Decorating
Japanordic: An International Love Affair
How can countries that are so far apart geographically be so close when it comes to design? Three experts who straddle the globe reveal how
At first glance, Japan and the Nordic countries are as different as night and day, with no cultural heritage or history to bind them together. But take a closer look, and patterns start to emerge. The Finns’ near-obsession with the sauna and the Japanese love of ritual bathing. The Swedes’ predilection for raw fish in the form of herring, and Japan’s unbeatable sushi. The Norwegians’ striving for the quiet and sanctitude of nature, and Japans’ harmonious gardens.
But the Nordic nation that perhaps has the most active design relationship with Japan is Denmark. Theirs is a trade and cultural exchange that started some 150 years ago and keeps growing stronger. Here, three design insiders – Oki Sato of Nendo, Thomas Lykke of OEO Studio, and Aya Okamura of Ayanomimi – reveal why.
But the Nordic nation that perhaps has the most active design relationship with Japan is Denmark. Theirs is a trade and cultural exchange that started some 150 years ago and keeps growing stronger. Here, three design insiders – Oki Sato of Nendo, Thomas Lykke of OEO Studio, and Aya Okamura of Ayanomimi – reveal why.
This Danish-Japanese melting pot is set to come fully to the boil next year – 150 years after the two countries started trading. “2017 will be the year when we celebrate 150 years of friendship and trade. Japanese and Danish companies are already warming up, as everybody wants to be part of it,” says Aya Okamura, whose company Ayanomimi promotes Danish design in Japan.
As part of the celebrations, Design Museum Denmark in Copenhagen is showing an ambitious and revealing exhibition on display until September 2017 titled Learning From Japan. Curator Mirjam Gelfer-Jørgensen emphasises how the craft connection between the two countries is as strong as ever, and that Japan is likely the most popular destination for Danish craftsmen and designers to visit during their studies.
Tray in teak and formica dishes for serving a Japanese meal on show at the exhibition, by Snorre Stephensen, 1984.
As part of the celebrations, Design Museum Denmark in Copenhagen is showing an ambitious and revealing exhibition on display until September 2017 titled Learning From Japan. Curator Mirjam Gelfer-Jørgensen emphasises how the craft connection between the two countries is as strong as ever, and that Japan is likely the most popular destination for Danish craftsmen and designers to visit during their studies.
Tray in teak and formica dishes for serving a Japanese meal on show at the exhibition, by Snorre Stephensen, 1984.
Poster for a Japanese exhibition in the Zoological garden in Copenhagen, 1902, by Valdemar Andersen.
The cross-pollination shows in the products that come out of the countries. This stool seen at the exhibition is produced by Fredericia Furniture and designed by Hans Sandgren Jakobsen. And would Le Klint have produced its iconic folded lampshades without influences from the Japanese lanterns in rice paper?
Thomas Lykke of OEO Studio in Copenhagen says the Japanordic connection has become trendy in the last few years, but it’s a term he doesn’t like. “Trends tend to pass by, and the Japanese-Danish connection is far beyond that,” Lykke says. “I think it’s actually part of our DNA rather than a trend – it’s based on our love of rituals, humbleness and deep respect, both for craftsmanship and objects themselves.”
OEO Studio has offices in Copenhagen, Kyoto and Tokyo, and works with brand strategy, creative direction and product design in both countries. For Lykke, the secret of Japanese design lies very much in what cannot be expressed. “It’s the unsaid in Japanese design that’s so fantastic, whether in textiles, objects or ceramics,” he says. “It’s the same as with good poetry or good art: the design is everything that can’t be said in words.”
OEO Studio has offices in Copenhagen, Kyoto and Tokyo, and works with brand strategy, creative direction and product design in both countries. For Lykke, the secret of Japanese design lies very much in what cannot be expressed. “It’s the unsaid in Japanese design that’s so fantastic, whether in textiles, objects or ceramics,” he says. “It’s the same as with good poetry or good art: the design is everything that can’t be said in words.”
The team at OEO has created products with craftsmen from Kyoto and is impressed by the skills these artisans possess in a world where mass production is the norm. In 2012, six crafts companies from Kyoto joined with OEO to create the umbrella brand Japan Handmade, which launched at the Maison d’Objet trade show in 2013 and now sells in select retail points. Here we see the Ki-Oke stool in Japanese cypress (Sawara cypress) and in a limited edition of lignified Japanese cedar (Cryptomeria japonica ‘Jindai Sugi’) with a natural 2000-year-old patina. Designed by OEO Studio and crafted by Shuji Nakagawa.
“Some of the companies we work with are 400 years old, and they have kept their skills way better than in Denmark and most other places in Europe. It feels fresh and old at the same time,” Lykke says.
“Some of the companies we work with are 400 years old, and they have kept their skills way better than in Denmark and most other places in Europe. It feels fresh and old at the same time,” Lykke says.
The traditional way of working is not just understood by Lykke and his colleagues, but something they applaud.
“Our business partners and friends in Tokyo ask us how we can work with craftsmen in Kyoto, as they are so closed off or traditionalist. They are honest and authentic, with a deep passion in what they do. Just like us,” Lykke says.
Cups, trays and vases in porcelain with colour glazing carefully selected for every single piece. From the Japan Handmade collection, designed by OEO Studio and crafted by Asahiyaki.
“Our business partners and friends in Tokyo ask us how we can work with craftsmen in Kyoto, as they are so closed off or traditionalist. They are honest and authentic, with a deep passion in what they do. Just like us,” Lykke says.
Cups, trays and vases in porcelain with colour glazing carefully selected for every single piece. From the Japan Handmade collection, designed by OEO Studio and crafted by Asahiyaki.
This sense of finding what’s new in what’s already there is shared by Oki Sato, the founder of design studio Nendo and one of the most prolific Japanese designers in the Nordic countries. Sato has worked with BoConcept, Swedese, David design, Louis Poulsen, Wästberg and Offecct, and was guest of honour at the biggest design fair in Scandinavia, Stockholm Furniture & Light Fair, in 2013.
“A lot of companies are interested in new techniques and materials, but it’s not about finding new things – there’s always something new,” Sato says “I try to look for old things, old techniques that are not used anymore, old materials that can be mixed to create something new and be very competitive in the market as well.”
He also talks about design as a way of connecting an object and people, slowing things down in our hectic lives. “Today, the sheer amount and speed of information has become so complex and unmanageable for us, that one of the most important roles as a designer today is to put things in order, and present them to people in a form that’s easy to understand and familiar to them,” he says.
He also talks about design as a way of connecting an object and people, slowing things down in our hectic lives. “Today, the sheer amount and speed of information has become so complex and unmanageable for us, that one of the most important roles as a designer today is to put things in order, and present them to people in a form that’s easy to understand and familiar to them,” he says.
So now we know what the Danes see in Japanese design, and perhaps have a better idea of why the Scandinavians appreciate the skills and crafts from that country so much. But how about the other way around? Do the Japanese like Danish design and, if so, why?
If anybody knows, it’s Aya Okamura. She was born and grew up in Copenhagen, as her parents moved there to start a design company in the 1970s. And though Okamura has a Japanese passport, she has one foot firmly in each camp. “I think the connection comes from having been forced to make something out of very little,” she says. “Neither of our countries has vast natural resources, so we respect what we have and work with it.”
If anybody knows, it’s Aya Okamura. She was born and grew up in Copenhagen, as her parents moved there to start a design company in the 1970s. And though Okamura has a Japanese passport, she has one foot firmly in each camp. “I think the connection comes from having been forced to make something out of very little,” she says. “Neither of our countries has vast natural resources, so we respect what we have and work with it.”
Having grown up in a house designed by world-renowned architect Arne Jacobsen, where her father grew his JapaDanish design company O&M together with Erik Marquardsen, it was no wonder Okamura decided to continue that legacy. Her company, Ayanomimi, works with textile designer Krestine Kjærholm (daughter of designer and craftsman Poul Kjærholm) in Japan, and launched the rug collection Sæson inspired by the Japanese lifestyle, where there’s a need for small and functional rugs.
“I knew that the Japanese do not use rugs and carpets as we do in Scandinavia. There is simply no tradition of using rugs that measure 140 x 200 centimetres,” Okamura says. “I tried to imagine my grandmother’s house in Japan, and I immediately thought about the entrance rugs.”
“In Japan, you take off your shoes at the entrance, and a typical Japanese house has a step up and a small rug to cover this entrance space. The existing rugs are not designed, but it is a pity since it is the first thing you see when you enter. One piece of Sæson has the dimension 60 x 60 centimetres, and if you use two pieces, it fits perfectly into a typical Japanese entrance. ‘A Danish-design rug for a typical Japanese entrance’ – this idea and way of thinking we felt was a niche. The Danish manufacturer Pure Carpet told me that they had never made such a small piece of rug before.”
She’s also helping to open a shop in Osaka in April this year for Tobias Jacobsen, grandson of Arne Jacobsen. “The vision is to tell the untold stories about Arne Jacobsen and at the same time create new relations for Tobias in Japan,” Okamura says. “Our task is to create and manage new projects that are based on a Danish-Japanese collaboration.”
“When Japanese people buy Danish design, they also buy a bit of the lifestyle,” says Okamura. “They want time at home with the kids, a good work-life balance, to live a sustainable lifestyle, cycle to work… The products create that peaceful feeling in a stressful urban life in Japan.”
“In Japan, you take off your shoes at the entrance, and a typical Japanese house has a step up and a small rug to cover this entrance space. The existing rugs are not designed, but it is a pity since it is the first thing you see when you enter. One piece of Sæson has the dimension 60 x 60 centimetres, and if you use two pieces, it fits perfectly into a typical Japanese entrance. ‘A Danish-design rug for a typical Japanese entrance’ – this idea and way of thinking we felt was a niche. The Danish manufacturer Pure Carpet told me that they had never made such a small piece of rug before.”
She’s also helping to open a shop in Osaka in April this year for Tobias Jacobsen, grandson of Arne Jacobsen. “The vision is to tell the untold stories about Arne Jacobsen and at the same time create new relations for Tobias in Japan,” Okamura says. “Our task is to create and manage new projects that are based on a Danish-Japanese collaboration.”
“When Japanese people buy Danish design, they also buy a bit of the lifestyle,” says Okamura. “They want time at home with the kids, a good work-life balance, to live a sustainable lifestyle, cycle to work… The products create that peaceful feeling in a stressful urban life in Japan.”
“We don’t design for short periods, we want design with purpose and a reason that will be relevant 50 years from now,” says Lykke. “And we are, in our hectic lives, looking for meaningful ways to live, through slowness, craftsmanship and rituals – whether that’s a tea ceremony in Tokyo or a coffee break in Copenhagen.”
Water pitcher, teapot, milk jug and small container in copper and brass from the Japan Handmade Collection. Designed by OEO Studio and crafted by Kaikado.
TELL US
What do you love most about this design style, and have you incorporated any Japanordic pieces in your home? Share your thoughts and photos in the Comments below.
Water pitcher, teapot, milk jug and small container in copper and brass from the Japan Handmade Collection. Designed by OEO Studio and crafted by Kaikado.
TELL US
What do you love most about this design style, and have you incorporated any Japanordic pieces in your home? Share your thoughts and photos in the Comments below.
Poster designed by Swedish Studio Esinam, inspired by Japanese aesthetics and showing the modern version of the Japanordic style.