo, japan, the mori art museum recently hosted a special talk event between dutch architect and pritzker prize
laureate rem koolhaas of OMA and the museum director nanjo fumio. coinciding with the ongoing exhibition
'metabolism, the city of the future: dreams and visions of reconstruction in postwar and present-day japan', the topic
of discussion addressed the importance and presence of the metabolists within the post world war climate. these individuals
were catalysts to the metabolism movement which was initiated by visionary japanese architects including kurokawa kisho
and kikutake kiyonori. this group which emerged at the time supported rapid economic growth, population increases and
expansions of cities. koolhaas' new publication 'project japan: metabolism talks', released on october 28th, 2011,
analyzes the importance of these individuals through a lens of the architectural scene of today.

faced with difficult decisions in regards to the nation's post-disaster reconstruction efforts, rem referenced specific
works by kurokawa including the 'nakagin capsule tower building', a residential and office tower comprised of modular
units located in tokyo. built in 1972, the structure demonstrates the success and longevity of these construction methods
as it is still in use today without the replacement of any capsules.

http://www.designboom.com/weblog/cat/9/view/17427/rem-koolhaas-project-japan-metabolism-talks.html

+ language lesson from my friend Hayato in tokyo

Kawaii
Kawaii is the quality of cuteness, especially in the context of Japanese culture.[1] The word has been used in Japanese since the 1970s.[2] kawaisa (可愛さ?) (literally, "lovability", "cuteness" or "adorableness"), has become a prominent aspect of Japanese popular culture, entertainment, clothing, food, toys, personal appearance, behavior, and mannerisms.[3] The adjective[4] is kawaii (可愛い?)[5] (literally, "lovable", "cute",[6] or "adorable"[7]).

The words "kawaisa" and "kawaii" have the root word "kawai" which is formed from the kanji "ka" (可), meaning "acceptable", and "ai" (愛), meaning "love". The term kawaii has taken on the secondary meanings of "cool,"[8] "groovy,"[8] "acceptable,"[9] "desirable,"[9] "charming"[10] "non-threatening".[10]



An example in construction work: Temporary guardrail in Narita.
text and pictures from wikipedia

+ Original Tanigami Konan (1879 - 1928)

Japanese Woodblock Print
Montbretia and Scabiosa
Series; Album of Western Plants and Flowers, 1917

Japanese man from the Meiji era

Fruits by Shoiki Aoki

"My interest in fashion stems from the way people express themselves through the clothes they wear. It doesn't matter what kind of clothes individual designers make, what is important are one's thoughts and ability to express them, one's life and its relationship to the environment. when such elements are combined they create a sculpture. this sculpture I call street art"