There are certain things you know you’ll find on Hollywood Blvd: fresh-off-the-bus dream-seekers, street performers caressing pythons, international tourists keeping the selfie stick market afloat— the list goes on and on. Less expected on Tinseltown’s most famous thoroughfare is a glass storefront within the Ovation Hollywood shopping center that showcases Japanese art, design, gastronomy, innovation, and technology. JAPAN HOUSE Los Angeles might feel a bit out of place, but its mission holds strong amidst Hollywood’s hustle and bustle.
As part of this imperative, JAPAN HOUSE Los Angeles has an on-site gallery space where they host rotating exhibitions that celebrate Japanese culture and highlight creators who embrace Japanese aesthetics. On view now is “DESIGN MUSEUM JAPAN | Bridging Design and Life,” which I had the delight of personally touring.
DESIGN MUSEUM JAPAN features six Japanese creators—Tsuyoshi Tane (architect), Tamae Hirokawa (fashion designer), Koichiro Tsujikawa (film director), Tetsuya Mizuguchi (experience architect), Kinya Tagawa (design engineer), and Reiko Sudo (textile designer)—who have each conducted in-depth research into six Japanese design treasures that exemplify the design culture of a specific area of Japan. The show breaks down the back stories of each design and its connection to the region, brought to life with insights from the researchers.
I was particularly intrigued by the research of textile designer Reiko Sudo, who dove into athletic uniform development at a sports manufacturer in Toyama Prefecture in the Hokuriku region. This exhibition section displays the three position-specific jersey designs Team Japan wore at the 2019 Rugby World Cup. The jerseys’ fabric, worn like a membrane, was formed three-dimensionally using heat. It is lightweight, tear-resistant, and dries quickly.
Deeper into the exhibition, I came to Kinya Tagawa’s research, which explores the creative process of product designer Sori Yanagi. Tagawa focused his investigation on Yanagi’s cutlery collection, which the designer fashions from single strands of metal or other materials.
Another standout section for me was film director Koichiro Tsujikawa’s research into spinning tops at the Japan Toy Museum in Himeji, Hyōgo prefecture. As our first contact with design, toys embody design in its most primitive form, and spinning tops, in particular, have the power to attract, elate, and entrance humans
DESIGN MUSEUM JAPAN will run at JAPAN HOUSE Los Angeles through April 14. Entry is free, so you can save your money for the carefully curated gift shop in the front.
Images of the exhibition are courtesy of the author.