“Take heed of the humble; be what you are by birthright; there is no room for arrogance,” wrote Soetsu Yanagi in The Unknown Craftsman, published during Japan’s folk craft movement in the 1920s. According to Yanagi, the craftsman should be anonymous, and his wares produced by hand, inexpensive and used by ordinary people in everyday life. In an age when the stamp of the designer is often the most desired facet of an object, it is refreshing to find that the hallmarks of Japanese design, anonymity and quality, are now enjoying fresh appreciation.
Japanese design has long been admired in Europe and a recent flush of shop openings and design collaborations suggests a growing hunger for traditionally crafted, sustainable objects.
“A new generation of Japanese designers from Tokyo and Kyoto are migrating back to making things in a more traditional manner,” says Sam Hecht, who co-founded the London-based design office Industrial Facility and has designed for Muji, the Japanese lifestyle store, since 2002.