DESIGN MUSEUM JAPAN |
Bridging Design and Life

Japan’s unique lifestyle and culture have evolved over ten thousand years, being nurtured and refined since the Jōmon period (13,000 – 300 BCE). Highlighting this evolution, the exhibition, “DESIGN MUSEUM JAPAN | Bridging Design and Life,” showcases six of Japan’s top creators selected to research uniquely Japanese “design treasures,” which exemplify the design culture of a specific area of Japan. The exhibition presents these designs, often a result of community-based design, their background stories and their connection to the region, along with perspectives from the creators who compiled the research.

“DESIGN MUSEUM JAPAN | Bridging Design and Life,” is on view at JAPAN HOUSE Los Angeles from January 26, to April 14, 2024. The six internationally renowned Japanese creators – Tamae Hirokawa, Tetsuya Mizuguchi, Reiko Sudo, Kinya Tagawa, Tsuyoshi Tane, and Koichiro Tsujikawa, come from various areas of design practice, from product design to film and video production, from fashion and textile creation to video game design and architecture. They have investigated the creative aesthetics unique to the diverse regions and localities of Japan. Each creator has packed the examples they have gathered from one of Japan’s prefectures along with their histories and supporting artifacts into a “traveling design museum” showcasing Japanese creativity.

Welcome Video

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Kyoko Kuramori, Senior Producer of the Arts and Culture, Content Production Development Section of NHK Educational Corporation, shares some insights about the DESIGN MUSEUM JAPAN exhibition.

Explore the Exhibition

The exhibition dedicates a series of display cubes to each investigation, in and around which the creators showcase the specific “design treasure” from their chosen region. Presentations include stunning videos documenting each creator’s research process, produced especially by NHK (The Japan Broadcasting Corporation) Japan’s prolific International EMMY® winning public media broadcaster. Visitors will also be introduced to the incredible creators themselves and their own design practices. An interactive “workshop” section invites visitors to share their answers to the question “What does Design mean to you?” on a gallery wall and to contribute examples of their unique cultures and daily life that can be considered “design treasures.” Guests are also encouraged to mark sites of interesting design they have found across the country on an expansive “design map” of the US.

Organized by NHK, Japan’s only public media broadcaster, together with NHK Promotions and NHK Educational, the exhibition is part of Japan House’s global touring exhibition program. The exhibition was first shown in Tokyo and at JAPAN HOUSE São Paulo in 2023, arriving at JAPAN HOUSE Los Angeles in January 2024, and will continue to JAPAN HOUSE London.

Meet the Creators

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Exhibition Credits