design Archives - understand-culture

The Hidden Lining

A haura is the lining of a haori, the jacket worn over a kimono. A paper by Ōmori Masao of Kyoto Saga University of Arts describes how splendid designs came to be hidden in it. In the Edo period, sumptuary laws kept people from wearing showy kimono. One of the fashions devised under them was to hide splendid designs in the lining and in the underrobe.

The haura cannot be seen while the jacket is worn. Others see it only when the jacket comes off. The paper calls this the beauty of uramasari, the lining that surpasses the outside.

Under the Lacquer

Making Wajima-nuri, the lacquerware of Wajima in Ishikawa Prefecture, takes about 124 steps, divided among specialized craftspeople.

Before the lacquer, the weak parts of the wooden body, such as the thin rims of bowls and plates, are reinforced with cloth. This is nunokise. The base coat mixes lacquer with ji no ko, a diatomaceous earth that is Wajima’s own. Only then come the middle and top coats and the decoration.

Mirror Polish

Grand Seiko polishes the cases of its watches with zaratsu kenma, Zaratsu polishing. The company explains that the surfaces are polished into a smooth mirror without distortion, and that the edges where flat and angled surfaces meet are made sharp. Its design principles say that each surface should, as a rule, be a mirror, with as little distortion as possible.

A craftsman profiled on Seiko’s site says that an error of a single micron ruins the surface.

Passport Size

In 1989, Sony released the Handycam CCD-TR55. Sony’s history of the Handycam describes it as small and light, pasupōto saizu, passport size, and gives its weight as 790 grams. It won the Good Design Grand Prize of the Ministry of International Trade and Industry.

A Bike for the Trunk

In 1981, Honda launched a car and a minibike at the same time, the City and the Motocompo. The two were developed together. With its handlebar folded, the Motocompo could be loaded into the trunk of the new City.

Straight Cuts

A kimono is cut entirely in straight lines from a single bolt of cloth, a tan. A study from Tokyo Kasei University quotes an older description: one bolt of cloth is used, and all of it is cut straight.

Because the pieces are straight, the seams can be unpicked. A paper in a journal of Otsuma Women’s University notes that this gives wide room for shitatenaoshi, remaking the garment.

Diaclone

From 1980 to 1984, Takara sold Diaclone, a toy series of its own. Takara Tomy calls it the origin of Transformers, the shape-changing robot toys sold around the world. The Transformers toys went on sale in the United States in 1984 and were followed by animation and comics that became great hits.

Nintendo Switch

On March 3, 2017, Nintendo released the Nintendo Switch. It can be played in three ways. Connected to a television, it works like a home console. With the stand on its back raised, its own screen shows the game in places without a television. With the Joy-Con controllers attached to both sides, it is played like a handheld.

Folding Fans and Lanterns

A sensu, a folding fan of paper on a frame of bamboo or wood, is light and small and can be folded into a bag. Its forerunner, the hiōgi, was made of thin plates of hinoki cypress. The oldest surviving hiōgi is said to carry a date of 877.

A chōchin, paper lantern, is made of bamboo strips and washi paper and is made to fold. According to tradition, the prototype of today’s folding lantern appeared in the Tenbun era, around 1532 to 1555.

Super Cub

Honda launched the first Super Cub, the C100, in 1958. In October 2017, Honda announced that worldwide production of the Super Cub series had reached 100 million.

A Honda fact book for a later model speaks of owning the timeless Sūpā Kabu dezain, Super Cub design, and equates it with fuhensei, universality.