Shapes Of Tokyo

by Johnny Waldman of Spoon & Tamago

Tokyo is a unique city where old and new, past and future, are seamlessly intertwined. One of the threads of consistency is monozukuri: a spirit of craftsmanship that is as alive today as it was hundreds of years ago. Johnny Waldman, founder of Japan-focused design site Spoon & Tamago, guides us through some of his favourite designs in the city.

Food Waste Ware

©Kosuke Araki

For years, Japanese designer Kosuke Araki has been exploring plant-based materials and the techniques for processing them in an attempt to find alternatives to synthetic plastics. In particular, he has focused his exploration on techniques rooted in Japanese culture. This eventually led to a project documenting the food waste we produce on a daily basis, and making a series of tableware from it.

Araki acknowledges that food is a part of life: we eat to survive. But it was the lack of appreciation for our food that led him to create Food Waste Ware in 2013, updating the series with new designs under the name Anima in 2018. The process incorporates urushi (Japanese lacquer) into the tableware, which adds a polished look, but also practical strength.

“Historically, urushi craft has a close relationship with food,” the designer explains on his website, as the natural lacquer had antibacterial properties that made it suitable for serving.

©Kosuke Araki

kosuke-araki.com

Skeleton Cutlery

©Akihiro Yoshida

What happens when you reduce an object to its bare-bones minimum? That was essentially the idea behind a new line of cutlery created by Japanese design office Nendo. “Skeleton” is a line of cutlery that includes four items: a tablespoon, fork, knife and teaspoon. Each has been reduced to the absolute minimum, “limiting the amount of material used whilst still retaining its functionality,” as Nendo explains. The result is an outline almost reminiscent of a skeleton from an X-ray image but, ironically, with renewed functionality. The resulting form actually allows the cutlery to be hooked onto various things like the rim of a cup, or a small display wall hook. The set, which was created for Belgian brand Valerie Objects, actually comes with a dedicated stand and wall hook display.

©Akihiro Yoshida

nendo.jp valerie-objects.com

Amezaiku: The Art of Japanese Lollipops

Amezaiku is the Japanese craft of lollipop-making, which dates back to the 700s when artisans made mouthwatering and artistic lollipops to be presented as gifts. Carrying on the tradition is 29-year-old Shinri Tezuka, the owner of a small shop in the Asakusa district of Tokyo called Ameshin. The store combines a studio and workshop where Tezuka not only fashions his realistic creations, but also holds workshops and demonstrations for the public.

Some of Tezuka’s latest creations include too-goodto-lick lollipops of goldfish, frogs and tadpoles. He makes them only from sugary syrup and starch, as well as organic colouring, so they’re completely edible.

ame-shin.com

Apple Kendama

It is perhaps one of the most famous anecdotes in the history of science: in 1666, a young Isaac Newton is sitting in his garden when an apple falls on his head. In a stroke of brilliant insight, he comes up with a theory of understanding gravitational force. Applying that anecdote to play is artist Yasuhiro Suzuki, who came up with the idea of replacing the ball of a kendama with an apple. And commodified later with forest conservation organization, More Trees.

A kendama is a traditional Japanese toy that dates back to at least the beginning of the 19th century, inspired by a 16th-century European toy called a bilboquet. Inherently relying on gravity, the user pulls the ball upward and tries to land it on one of three cups or a single spike, each varying in difficulty. Ken means sword, and refers to the main body, while dama (or tama) means ball.

mabataki.com more-trees-design.jp

The Omoshiroi Block

The Omoshiroi Block (loosely translated as “fun” or “interesting” block) utilizes laser-cutting technology to create what is, at first, a seemingly normal square cube of paper note cards. But as the note cards get used, an object begins to appear. And you’ll have to exhaust the entire deck of cards to fully excavate the hidden object.

Produced by Japanese company Triad, whose main line of business is producing architectural models, the Omoshiroi Block features various notable architectural sites in Japan like Kyoto’s Kiyomizudera Temple, Tokyo’s Sensoji Temple and Tokyo Tower.

triad-japan.com

A Bicycle Bicycle Stand

Motivated by the chaotic and often ugly way bicycles get parked in Japan, rendering serene environments into heaps of spokes and metal, Japanese industrial designer Yuma Kano created a steel bicycle stand that’s shaped like a bicycle. At 362 millimetres wide and 219 millimetres high (roughly 14 by 8.5 inches), the bicycle-shaped stand can be drilled into the ground, creating an adorable, easy-to-identify parking area.

yumakano.com

Flower Pencils

Japan has a rich appreciation for flowers like sakura (cherry blossoms) and kiku (chrysanthemums), which are practically national symbols. Deeply ingrained in the culture as part of the country’s appreciation of the four seasons, Japan even has a language of flowers, or hanakotoba, that associates different emotions with plants.

Hanairo Enpitsu (literally, flower-colouredpencils) is a set of five pencils that are shaped and coloured like five of Japan’s traditional flowers and leaves: bellflower, evergreen, dandelion, plum and cherry. When sharpened, the shavings mimic the flower petals as they gently fall to the ground.

trinus.jp