There is a myth about the late Sori Yanagi and how he always carried a Le Corbusier book with him while fighting as a Japanese soldier during World War II. To get rid of it, he dug a hole and buried it deep in the ground.
The book may still be there, for all we know, but Japan’s best-known product designer has left behind a legacy far more noteworthy — everyday objects like furniture, kitchen and tableware that have defined the modern Japanese aesthetic.
As a reaction to Japan’s industrialization in the 1920s, Sori’s philosopher-father championed folk craft and the beauty of everyday objects. Sori, born in 1915, adapted this sentiment to contemporary times by using his hands to mould products before tapping into technology to produce them en masse.
Among his famous products is the ethereal Butterfly Stool which mimics the shape of a Shinto shrine gate by using only two moulded plywoods and a brass screw to keep it together. It won the top award at the 11th Milan Triennale in 1957 and is still being reproduced by Vitra, a Swiss furniture company. The stackable Elephant Stool, designed three years earlier, uses plastic which was then a new material.
Yanagi’s body of work is on display at “Beauty born, not made”, a three-week exhibition that also highlights mundane objects like kettles, pots, pans and a kettle that, with the Japanese designer’s touch, look spare and practical, yet highly sophisticated.
“Decorations are inappropriate in machine manufacturing. Tableware should be easy to use and enhance food presentation. If it is decorated with patterns, the eye will become dazzled and distracted from the food,” he writes in The Philosophy of Design, a collection of his essays translated to English for the first time and on sale at the exhibition for $40.
Also on sale, at nearby Kapok Cafe in the National Design Centre building, are a selection of Yanagi’s iconic designs, including the butterfly chair.
‘Beauty Born, Not Made: Sori Yanagi’ runs till May 17 at Lim Hak Tai Gallery (NAFA Campus 1, 80 Bencoolen St). Tue-Sun 11am-7pm. Free.
