I am a graphic & digital designer but my major was English and American literature. I chose “The Great Gatsby” for my graduation thesis by the way.

I am asked by some people that is it possible to be a designer if you didn’t graduate at art or design school? I can say yes if you really want to be, yes you can. I thought it would be better if I studied design at school during my training period, but not I think every experiences are necessary. Go with the flow, and then you will find life is perfect.

Why I think so is reading and understanding literature provided important skills as a designer. At the literature department, I learned about ways of thinking from different perspectives by the steps such as reading books, researching authors, making era verifications, touching on psychology, philosophy, sociology, and write my own interpretation.

I’m good at imaging something basically but I like to read stories thinking from author’s or character’s standpoint, and imaging what “I” think about it objectively. I think it is fun point to read books is there is no correct answer.

And the objective viewpoint is a necessary skill as a designer. Designing something with three viewpoints is important for designer. Specifically, we design taking best balance of these three viewpoints: clients, clients’ clients (messages to whom, people who will receive the message), and the designers.

I often have visited to shrines or temple, read books about Japanese culture and leaning about how to wear Kimono recently because the desire to learn Japanese culture properly became stronger year by year. What I would like to learn about next it Ikebana (Japanese flower arrangement).

You can see Ikebana somewhere cultural places, but I only enjoy it seeing not doing for now because I hesitate to do it… However, I found a experience chance of it at MOA museum of art in Atami.

The venue is very nice which is “this reconstruction is a precious document of the traditional machiya style of house from the Edo period. The Residence contains two tea rooms, one five-and-half-mat size and the other three-mat. The latter “Seisei-an” was named after Korin’s pen name, and the sign for the room was created by Japanese artist Okumura Togyu. The reconstruction was supervised by a great authority on the Sukiya style of architecture Dr Sutemi Horiguchi.”

The reconstruction is here.

“Khadi: The Fabric of India’s Tomorrow” – 1 –
“Khadi: The Fabric of India’s Tomorrow” – 2 –

I have introduced about the exhibition “Khadi: The Fabric of India’s Tomorrow – Homage to Martand Singh -“ at 21_21 DESIGN SIGHT over two times.

Both the content and the ways of exhibition are great, and the words of Mr. Singh (the producer and the curator of this exhibition) caught my heart at most.

There is an infinite number of whites…
White of the jasmine flower,
White of the sea form,
White of the august moon,
White of the conch shell,
White of the clouds that have been emptied of rain.

Handmade Kadhi has different expressions one by one, a beautiful cloth expressing the difference delicately the white. The above his words are very nice which imaged Kadhi with countless white, and I feel so happy to imagine the beauties. Why I was caught my heart is “White”.

I introduced about Kadhi last time, I tell about the producer and curator Martand Singh who conveys the wonderful culture to us.

Kadi was on the verge of survival 20 years ago, Mr. Singh made various activities to rebuild his country’s tradition to the present age. Today, Kadhi is used high-end fashion brands. I learned about it is also important someone who conveys the wonderfulness to people, not only the culture or facts itself.

Mr. Martand Singh

The exhibition of Kadhi is held all over the world. I was very impressed the Swatches + Catalog, it was displayed at the first “KHADI: The Fabric of Freedom” on January 30, 2002, the 54th anniversary of Gandhi’s death. Only one hundred copies of this catalog of 108 (the number of earthy desires) fabric samples were created, they look so beautiful! I thought the sense of Singh’s production was also playing a major role in Kadhi’s reconstruction. Ways of conveying is also important, big learning.

I went to the current exhibition “Khadi: The Fabric of India’s Tomorrow – Homage to Martand Singh -“ at 21_21 DESIGN SIGNT in Roppongi.

Khadi is a type of cotton fabric that is still spun and woven by hand in regions across India. The process is all by hands and the origin dates back to the Indus civilization. They look all different, and warm and beautiful.

It is said that there are spinning wheels called Charkha in each house. There is a famous picture of Mahatma Gandhi with the wheels Charkha, Khadi is a symbol of Indian independence.
* Boycotting imported goods from Britain and wearing traditional Indian cotton clothes, which promotes the independence.

“First Summer” of the 24 seasons has started today. It writes “Summer is up” in Kanji character, you can feel the sings of Summer and the refreshing wind is quite nice season.

And, the 72 micro-seasons are the followings, they say that animals and plants start actively. Exciting season has started!

【First Summer】
New Season – The First Frogs Call
Next Season – The Earth Worms Rise
Latter Season – Bamboo Shoots Appear

Also it is a child day today. There are some designed Koinobori (carp streamers) these days, I’m happy that the traditional culture is taken over by the times.
*The picture is taken at Tokyo Mid Town

*The image is view from the “Atami Villa (Kyu Hyuga Bettei)”

Today is a side story of Bruno Taut “Atami Villa” 1 / Bruno Taut “Atami Villa” 2.

I wrote about the guide when I visited the Atami Villa in the last article, I introduce about wonderful leanings from the guide.

Taut found the Japanese beauties in Katsura Imperial Villa, Ise Shrine and Shirakawago, and he disseminated them to the word by his books. Today’s blog is about why Japanese architectures attract him.

First, the “Unostentatiousness”.
Katsura Imperial Villa is a “Villa” and Ise Shrine is a “Religious Facility”, but they are humble and simple. The colors from nature are modest. On the one hand, Western villas and religious facilities are gorgeous, also they are colorful. They are opposite of Japan. The architectures are modest in Japan and they are gorgeous in the Wet, but how about clothes? Japanese traditional clothes are Kimono, right it is very colorful and gorgeous. The color of the upper class more vividly, more layers and the hairstyle becomes big and gorgeous. The clothes in the West is dress, dresses look modest and colorless, especially in the Middle Ages.

Japanese culture which is gorgeous clothes look best in the modest space, and Western culture which is modest clothes look best in the gorgeous space. I see, both has good balance.

The world is becoming more digital but I still use mail system such as letters or postcards. I go to a post office sometimes and always check design stamps there. There are many kinds of stamps seasonal ones, limited ones, characters, traditional Japanese drawings etc. Also they change the designs often.

It is so fun to see the design in a small space, there are stamps with sheets. Some stamps make one design. I’ve heard that there are only seven stamp designers in Japan!

Design stamps (seals) were sold in Denmark in 1904 first. Einar Holbøll, a Danish postal clerk developed the idea of adding an extra charitable stamp on mailed holiday greetings during Christmas. The money raised to help children who are sick with tuberculosis. Since then, the stamps have been sold during Christmas season every year, and it has also spread from Denmark to Scandinavia, Europe, America, and Asia. Now around 80 countries participate the activity.

I have a conscious desire to wear Kimono once a year, always someone had put my Kimono on because it is hard to wear it by myself. However, I decided to go to school to wear it by myself.

– I would like to wear it beautifully by myself
– I would like to learn about the way of moving
– I would like to learn about itself (history, cultural background, patterns, colors, types etc)

You would be able to wear it if you would like to just “wear” it, but it is not only that. Wearing Kimono also has the side of emotional effects. I was very impressed by my teacher’s spirit of wearing Kimono.

Today is about seasons.

“Trees turn the colors into deep green, and feels like beginning of early summer, how are doing?” It is good season to greet so. I heard that these are Japanese-specific expressions that talking about seasons when you meet someone. Today, I explore a little deeply about the culture that the seasons have been incorporated into their lives.

There are three types of seasons to divide; 4 macro-seasons, 24 seasons and 72 micro-seasons. They are sensitive of changing seasons and take advantage of the wisdoms from nature.