Photo: Google.com

Japanese artist Takashi Murakami was commissioned by Google to produce today’s Google doodle which was put up on their homepage today for the summer solstice.

The multicolored Japanese anime-inspired illustration titled, “The First Day of Summer,” involves flowery bursts around the heads of Murakami’s funky characters shown above.

Murakami’s doodle represents the date of the summer solstice, but the doodle’s title is somewhat misleading – the solstice is not the first day of summer but rather the longest day in summer. Anyhow, Google has done us a big big favor by fulfilling the world’s daily need for Kawaii and glimpses of an acid trip for summer solstice. Thanks!

Also if you live in the southern hemisphere, this very same day could have been the winter solstice. Winter Solstice version below in Murakami’s doodle for Google Brazil.

Photo: Google Brazil


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by kouichi okamoto

SPECS
year : 2011
material : Brass . Iron(brass plating)
size : W500mm x D300mm x H400mm
weight : 1.7kg

Created as an instrument, ‘pendulum sound machine’ subverts a record player’s rotation to make noise with 16 plate-hitting pendulums. the brass-plated pendulums rest on original phonograph record with no grooves, and as the record turns, the pendulums move and hit the plates overhead.
Multiple machines can be used in tandem, creating different tones with plates of various sizes.

Video HERE

More at kyouei-ltd.co.jp/​

While Made with Japan continues Art Drive Japan online charity auction for Tohoku at http://www.artdrivejapan.com , there are other ongoing and upcoming events which we will make efforts to cover here on our news page so stay tuned.  

Futur Culture proudly presents the first edition of the their festival in a private home in Hiroo, Tokyo, from June 13 until June 19.

Futur Cultur is dedicated to show the positive power of art, film, sound, print, fashion and food to a greater audience and will do so with exhibitions, live screen printing, Magazine Library, a mini film festival, Charity Flea Market, a food art project and a special event night - all in a private home. It wants to create a platform for artists, designers, filmmakers and other creative people.

The festival will be dedicated to our Tohoku neighbors who have lost their homes in the aftermath of the March 11 earthquake and the tsunami. All proceeds with be donated to the Tohoku region. Futur Cultur welcome everyone to their home to support Tohoku!

One for all, all for Tohoku.

http://www.futurcultur.com/

(Photo: www.tokyofashion.com)

Lately there have been a lot of exciting news going on for one of our artists, Lactose Intoler-Art. Recently, a Lactose Intoler-Art tote bag design was featured in two different issues of FRUITS magazine. FRUITS is a street fashion magazine based in Japan that captures photographs of unique people on the streets there. The tote bag was worn by Tavuchi, the owner of the famous “Spank!” used clothing shops.

After sending a “Spank!” inspired necklace to Tavuchi, she was happy to walk the streets of Harajuku sporting it, and be photographed by street fashion photographers around Tokyo. Tokyo Fashion (www.tokyofashion.com) was one of the first to take pictures of Tavuchi, and to post it online featuring Tavuchi’s unique style and Lactose Intoler-Art’s new online store.

In the meantime, Lactose Intoler-Art continues to update us with new art and vintage items to his online shops, and is creating new work as well. In fact, this new illustration has never been seen before, and Made With Japan will be the first to show it. The illustration is inspired by recent trends in Tokyo, including high platform shoes, sheer skirts, and the mixing of bold patterns. Lactose Intoler-Art is currently donating work through Art Drive Japan, Made with Japan’s effort to support Japan after the earthquake of 3.11 as well as other various charities. Future plans for the brand is to continue creating new work, and to go back to Tokyo later this year.

Be sure and check out Lactose Intoler-Art’s at the following links.

BLOG: http://lactoseintolerart.blogspot.com
ONLINE STORE: http://lactoseintolerart.bigcartel.com
ETSY SHOP: http://lactoseintolerart.etsy.com

Overview of the Earthquake

• On 3.11.2011 an insurmountable earthquake of magnitude 9.0 hits the northeast shore of Japan.
• The fourth largest earthquake in the world, the largest one yet in Japan.
• The earthquake was followed by a tsunami, hundreds of aftershocks, and a nuclear crisis at hand due to damaged nuclear reactors in Fukushima.
• The death-count and number of people missing exceeds 27,000.
• Damage estimates up to $309 billion, the largest ever caused by a natural disaster.

We would like to express our deepest condolences to those who have been taken by this disaster. We hope that those who survived will be strong enough to carry on with the reconstruction of Japan. In this time of need, we established Art Drive Japan to stand by these people to help restore their well-being and their communities.

What is Art Drive Japan charity art auction?

Art Drive Japan is an online auction of work donated by artists from around the world, joining hands to contribute to the relief and recovery efforts in Japan. By purchasing our creations, you are joining us and many others in our cause.

Art Drive Japan was established to encourage continued support for the earthquake-tsunami victims. The funds raised will help the physical recovery over the coming months and years. In addition, your participation will send a very positive message to the people of Japan, letting them know that the world continues to cheer for them.

100% of the proceeds (final sales minus transaction fees) will be donated to the Japan NGO Earthquake Relief and Recovery Fund administered by JCIE Japan Center for International Exchange (JCIE/USA) to help Japan recover from the catastrophic earthquake that took place on March 11, 2011.

Please visit our Art Drive Japan charity art auction website here. http://www.artdrivejapan.com

If you are interested in donating your artwork to our online auction, details and ways to donate can be found here. http://www.artdrivejapan.com/artist-contact/

ART DRIVE JAPANとは？

Art Drive Japanは、2011年3月11日に日本を襲った未曾有の東北関東大震災で被災された方々を応援しようという、アーティストたちによるオンラインオークションです。私たちの作品をお買い上げいただくことで、被災地の支援につながります。
売り上げは、クレジットカード決済の手数料を除いて、日本国際交流センター（JCIE）が設立した「東日本大震災 NGO支援国際基金」を通じて、全て被災地に義捐金として寄付いたします。

Art Drive Japanの任務

Art Drive Japanの目的は、2011年3月11日に起こった東北関東大震災で被害に遭われた方々のために、義捐金を送ることです。日本の記録では史上最大規模と なるマグニチュード９．０という大地震は、戦後もっとも大きな災害となりました。日本政府やメディアは既に、多数の被災者、また経済への打撃を報告してい ます。今後、日本に住む皆さんが、被災地復興に向けて強い力を発揮できることを祈っています。

未曾有の大災害が起こってしまった今、私たちは被災地の方々を応援するため、”ART DRIVE JAPAN”を立ち上げました。
被災地の生活基盤が再建され、東北地方がこの災害から復興できることを、そして、人々が希望や夢を持ち続けられることを、私たちは願っています。

あなたのご貢献に、心より感謝いたします。

Art Drive Japanのオークションにご興味をお持ちいただいた方は、Art Drive Japanのウェブサイトをご覧になって下さい。http://www.artdrivejapan.com

企画の参加／作品の寄付にご興味をお持ちいただいたアーティストおよびクリエーターの方は、こちらからお問い合わせできます。http://www.artdrivejapan.com/contact-jp/

Hello everyone. Made with Japan continue to hope that all of you and your loved ones are safe as well as hope that the situation in Japan will only get better.

As many of you may have already heard, Made with Japan has been holding a charity t-shirt campaign to help aid in the relief efforts of the earthquake. We thank those of you who donated through us or directly to a charitable organization.

However, we are now working to start and be a part of something greater as we would like to make contributions in the largest way possible. We are currently calling the help of artists, fashion designers, crafts people all around the world to participate in an online charity auction project we named “Art Drive” Japan. We will launch as soon as we have works ready to be auctioned so please standby. I wish that you and your friends will join us.

-Allan (Made with Japan)

“ART DRIVE” Japan is an online auction of works donated by artists who have joined hands in order to contribute to the relief and future recovery efforts of Japan. By purchasing our art, you are working together with the artists to benefit this cause.
100% proceeds aside from transaction fees by paypal will be donated to the Japan Red Cross in order to help Japan recover from the catastrophic earthquake which took place on March 11, 2011.

We have contacted artists to come to the rescue and will open the auction once their artwork is ready. In the meantime please share this information along to those who might be interested. We hope that all of you will reach out to lend a helping hand.
ARTISTS: If you are an artist and would like to get involved, you can start by pledging your artwork to [pledge.artdrive @ gmail.com] or by going here http://www.artdrivejapan.com/artist-contact/. We will consider and review all inquiries to all forms of art including but not limited to fashion, crafts, prints, photography, et cetera.

http://www.artdrivejapan.com

http://www.artdrivejapan.madewithjapan.com

“ART DRIVE” Japanは、3月11日に日本を襲った未曾有の東北関東大震災で被災された方々を応援しようというアーティストたちによるオンラインオークションです。私たちの作品をお買い上げいただくことで、被災地への応援につながります。
売り上げは、クレジットカードの手数料を除いて、被災地への義捐金を募っている日本赤十字を通じて、全て寄付いたします。

アーティストは既に作品作りにとりかかっていますので、間もなくオークションを開始する予定です。一方、このART DRIVEを一人でも多くの方に知っていただくために、ぜひ情報をお伝えいただきたいと思います。みなさんのご 協力をお願いいたします。
アーティストの方：”Art Drive” Japanに興味があるアーティスト、ファッションデザイナー、写真家、限らずクリエーターさんは、http://www.artdrivejapan.com/artist-contact-jp/ にあるフォーム、もしくは[pledge.artdrive @ gmail.com]へメールして下さい。お待ちしております。

http://www.artdrivejapan.com

http://www.artdrivejapan.madewithjapan.com

JAPAN EARTHQUAKE - “GENKIDAMA” Saves the world, please click!
Weekly manga publisher Shueisha teams up with Toriyama Akira, the legendary manga and anime creator behind all-time favorites such as the Dragon Ball series and Dr. Slump Arare posted a Youtube video message to call support for the victims of the earthquake in Japan.

All you have to do is watch the video and money will be donated for the relief effort. Click the link below.

MESSAGE IN ENGLISH

「届け! みんなの元気玉～悟空とアラレの応援メッセージ」
鳥山 明からの応援メッセージが三日前、Youtubeに現れました。震災で被災された方々の応援と募金い繋がります。タイトルは下にあるリンクをクリックして見て下さい。

悟空に力を貸しましょう！最大な元気玉になりますように。

日本語のメッセージ

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UPDATE 3/17/2011:
Made with Japan has been holding a charity t-shirt campaign from this page to help aid in the relief efforts of the earthquake.  The $425.49 raised through this campaign was donated to the American Red Cross. We are ending this campaign and thank those of you who donated through us or directly to a charitable organization.

However, we are now working hard to be a part of something greater because we would like to make contributions in the largest ways possible and extend help for the long-term recovery. We are calling the help of artists, fashion designers, crafts people all around the world to participate in the online charity auction initiative, “Art Drive” Japan. I wish that you and your friends will join us. http://www.artdrivejapan.madewithjapan.com

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Hi everybody. As most of you may know already, the devastating effects of the largest recorded earthquake in recent history of Japan, continues to injure and take the lives of many. There is no doubt that aid is needed right now during the aftermath.

As a way to help, 100% of profits from all sales of Made with Japan hand-printed t-shirts will be contributed to organizations directly involved in the earthquake and tsunami relief effort. I hope that our support will make a difference, as well as raise more awareness that everybody’s contributions even in the smallest amount will make a huge difference collectively. Remember, a million people contributing a mere $1 becomes a million dollars, $2 becomes $2 million.

To make this as simple as possible for you, the t-shirts are priced at $35 including shipping and taxes. The actual shipping costs will vary and we will subtract that amount as well as other costs from the donation . If you wish to make additional contributions, you may do so by clicking the “Additional Donations” button.
All payments are securely processed through PayPal. All major credit cards acccepted.

However please remember, the people in need will benefit more if you donate DIRECTLY to reputable organizations. It’s faster that way, and the money won’t get wasted in costs, transaction fees, and shipping. In all honesty, we urge you to do this rather than donate through Made with Japan. Please comment below to share yours thoughts and what you’ve done to help.

UPDATE: PLEASE BEWARE OF FAKE CHARITIES AND SCAMS ON THE INTERNET
It’s sad but true, there are lurking con artists that will try to capitalize on the goodwill of sincere people like you who are looking to help. The FBI has issued a scam warning for Japanese disaster.

With that said, we encourage that you make donations only to reputable organizations that we know the money will be used for the proposed purpose. If you wish to donate directly, below is a list of trusted relief organizations.

HOW TO SUPPORT JAPAN RELIEF EFFORTS

Make a difference by donating to Japan relief efforts.
You can check which organizations are reliable yourself here. http://charitynavigator.org/

The Red Cross
Accepting donations online and via text messages. To donate $10 to support their relief efforts, simply text REDCROSS to 90999 or visit them

Shelterbox
International Medical Corps
GlobalGiving.org
Convoy of Hope
Salvation Army

Raise awareness (free)
Everybody can help without any cost to you. Please share this page or any other reliable resources to encourage people to help support the 2011 Japan earthquake relief.

If you are part of social networks such as facebook or twitter, or are part of an organization with a mailing list, please share resource pages such as this to raise awareness on how your contacts can help in the effort as well.

HELPFUL SERVICES AND WEBSITES
Please share information here that you find relevant.

Free Interpretation Service
Free telephone service to interpret English, Chinese, Korean available 24 hours a day. Portuguese and Spanish from 9:00 a.m to 8:00 p.m.. this isn’t an emergency information service.

Google Person Finder for 2011 Japan Earthquake
If you are looking for someone in Japan and currently can’t make contact or would like to leave information about someone.
http://japan.person-finder.appspot.com/?lang=en

How to Contact the U.S. Embassy, your family and friends
http://japan.usembassy.gov/e/acs/tacs-warden20110312-03.html
Telephone: 1-202-501-4444 or 1-888-407-4747

Crisis Response
Google providing the information regarding the disaster and damage with realtime updates.
http://www.google.co.jp/intl/en/crisisresponse/japanquake2011.html

NHK TV messaging service
If you want to send a message to someone where all phone lines are down, NHK will broadcast your message on their TV service. The numbers on which to place your message are 03 5452 8800, or 050 3369 9680.

Facebook App to instantly see status update of your friends in Japan
Use this app to see at one glance the latest status update of all of your friends who have their current location set to Japan.
このアプリはFacebook上の居住地を日本国内に設定している友達の最新の近況を一覧表示させます。
http://keito.me/safety/

LIVE NEWS

Live News on Earthquake in Japan (English)
http://www.ustream.tv/channel/nhk-world-tv
http://www.ustream.tv/channel/zerowanx

地震ニュース生中継NHK公式放送。(日本語)
http://www.ustream.tv/channel/nhk-gtv
http://www.ustream.tv/channel/nhk-gtv2 ←iPhone/iPad対応です
I would like to re-emphasize that, our ultimate goal is to maximize aid and minimize casualties. I sincerely urge you to share this and any other organizations for the same cause with your family and friends in your networks. http://bit.ly/eFjK3u

We as citizens of our planet collectively hold the potential to make the impossible possible, or the possible impossible.
The choice is ours and it can all start with the choice you make.

-Made with Japan

Please not that we will be shipping these items only once a week so please be patient while your order is being processed. If you have any questions or concerns, please contact us.
All sizes are mens but smaller and more fitted than your average mens t-shirts. All sales are final.

TOKYO TOWER PSYCHEDEPIC

NETA SHARI

JAPAN MAP

NOTES FROM SAKURA

FUJI TAKA

NHK News In English

NHK WORLD TV is an English language 24-hour international news and information channel.
News script now on http://www.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/

NHK公式放送

NHK総合テレビの「東北地方太平洋沖地震」関連ニュースをお伝えしています

Tsumori Chisato’s sense of fun and bohemian cuteness in fashion never fails to dazzle the runway. Her 2011 A/W collection made use of an array of colors and patterns from the tunic dresses, knitted leotards, and culottes which appeal to a wide audience of different age groups.

You can see the full Tsumori Chisato 2011 A/W Collection with video on her website.
http://www.tsumorichisato.com

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Arashi Yanagawa, the designer behind John Lawrence Sullivan is not your typical designer. Following in his father’s footsteps, Arashi Yanagawa spent thirteen years in professional boxing before making way into the fashion world. As a reference to his first career, the brand name comes from a pro boxing legend John Lawrence Sullivan (October 15, 1858 – February 2, 1918), the first heavyweight champion in the history of boxing from 1881 to 1892.

The brand’s beginning was humble, starting out in 2003 with Arashi Yanagawa using his fight money to release his first collection of two blazers. Gaining popularity with his Men’s and Women’s lines, John Lawrence Sullivan appeared on the runway for the first time in 2007 at the Tokyo fashion week which was then followed by a flagship store in Nakameguro Tokyo.

Sleek silhouettes and fine tailoring using refined fabrics, is one obvious way to describe the qualities of John Lawrence Sullivan’s collections, but there is no doubt that the designer’s strong will and enthusiasm towards fashion adds a whole new dimension to the designs. Dazed Digital asked what his career change was like and if boxing still influences him:

“I never went to fashion school, it was very hard at the beginning but my friends understood my enthusiasm in fashion and supported me, so I’ve learnt by them so many things.”

“It’s natural that I am influenced by boxing”, “because I practiced boxing for so many years. The most important and biggest influence is the spirit to keep challenging myself.” - Arashi Yanagawa

Arashi Yanagawa is already a huge inspiration to many young fashion designers in Japan getting ready to break ground to a new era of  Japanese fashion. His existence is especially encouraging to the new generation of Japanese designers who like him do not have formal degrees in fashion design.

With their 2010-11 F/W collection, John Lawrence Sullivan bid farewell to Tokyo to set ground in Paris. They made their runway debut with F/W 2011 Men’s collection at the Paris Fashion Week.

For more information on their full collection, please visit the official John Lawrence Sullivan website at http://www.john-lawrence-sullivan.com/

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Photo: Monica Feudi / Feudiguaineri.com

Some of the highlights from Yohji Yamamoto’s 2011 A/W collection were the flower and feather prints on black mesh, sheer woven tops, red coats, and hoop skirts. The visible cage under the skirts added a unique flavor to the overall punk theme styled with Dr. Martens and colorful cotton candy hair!

Let me guess what you’re thinking right now about the hair. It  kind of remind you of those rainbow hair russ troll dolls doesn’t it?

Yohji Yamamoto was heard saying backstage after his 2011 A/W show addressing the youth of today, “I felt, in this moment, we need flower power,” he said. “But at the same time, we need young people’s anger.”

I totally agree with him if he means that anger can be a much stronger and propulsive emotion than “flower power.” In the context of Yohji Yamamoto, anger is what may have fueled his accomplishments in creating beautiful and revolutionary fashion.

You can see the full Yohji Yamamoto 2011 A/W Collection and review written by Meenal Mistry on Style.com

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Tebori is a traditional method of hand tattooing which arose in the late 18th and early 19th century in Japan. The word Tebori comes from the word “te” meaning “hand” and “hori”, meaning “to carve or sculpt.” The shaft of the tebori tool rests on the thumb of the left hand and the needles are inserted by forward movement of the right arm. Unlike many other forms of hand-tattooing in Asia such as tatau or moko, no assistants are required for tebori.

Hori-Hiro has been continuing this tradition for over 20 years since becoming a tattoo artist. Before tattooing, Hori-Hiro worked as a motorbike mechanic. He now runs a small tattoo studio in Fukushima, a rural part of Japan approximately 2 hours up north from Tokyo by train. Hiro uses both the Japanese tebori technique as well as the western-style machine. However, he prefers the traditional Japanese style, and continues in order to keep this tradition alive. It is said that with tebori, the artist is able to create subtle gradations of tone that are difficult to achieve with a machine. Tebori takes much longer to perform and requires the hori-shi (tattoo artist) to be experienced in this technique, but the results are amazing.

This video shot by Marc Pinto and directed by Steven Guzman for Primitive Tatto, shows the tebori technique and some of Hori-Hiro’s work.

You can also check out his website for more info.
1F 5-13-7 Saikon Koriyama Fukushima 963-8862 Japan
Tel: 024-991-8558［10:00〜19:00］
http://www.hori-hiro-japan.com

入墨には機械彫りと手彫りがありますが、日本伝統の手彫りを好み、彫り氏として２０年続けているHori-Hiro氏のビデオです。兎に角、かっこいい！！福島にスタジオがあります。

〒963-8862
福島県郡山市菜根5-13-7　1F
Tel: 024-991-8558［10:00〜19:00］
http://www.hori-hiro-japan.com

Video shot by Marc Pinto for Primitive Tattoo in Perth AUS & Singapore.
Directed and Edited by Steven Guzman.

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Industry Films and Citizen Jones created Tokyo Glow, the journey of a man who comes to life from a street signal to take a walk around the night of Tokyo.

“Written and directed by Jonathan Bensimon and produced by Jonas Bell Pasht, Tokyo/Glow follows the nighttime journey of an illuminated man from a crosswalk sign as he embarks on an adventure through the streets of Tokyo. Shot on location throughout Tokyo using thousands of individual digital stills… To achieve the striking effect of the illuminated man, an original light suit was constructed using hundreds of feet of high-voltage LED rope lights and a translucent nylon outer shell. ”

The video is in high-definition, please enjoy in full screen.

Source: http://tokyoglow.com/

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RECONSTRUCTION CHADELIER
Specification
year : 2011
material : gilded steel (24k) . gilded steel wire(24k)
size : W600mm x D600mm x H330mm
weight : 4kg

Kyouei Design reveals their first work to come out of 2011, the “Reconstruction Chandelier.” This Chandelier is made from 12 industrial clip lamps which were welded together, then gilded for finishing. As you will see in one of the pictures below, the original clip lamps used to create the chandelier was one of the creations we saw in 2010.

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PROFILE
Kyouei Design is a Japanese design company in Shizuoka City, Japan lead by product designer / sound producer Kouichi Okamoto.  They manufacture the products they design including interior, lighting, and various other cleverly designed works.

Kouichi Okamoto was born in 1970 in Shizuoka City, Japan. Under the name “bekkou” Okamoto released the sound source work “Hi Light” from Dutch techno label X-trax in 1997 and other Dutch and British labels since. He began product design work in 2004 and established Kyouei Design company in 2006.

PREVIOUS WORKS
Here are some of my favorite items from Kyouei Design’s works made prior to the reconstruction chandelier. Most are still available for purchase on their website.

Top: “Liquid Bookmark” is made one by one with rubber and when used looks like it is melting.

Bottom: “Endless Rain Record” is a real phonograph record which plays rain sounds and the sound of rain drops forever.

This one is a napkin with a picture of cool art frame on it.  The ones who eat more sloppily are likely to finish off dinner with the more creative art piece in the end.

Balloon Lamp. Simple idea. Great LED mood light. Use it continuously over 100 hours with 2 lithium-coin batteries. (included)

Left: “Topography Plate” Use it as a soup bowl, make it a lake. Use it as a salad dish, becomes a forest. Enjoy the landscape of your food!

Right: This ceramic umbrella pot has a plant pot at the bottom. It utilizes rain water from your umbrella to feed the plant in the pot.

Visit Kyouei Design’s website to see more.
http://www.kyouei-ltd.co.jp

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While I was flipping through the pamphlet for the Tokyo Graphic Passport 2010 exhibition in October, I came across an interesting artist. Her name is Yoriko Yoshida and her concept according to the website is, “Producing Art Works based on the concept of 「艶やか-ADEYAKA」(It means “sensual”) vigorously.-In an attempt to visualize the Asian Culture, mixed with Japaneas culture, Chinese culture and more.” Unfortunately, I couldn’t make her days at the show, but found a lot of amazing work on her website and thought I would share with you.

An amazing feat of Yoriko is her discipline and diligence as an artist, which is evident by looking at the amount of work she has up- an astonishing 1460 works and counting up. Since beginning back in 2007, Yoriko has been updating her website with one artwork every day.　http://workbook.yoriquo.com/

Made with Japan picked up her Asialphabet series, which consists of the roman alphabet drawn out of elements from Japanese culture. So when you’re ready to begin, we will walk you through Yoriko Yoshida’s Asialphabet.

アジアをテーマでイラストレーションを描く、吉田 依子氏による、「アジアルファベット」は日本文化のモチーフをアルファベットに描いたあるプァベットです。彼女はGraphic Passport Exhibition 2010のパンフレットで発見しました。私がGraphic Passportへ行った日はグループが入れ代わっていて、作品実物は見れなかったのが残念でしたが、これがきっかけで、吉田さんのウェブサイト「Yoriko Yoshi Workbook」http://workbook.yoriquo.com/ を伺いました。驚いたのが、企画として2007年から１日１枚、1年365枚アートをサイトに更新し続けている事。この中で発見したのがAsialphabetのシリーズ。日本の伝統といえるアイテムがアルファベットの形に見えるように描いてあって、かわいいです。

A is for Akita - a Japanese dog breed
A is for あきた

B is for Bonsai - Japanese art form using miniature trees grown in containers
B is for ぼんさい

C is for Chanoyu - Japanese tea ceremony
C is for ちゃのゆ

D is for Dashi - Japanese soup stock
D is for だし

E is for Ekiden - Long distance relay race. Originally refered to a post-horse or stagecoach which transmitted communication by stages
E is for えきでん

F is for Futon - Japanese style mattress
F is for ふとん

G is for Geta - Japanese where these clogs/sandals
G is for げた

H is for Haiku - Japanese poetry in three phrases of 5, 7, and 5 moras.
H is for はいく

I is for Ikebana - Japanese art of flower arrangement
I is for いけばな

J is for Judo - Japanese martial art and sport created in 1882 by Dr Kano Jigoro
J is for じゅうどう

K is for Karaoke - Pop song minus vocals to sing along and be  star in front of your friends!
K is for からおけ

L is for Loose socks - Style of baggy socks worn by Japanese high school girls.
L is for るーず・そっくす

M is for Manga - Japanese comic
M is for まんが

N is for Ninja - Masters of espionage, sabotage, infiltration, and assassination.
N is for にんじゃ

O is for Origami - Japanese art of paper folding.
O is for おりがみ

P is for Pachinko - Gaming device that looks like a pinball machine, but for gambling.
P is for ぱちんこ

R is for Rakugo - Japanese verbal entertainment by storytelling.
R is for らくご

S is for Soba - Japanese buckwheat noodles.
S is for そば

T is for Takarazuka - Japanese all-female musical theater group is from Takarazuka, Hyogo Prefecture.
T is for たからずか

U is for Urushi - Lacquer art using toxic sap from urushi trees. Oil from urushi is the oil found in poison ivy that cases a rash.
U is for うるし

V is for Visual-kei - Japanese rock movement. (A mixture of heavy metal, goth, glam rock, and pop) pioneered by groups such as X Japan and Luna Sea)
V is for びじゅあるけい

W is for Waraji - Sandals made from straw rope. Traditionally the standard footwear for Japanese.
W is for わらじ

Y is for Yakitori - Skewered chicken grilled over charcoal.
Y is for やきとり

Z is for Zen - Meditate and get enlightened.
Z is for ぜん

Now I know my abc’s next time won’t you sing with me ♪ (Sorry, no Q or X)

http://workbook.yoriquo.com/

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PLAY COMME des GARÇONS new t-shirts from Summer 2011 collection.  Available in red and black as well as a first release of a gold version. I dare you stare into the PLAY heart logo creature’s eyes.

Another COMME des GARÇONS team-up with Converse for  PLAY COMME des GARÇONS x Jack Purcell double name sneakers with the black PLAY heart logo. Watch carefully for these on the streets as they will be very limited and available near the end of this month, only at select stores including Athens’ Number 3.

Via Number 3

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My next stop was Kojima in Okayama. This town has a rich history of textile manufacturing and has become known to be the “mecca of Japanese denim.” The original denim artisans of Japan who first saw denim during WWII are still alive and doing their thing!

親戚が住んでいる牛窓から、児島に行ってきました。ドライブは結構長かった記憶があるんですが、ドライブしてくれたゆきさんとお話しながらだったので、あっと言うまでした。

I think the car drive from my grandma’s house in Ushimado to Kojima was fairly long. At least an hour for sure, but I don’t remember exactly, because I was busy catching up with Yuki who drove me.

児島に到着！お〜落ち着くいい感じです。

We first stopped by Kapital. Kapital is a brand that originates in Kojima and is famous for their high quality garments most notably their denim wear. They’ve been around since the mid 90’s and have a cult following.

まずは、Kapitalのショップにお邪魔させて頂きました。

Here are some pics from their current lookbook. The Kapital style is a Classic American meets Native American/Gypsie/Hippie. You get the idea.

今期のKapitalのlookbookです。

Looks like this inside the store. I didn’t get a good shot of the building but, it looks like an old Japanese house from the outside. No one would guess it’s a store and we drove past it a couple of times before we realized it’s Kapital!

Kapitalのショップは外から見ると、伝統的な日本の家に見えて、気付かづ何度か通り過ごしてしまいました。店内の雰囲気は全然違う感じのKapital World。

Next off to the headquarters of Japan Blue Group, parent company of Momotaro Jeans to meet VP Mr. Suwaki for an interview. This was the main event for Kojima and I was really excited to be able to hear his story. Mr. Suwaki was extremely nice and he shared a lot of info about his company, the brand, and the history of denim in Japan. This in-depth interview can be read HERE.

次、行ったのが、Japan Blue Groupの本部でした。副社長の洲脇さんをインタビューさせて頂いて、桃太郎ジーンズの情報、会社のフィロソフィー、デニムの歴史など色々教えてくれました。洲脇さん感謝してます！児島がなぜデニムの発祥になったか気になりませんか？インタビューはこちら。

After I was finished with the interview, I browsed around Kojima station. I bought some Daifuku at this popular local store. Daifuku is a Japanese mochi confection with a sweet filling. This store is famous for their strawberry daifuku so I bought a small box to take back to my relatives.

インタビューが終り、洲脇さんにもバイバイした後、児島駅の周りを少しぶらりと。イチゴ大福が人気なお店で、おみやげゲット。

Here we are, at Kojima Jeans Street. A few stores (mainly jeans) are lined up here including the original Momotaro Jeans brand shop and showroom.

ここは、児島ジーンズストリート。ジーンズショップが並ぶ通りで、児島の観光アトラクションでもある。

Lots of stuff to look through! And the staff here was very helpful in explaining what each item was. http://www.japanblue.co.jp/momotaro/

児島ジーンズストリートで一番有名なショップはやはり、Japan Blue Groupのブランド、桃太郎ジーンズ、のショップ兼ショールーム。色んな商品がそろっていました。スタッフもかなりご丁寧に色々説明してくれて、有り難かったです。 http://www.japanblue.co.jp/momotaro/

Here it is! The legendary pair of jeans by Momotaro commanding a $2000 price tag. It’s created using this manual weaving shuttle in the picture above, which is displayed at the store. Too bad I couldn’t stick around for the demonstration. We’ve posted about the creation process of these jeans with a video HERE.

あ。これだ！噂の、18万するスペシャルジーンズ。前に、このジーンズについて、ビデオ付きのポスト書きました。ここです。

Next door to Momotaro Jeans’ showroom was another jeans brand, Dania Japan. They are a much smaller company, but had some cool stuff. This brand looked like they were more focused toward the women’s market. http://www.daniajapan.com/

桃太郎ジーンズの隣りはDANIA JAPAN（ダニアジャパン）というブランドのショップがありました。女性向けのアイテムが多い店でした。http://www.daniajapan.com/

Walking down, Kojima Jeans Street. A lot of cool buildings!

児島ジーンズストリート沿いには、昔のまま立っている家やビルをレノベーションしているとこばかり！なんか良い雰囲気で、良い写真も撮れました。

The kanji here reads, “shizen,” which means nature.

自然がくたびれてますね。

Don’t run into the Phramacy expecting to get your prescription drugs. I can bet my pants, that this store doesn’t sell Omega watches..

このお店、今もOmegaの時計売ってるのかな？？

Some cool jeans art, painted on storefront shutters.

ジーンズをモチーフにされたアートが、シャッターにペイントされてたり。

This store was really cool selling antique furniture, lighting, decor and random vintage whatever. It’s called, Womb.　http://www.womb-brocante.com

ここは驚いた。デニムとはまた違うが、アンティークっぽい雑貨とか品数多くおいてあって、遠慮なく写真をパシャパシャ撮らせて頂きました。Womb（ウーム）というお店です。http://www.womb-brocante.com

Yuki and I are blitzed tired. On our way back home, we drive in to a little cafe and ordered us some food. The egg omelette with tarako (salted fish roe) sauce was delicious! We get back to the house, and surprise, my nephew was waiting for me. This was my first time meeting him!!!!

帰る時間です、あー楽しかった！おなか空いてたので、帰りにカフェで軽く食事を。このタラコオムレツめちゃおいしかったなー。アメリカ人にもタラコオムレツの美味しさ分かってもらいたいとこだが、まー難しそうだな。

家についたら、もう日が沈み始めていた。たっだいま〜、あら初めまして〜〜。僕のかわいい甥っ子が会いに来てくれてました。

←Previous Episode: Part 4

→To Be Continued..

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Brandon from Lactose Intoler-Art, was kind enough to allow Made with Japan present the first showing of his new illustrations. His characters are interpretations of Tokyo street fashion and real people on the streets of Tokyo. This season, they are dressed to stay warm in their unique style!

Lactose Intoler-Art is an artist who uses illustrations as a way to communicate street fashion trends and fashionable people from around the world. Falling in love with the underground street fashion culture of Tokyo, his main focus has become capturing the essence of the scene here. Lactose Intoler-Art accomplishes this through transforming what he interprets into his form of character art, often combining it to real photos from the streets of Tokyo.

You can visit his blog at http://lactoseintolerart.blogspot.com/

Made with Japanの新メンバーでもあるイラストレーター、Lactose Intoler-Artさんの新作をここで初公開させて頂きました。東京のストリートファッションスナップからインスピレーションを受けて描かれているキャラクターは、今期のトレンドと彼の想像を合わせて表現しています。

Lactose Intoler-Artは世界中のストリートファッショントレンドをレポートするテーマの元にイラストを描くアーティストです。東京のアングラストリートファッションに恋をしてから、これが作品のテーマに重視されています。彼のパースペクティブが生み出すキャラクターアートと、東京のスナップ写真を合わすスタイ
ルで表現しています。

You can visit his blog at http://lactoseintolerart.blogspot.com/

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BAPE was founded by Nigo (Tomoaki Nagao) in 1993, starting out as a small shop on a discrete location in one of Tokyo’s Harajuku backstreets. Nigo and Jun Takahashi, of the popular collection brand UNDERCOVER, started out here at a storefront they named Nowhere. They soon parted their ways to take the respective brands solo.

Quickly gaining a cult following, Nigo was able to maintain an underground image for BAPE even after reaching mainstream success and sold his brand to the masses on exclusivity by producing his designs in very limited quantities. Crowds of Bape-heads would wrap around the block to get their hands on a rare BAPE item.

This didn’t last forever though. BAPE’s popularity in Japan faded away as Nigo embarked on an expansion frenzy starting second-lines of BAPE, a cafe, art gallery, hair salon and reaching as far as branding commodity items like condoms. The BAPE logo and signature camouflage print were literally everywhere! These moves were part of Nigo’s vision to make BAPE a “lifestyle brand”, a concept which has been successfully implemented by brands like Ralph Lauren to a more mature audience. For BAPE, the consumers were beginning to feel the water-down effect.

However, the mid 2000’s was a turning point for BAPE as influences of hip-hop culture on Nigo came to the forefront and changed the way BAPE marketed themselves. BAPE was then embraced by American hip hop icons such as Kanye West and Pharrell Williams which took BAPE to another level of international success.

So why the low price on the sale of Nigo’s empire of apes? According to the Wall Street Journal, Nowhere Co. had been suffering huge losses these past few years. “For the fiscal year ended Aug. 31, 2010, its net loss was 119 million yen, slightly better than a loss of 267.4 million yen the previous year. The company had liabilities totaling 1.03 billion yen in the year ended August 31.” (WSJ) The grand total racks up to a debt of ¥2.6 billion, the loan for it which will be guaranteed by I.T..

Nigo has agreed to stay as the creative director of Nowhere for two years, focusing on product design, brand direction and image development. It will be interesting to see what I.T. will do to try and put A BATHING APE in the black again, and even more interesting to see what moves Nigo will make after his two years are up.

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The V&A Museum in London will be hosting Japanese fashion designer, Yohji Yamamoto’s first major solo show in the UK. The show will be an installation-based retrospective, showcasing over 80 women’s and menswear garments which are most representative of his work. The main exhibition space is scheduled to house his creations and a multi-media timeline which reveals Yamamoto’s wider creative output. The exhibition’s core will be housed in Gallery 38 with several satellite installations throughout the V&A and at the Wapping Project.

“The Victoria and Albert Museum presents one of the most influential and enigmatic fashion designers of the last forty years, Yohji Yamamoto. Yamamoto is a visionary designer who has made a vital contribution to fashion, challenging traditional norms of clothing with his avant-garde style. Fabric, he said, ‘is everything’. This deep interest in textiles is at the heart of his approach to design. Yamamoto became internationally renowned in the early eighties for challenging traditional notions of fashion by designing garments that seemed oversized, unfinished, played with ideas of gender or fabrics not normally used in fashionable attire such as felt or neoprene. Other works revealed Yamamoto’s unusual pattern cutting, knowledge of fashion history and sense of humour. His work is characterised by a frequent and skillful use of black, a color which he describes as ‘modest and arrogant at the same time’.” -V&A

Ticket Information

Yohji Yamamoto（山本耀司）のUKでの初メジャーソロエキシビションが、2011年3月12日から7月10日の間、ヴィクトリア&アルバート博物館（V&A Museum)で行われます。インスタレーションの数多いエキシビションの中には、”Yohji Yamamoto” Men’sとWomen’sコレクションから80昨以上、代表作が展示される予定です。UKにいる方は是非お越しになって下さい。

チケット情報

Victoria and Albert Museum
Cromwell Road
London SW7
+44 (0)20 7942 2000
Googlemap

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Via Issey Miyake

It’s February, and Valentine’s Day is right around the corner! If you’re looking for a cute yet practical gift that will put a smile on his face, consider getting a pair of nice socks from Issey Miyake.

From January 20 to February 14, you can purchase a pair of socks by ISSEY MIYAKE (men) packed in a Special Valentine Package. The package design resembles that of a chocolate bar. The socks sorta looks like chocolate too, in my opinion. This offer is available only for men’s socks at Issey Miyake stores in Japan.

Issey, why nothing for the ladies? In Japan, Valentine’s day is typically a day when the ladies buy something for the men. We have what’s called “White Day,” for guys give to the girl. Although it isn’t as celebrated as Valentine’s, maybe he’ll come up with something for white day?

Issey Miyake started this special packaging campaign last year in 2010, and this year he is adding the red and white packaging option. If you look closely, the package says, “0% Cacao.” Mr. Miyake is yet to figure out a way to add cacao to his fabrics.

¥3,150 / each
*avaiable only in Japan.

2010年に始まった、ISSEY MIYAKE (men)のバレンタインフェアが今年も実施されます。2011年1月20日から2011年2月14日の間、ISSEY MIYAKE (men)のソックスを買うと、期間限定のチョコレートに見せかけたラッピングに包んで頂けます。今年は茶色のチョコレートラッピング以外に、赤と白も追加。

中身はソックスでも、チョコも貰った気分になれて、喜びX２のプレゼントです。

¥3,150 / each

ISSEY MIYAKE / AOYAMA ( women / men )
PLEATS PLEASE ISSEY MIYAKE / AOYAMA
PLEATS PLEASE ISSEY MIYAKE / ROPPONGI
HaaT / AOYAMA
me ISSEY MIYAKE / AOYAMA
ISSEY MIYAKE / KOBE
ELTTOB TEP ISSEY MIYAKE
24 ISSEY MIYAKE / SHIBUYA
and all ISSEY MIYAKE ( men ) store in Japan

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Photo Source: Hypebeast
Photography: Junji Hata
Direction and Styling: Yoshiyuki Shimazu

Comme des Garcons Junya Watanabe MAN lookbook featured on recent issue of SENSE magazine in Japan. The collection features a sporty and nautical theme using light colors with an abundant use of horizontal border stripes. Junya has been quoted saying, that was what he felt like wearing this summer. Fair enough!

If you recall, we saw a similar dominance of the stripe motif being used in Junya Watanabe Spring/Summer 2011 Women collection as well. The collection was overall much more feminine when compared to some previous spring collections by Junya and emphasized the lightness of the layering with light fabrics such as nylon and polyester. The Women’s collection runway show was really cool. White-masks-and-neon-wigs if I were to describe in a phrase.

Junya Watanabe Comme des Garcons Women (RTW) Spring Summer 2011 Runway Show

Junya Watanabe Comme des Garcons MAN Spring Summer 2011 Runway Show

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UDF MICKEY MOUSE (ROEN collection) gloss black and matte black tone on tone versions to be released February 2011. From left to right starting at the top, Guitar, Mummy, Pirate, Two-guns, Crown Versions will be available.
http://www.medicomtoy.co.jp/index.html

Roen SHOWROOM
03 5789 6965
メディコム・トイ直営店「1/6計画」
03 3467 7676
Disney© All rights reserved

UDF MICKEY MOUSE (ROEN collection)にグロスブラック×マットブラックのTONE on TONE ver. が2011年2月発売予定。Roen直営点の販売はされない見たいです。

Roen SHOWROOM
03 5789 6965
メディコム・トイ直営店「1/6計画」
03 3467 7676
http://www.medicomtoy.co.jp/index.html
Disney © All rights reserved

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By Nincompoop Capacity / Graphics by Made with Japan

Hashio from Nicompoop Capacity just sent us some pictures from their spring/summer lineup. Nincompoop is a indie street fashion brand based in Tokyo. If you would like to know more about these guys, you can read an interview HERE.

“Our theme from Spring/Summer is “27.” The reasons it’s 27 is because I will be 27 this year.

Also, Kurt Cobain, Jimmy Hendrix, Janice Joplin, Jim Morrison, Shannon Hoon, Jeff Buckley, and  Ozaki Yutaka all left this world at the same age of 27. I’m wondering if something will happen to me this year…. ” -Hashio

Nincompoop Capacityの春夏のテーマは『27』です。理由は単純に今年で27歳だから。

それと、カートコバーン、ジミーヘンドリクス、ジャニス・ジョプリン、ジム・モリソン、シャノン・フーン、ジェフ・バックリィ、尾崎豊が自分と同じ歳で死んでるので、27歳って何かあるのかな・・・って意味で27にしました。

http://www.geocities.jp/nincompoopcapacity/

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From Tokyo, my next destination was Okayama. Okayama Prefecture is rural for the most part especially when compared to Tokyo. More traditions are left untouched and you can also enjoy great views, lots of old architecture,  and farm fields. Lots and lots of farms. Okayama is probably most well known for the Koraku-en park and as the origin of the Momotaro fable (Peach Boy). If you’ve been following Made with Japan, Okayama is also home and origin of Japanese denim. The industry here is the strongest it has ever been thanks to the efforts to preserve traditional high-quality denim making techniques by companies like Japan Blue Group, parent company of Momotaro Jeans. You can read our interview with Momotaro Jeans HERE.

Okayama is a very special place for me because my mom is from here, a small town in Okayama called Ushimado (literally translating into “cow window”). I used to come out here to visit my relatives and I have fond childhood memories helping my grandparents out in the fields (they were super farmers), playing with my cousins, outings to parks, the beach, fishing, sailing, and what not. In this episode, I will share pictures of my grandma’s traditional Japanese house, where a good chunk of my memories in Okayama revolve around.

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At Shinagawa station, I browse around a shop to find me some lunch to bring with me on the Shinkansen (bullet train).

Hmmmm. Lots of choices. The individually wrapped sushi looks enticing but what should I do?

I ended up getting a pork katsu (pork cutlet) bento which I ate right after I got on the train.

I’m home! It’s been two and a half years since the last time I visited so I was really excited to see my relatives! Here’s a nice picture I took with my grandma. See the resemblance?

This is my aunt and my uncle, who is my mom’s older brother. It was dark by the time I arrived and my aunt had prepared me dinner. My cousin bought me a ton of sushi! Good thing I decided not to buy sushi for lunch in Tokyo. My cousin unfortunately left for his home because he had work early the next day. The tomato and potato salad dish was made with vegetables that grandma and aunt grow in their backyard. I eat and hit the futon.

Rise and shine! This is the backyard, but everyone uses this side of the house to enter and exit because it’s the side in front of the road. The dog you see is Ayu. Do you see me? Yes, thank you for remembering me.

My grandfather, before he passed away had this small farm growing a whole bunch of stuff. It used to be covered with a plastic material and used it as a greenhouse during the fall and winter. Looks like it’s not getting much use any longer.

Green!

Gas!

Dining and kitchen area. My grandfather used get drunk and sing karaoke in front of the TV here. He sucked at singing! but I wish I could hear him sing again.

Where we pray to our ancestors here. Let’s go outside. This side is actually the main entrance. When we had visitors come here for special occasions, they came in through here even though it was more convenient to enter through the back entrance. I guess its more courteous that way.

Ah—. Good to be here. This is my aunt, cousin, her old time best friend, and my first niece. Her name is Yuzu!

Whachu lookin’ at foo-. Sorry, I couldn’t help but look at your stubby penis… The sack is quite large though… Creepy Tanuki (Racoon-dog).

Tanuki statues like this (but bigger) are found all over the place in Japan especially at temples and restaurants. It is said they have eight trains of good luck. The eight traits are: a hat to be ready to protect against trouble or bad weather; big eyes to perceive the environment and help make good decisions; a sake bottle that represents virtue; a big tail that provides steadiness and strength until success is achieved; over-sized testicles that symbolize financial luck; a promissory note that represents trust or confidence; a big belly that symbolises bold and calm decisiveness; and a friendly smile.

Hi Yuzu. She is adorable. Reminiscing childhood.

It’s hot but it’s actually fall. Starting to get dark.

I drink beer with my uncle. It’s really dark now.

I must say, the country side does get scary outside at night. I remember always being scared to be out here by myself when I was a child. I step outside for a kimo-dameshi (test of courage).

Hello guys. This is what I was afraid of happening.

Hi Ayu♥ My cousin named her Ayu after the pop singer Hamasaki Ayumi. Ayu is masculine for a female dog, so my cousin wanted at least her name to sound cute and feminine.

Garage area. All my granpa’s tools are still here.

The stars are out and beautiful. Oyasumi. Photography by Made with Japan

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<<Go to previous episode: Part 3

There’s been a lot of news surrounding COMME des GARÇONS and Rei Kawakubo, the brilliant mind behind the high-end fashion lines. So let’s take a look at what this hype is all about. Here we share some news about the new COMME des GARÇONS store in Beijing, rare photos of Rei Kawakubo, interview with COMME des GARÇONS mastermind designer Rei Kawakubo, interview with COMME des GARÇONS International’s President and Rei Kawakubo’s husband Adrian Joffe, (gasps for breath) news about a new store possibly opening in Tokyo, and recent updates on the Dover Street Market store in London.

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I.T Beijing Market: The new Dover Street Market in China

For starters, COMME des GARÇONS and Hong Kong’s fashion retail powerhouse and partner of the brand in Asia, I.T, celebrated the grand opening of the brand a new COMME des GARÇONS shop. Much like the Dover Street Market in London, the new store in Beijing is named I.T Beijing Market.

If you don’t know what the Dover Street Market is, it is a conceptual retail space created by COMME des GARÇONS to house a variety of great fashion brands along with the full range of COMME des GARÇONS lines including PLAY, BLACK, SHIRT, TAO, HOMME PLUS, JUNYA WATANABE, etc.. The concept and direction of Dover Street Market is of course done by Rei Kawakubo herself. The new Beijing store opening is great news because until now, it was impossible to find the full range of COMME des GARÇONS lines in one spot besides Dover Street Market London.

“I want to create a kind of market where various creators from various fields gather together and encounter each other in an ongoing atmosphere of beautiful chaos: the mixing up and coming together of different kindred souls who all share a strong personal vision. We hope to make DSM more and more interesting. I enjoy seeing all the customers coming to DSM dressed in their strong, good looking and individual way. I would like for DSM to be the place where fashion becomes fascinating.” Rei Kawakubo via DSM

However, Beijing Market is a partnership store with I.T so Rei Kuwakubo didn’t get full autonomy and selection of the stores brands and designers. You will find I.T’s staple lines such Nigo’s street wear brand, A Bathing Ape in the basement of the store. It may be wrong to assume, but I doubt Bape was Rei Kuwakubo’s top pick, although Nigo deserves respect in his own right.

You can see more pictures of the I.T Beijing Market here

Rare Pictures of Rei Kawakubo

It is a known fact that Rei Kawakubo doesn’t like her pictures taken, so you won’t find too many of them anywhere. With this in regard considered a rare occasion!

Photo Credit: Hypebeast

Here’s a picture of her while she was in Bejing for the opening of I.T Beijing Market.

Photo Credit: WWD

Another one here. She’s so mysterious and cool.

Interview with Comme des Garçons Rei Kawakubo

Sometimes more important than pictures though are interviews where one can make sense of the beauty and enigma that is Rei Kawakubo. Earlier this month WWD interviewed Rei Kawakubo. From “Rei Kawakubo on the Record”

WWD: What do you think of the way people dress here and their style?

R.K.: When I came here 10 years ago there were no people who would wear Comme des Garçons. I was just in the towns and didn’t go to the places where fashionable people gathered, but now it is much more casual. I used to enjoy seeing people wearing communist workers’ clothes and I don’t see that anymore.

WWD: How has the inspiration for your collections changed over the course of your career?

R.K.: Do you think it’s changed? For me it hasn’t changed at all. The way I approach each collection is exactly the same…the motivation has always been to create something new, something that didn’t exist before. The more experience I have and the more clothes I make, the more difficult it becomes to make something new. Once I’ve made something, I don’t want to do it again, so the breadth of possibility is becoming smaller.

WWD: Everyone is talking about how the Japanese market for retail and luxury goods is just terrible right now. Do you think that will change? Do you think there is a way to get consumers excited again?

R.K.: Now, with fast fashion, the value of creation is diminishing, and very expensive things are not interesting.

WWD: Is there any way out of that situation?

R.K.: I always think that I’d like to do something about the situation…it’s a very profound motivation…but I don’t think it’s something that can really be changed. I’m not powerful enough. There’s a closed-mindedness that prevents movement and change. I always think that I’d like to break that, and I’ve used it [this closed-mindedness] as a theme for collections, but I just can’t seem to break it. I want to wake people up, but I don’t think I succeed in doing this as much as I would like to.

WWD: You mentioned fast fashion. That’s been a huge story and obviously you had your collaboration with H&M. Would you consider doing something like that again?

R.K.: That was a special case. They were making a new store in Japan, so it was just a short, two-week relationship. It wasn’t a big thing, but I thought it was interesting because they asked me to do all the advertising and visuals as well. H&M has a very different way of thinking and a different business model, so it was interesting to see how much of a connection we could make. But in the end I realized that there wasn’t very much in common, so I don’t think I’ll do it again.

WWD: Would you consider selling it or listing it on the stock market?

R.K.: I don’t think there’s anyone who would want to buy it. I do everything on my own, so there are very few people who could do it. Do you think there’s anyone who would buy it? [Joffe interjected half-jokingly with a laugh: “We’re waiting for an offer.”]

WWD: How do you come up with a retail concept? Where do you start?

R.K.: Firstly, I want to make a shop that’s unlike any that already exists. And then, since it’s a business, we have to be able to get back the initial investment, whether it’s ours or whether it’s the partner’s, in as short a time as possible. So I don’t like to use expensive materials. I take care to make costs reasonable. It’s very similar to the way I make clothes. I give myself limits, not only financial limits but I also limit my method of expression, and from within those limits I try to come up with something new and interesting.

WWD: Are there any young designers coming up through the ranks you’re keeping your eye on?

R.K.: There are very few. There are few people who, like us, have the values and the way of thinking to really try hard. They lack discipline. And it’s not just fashion, I think…[young people] get satisfied too easily. They’re not strict enough with themselves. They’re too soft on themselves.

Via WWD

Interview with Comme des Garçons Adrian Joffe

Photo Credit: Louis Lau/Hypebeast

Also at the recent opening, Hypebeast spoke with COMME des GARÇONS International’s President and Rei Kawakubo’s husband Adrian Joffe and discussed the “importance of having a coherent identity, the notion of creation, Kawakubo’s fundamental beliefs and the common misconceptions of COMME des GARÇONS and Rei Kawakubo.” The full interview is here.

From “Adrian Joffe: The Idea of COMME des GARÇONS”

Rei Kawakubo’s first collection “Lace” which debuted in Paris, 1981, marked the end of the French Fashion Syndicate’s influence in the fashion industry and began a new era of radical fashion. Did she achieve this by not referencing the old but by creating the new? Or simply the will to work against the fundamental core of the fashion system, which fashion has to be beautiful?

It’s always been the aim of not doing like everybody else or rather searching to make things that didn’t exist before. She basically founded the company on the premise of creation. You can see it like a tree, the roots won’t change but the branches will keep on growing, therefore the fundamental spirit has always stayed the same. Maybe sometimes, her creation is also a reaction to something, so in a way your second question does place into action. I remember about 13 years ago, she visited New York and she saw a lot of black in the GAP stores on every corner and was very astonished as the combination of fast fashion and black was not something she expected. She used mostly Black in ‘81 when the color wasn’t used at all in high fashion, so she was very shocked and said that after 20 years, suddenly everything turned black and gothic. As a reaction to that, she created her next collection “Bumps”, so in some ways it can be true. Sometimes its the reaction against what she sees, experiences and the feeling of shock or anger which can spark off another collection. So I think it’s a mixture of one and two, it has to be a mixture.

Rei Kawakubo has always challenged fashion norms such as fusing masculine and feminine motifs, introducing the distorted shapes and cuts in her silhouettes – specifically straying away from what constitutes the ideal. Design aside how do these values apply and shaped her identity as a brand?

Rei designs everything of the company. Her values permeate everything that constitutes the brand; The clothes, the shops, the printed matter, the way the clothes look in in the shops, the name cards and the retail strategy, all cannot be separated.

Similar to British artist Rachel Whiteread’s negative space sculptures, Rei Kawakubo’s clothing is not about the object but the space around the object. Does she see this as an easier route into designing or the fact that she wants to explore where other designers have overlooked?

First of all, there’s no easy route into designing. Forty two years ago when she first started, it was maybe easier because she had never done anything before. But as time goes by, the breadth of possibilities narrows and the weight of experience becomes heavy. So it’s more and more difficult to stick with the original concept of creating something new. It’s for her own self and trying to do something that she hadn’t done before. She doesn’t really look at other artists or designers’ work, as she isn’t interested in who it is and why it is. She will look at things and images and be moved or not as the case may be but she won’t analyze or define anything. She purely feels and strives for new grounds all the time because that is what she decided to base the company she founded on. She wants to be satisfied, but she’s never satisfied. This is the trouble for her, as she can never relax and she has to live with the dissatisfaction of her own work all the time, because being satisfied for one second might mean it would not be possible to strive any more.

Please make this come true! Another new Comme des Garçons store?!

Although Rei Kawakubo often dislikes being labeled as a Japanese designer, the fact of the matter is Japan is her home country and everyone knows that. As much as she may be a hero to designers and the like all over the world, she is for certain a hero to the people of Japan. So Made with Japan’s like WTF, where’s the love for us? We want a gigantic COMME des GARÇONS in our neighborhood too. Just when all hope was lost, WWD shares some exciting news!

“Coming at the end of this year will be a seven-story, 32,000-square-foot emporium in Tokyo. To be dubbed Ginza Komatsu Market, it will be operated in partnership with department store operator Komatsu in a building whose facade will bear Kawakubo’s iconoclastic design imprint. The product mix will be half Comme des Garçons brands, the rest invited and curated by Kawakubo in collaboration with Komatsu.” via WWD

Updates to the Dover Street Market in London

Photo Credit: Hypebeast

Often times, a brand will make sacrifices to their original fort while expanding to other countries. But as expected, it looks like this will not be the case for Comme des Garcons. While all of these spectacular expansions to China and now the anticipated Japan store is happening, Dover Street Market in London got a makeover as it introduces a series of new spaces and installations. Amongst the highlights of the decor is a new window installation by Paco Rabanne. In addition, they will be updating its webstore frequently with a strong selection of new goods. Offered at Hypebeast, are more shots of the latest setup from Tachiagari for Spring/Summer 2011 here.

So, how does “Comme des Garçons is going to be busy this year” sound like an understatement to you? We love you Rei Kawakubo and we hope for only the best!

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LACTOSE INTOLER-ART
Lactose Intoler-Art is an artist who uses illustrations as a way to communicate street fashion trends and fashionable people from around the world. Falling in love with the underground street fashion culture of Tokyo, his main focus has become capturing the essence of the scene here. He does this through transforming his interpretations into his form of character art, often combining it to real photos from the streets of Tokyo.

MESSAGE FROM LACTOSE INTOLER-ART
My name is Brandon Reierson, and I am the illustrator of Lactose Intoler-Art. My work is highly inspired by street fashion culture from around the world, and especially Tokyo. I have spent a lot of time in Tokyo with people who are connected very closely with the street fashion scene there, and I am constantly studying the trends and creative aspect of Japanese street fashion.

I joined Made With Japan, because I want to allow more people around the world to become aware of the style and culture of underground street fashion.

My work has been featured by TOPMAN on their online blog, RIDSNAP’s web site, which is one of the most popular Tokyo street fashion web sites on the net so you may have seen my work somewhere. I also designed a tote bag which was featured in FRUiTS magazine.  My dream with my art is to be able to creatively express a somewhat underground aspect of Japanese culture, and to have the kids on the street that I’m so inspired by to someday also enjoy my work.  The amazing aspect of street fashion in Tokyo is that fashion is most often started from the wearer and then to the designers, because it’s about creative personal expression.  I hope to share this culture with the rest of the world, and to add a unique take on Japanese street fashion.

You can visit the Lactose Intoler-art blog here:

http://lactoseintolerart.blogspot.com

MADE WITH JAPANの新メンバー：LACTOSE INTOLER-ART
新メンバー、Lactose Intoler-Artを紹介します。Made with Japanにアメリカ出身のメンバーは初です。Exciting! 世界中のストリートファッショントレンドをレポートするテーマの元にイラストを描くアーティストさんですが、東京のアングラストリートファッションにFall in Loveしてからは、重点が東京のストリートになったそうです。彼のパースペクティブから生まれるキャラクターアートと東京の町中の写真を合成するスタイルで表現しています。

メッセージ：
こんにちわ！「Lactose Intoler-Art」のイラストレーター、ブランドン・ライアーソンと申します。東京のアンダーグランド・ストリートファッションカルチャーと人達が僕にインスピレーションを常に与えてくれています。世界中のストリートファッション・カルチャーに興味があるんですが、東京のクリエイティブなシーンが特に好きで、観察をし続けてます。TOPMANのブログ、RID SNAPのウェブサイト、FRUiTSマガジンなどにフィーチャーされたことがあるので、日本にも僕の作品を見てくれたことある人がいるかもしれません。インスピレーションを与えてくれる人達に僕のアートを楽しんでもらえるのは一つの夢です。

Made with Japanと共に、世界中の人に東京のこのかっこいいスタイルを見てもらいたいです。僕の意見ですが、東京のストリートファッションのすごいとこは、新しいスタイルがデザイナーやブランドからいつも始まるのではなく、どちらかと言うと着る側の個性が原点になってるとこです。このカルチャーを外国の人に見せてあげたいです。

Lactose Intoler-artのブログはこちら:

http://lactoseintolerart.blogspot.com

Made with Japan predicts that one of the largest trends for 2011 will be teaching your dog how to massage.
If anyone out there know the secrets, please drop in a line with some pointers.

犬マッサージ。いいね〜。

Momotaro is the name of a hero from the Japanese folklore “Momotaro Densetsu”, often translated as “Peach Boy” in the western world. This story passed down through many generations originates and takes place in Okayama, Japan.

Made with Japan visited the headquarters of Japan Blue Group, the makers and parents company of Momotaro Jeans. They are located in Kojima, a small town in Okayama considered to be the “mecca of Japanese denim.” The company is now recognized internationally for creating high-quality denim and occasionally going over-the-top. You can watch a video and read a little about their highest end gold-line created using a modified manual shuttle from Kyoto, used to weave kimono silks HERE.

We were fortunate enough to meet and interview Masahiro Suwaki, the Vice-President of Japan Blue Group and the mastermind behind Momotaro Jeans. Many accredit him and his company for reviving the diminishing denim industry in Okayama by employing the original denim and indigo-dye artisans of Japan. Mr. Suwaki goes in depth to share with us the story behind his company, the Momotaro Jeans brand, and the beginning history of denim in Japan.

現在、日本のデニムは世界のジーンズ業界にも高く評価され、今でも勢いよく海外に広がってますが、どうやってここまでこられたんだろう？って思ったことありませんか？

クリエーターを通じて、日本を世界に伝えていくプロジェクト、”Made with Japan”としてこの歴史は紹介したいとずっと思っていました。そこで、それを自分の目と耳で確かめたくて、日本のデニムメッカと呼ばれる岡山に行ってみました。そして児島にある桃太郎ジーンズの親会社である”Japan Blue Group”本部を訪ねさせていただきました。

本部で会ってくれたのがなんと、Japan Blue Groupの副社長兼チーフデザイナーとして活躍する洲脇 將宏（すわき　まさひろ）さんでした。彼が働き始めた頃は、デニムに限らず生産コストを下げるために海外へ外注するビジネスが増えてた時代。だが、Japan Blue Groupは児島のデニム産業を守り、職人のプライドがあるからの質とこだわり勝負にでた。この経験とプライドを持つ人達と共に今も働く洲脇さんに、桃太郎 ジーンズのフィロソフィーとデニムの歴史を語っていただきました。

日本語で読む

日本語で読む（日本語は下の方から始まります）

A: So, will you tell us a little about the history and background of your company and Momotaro Jeans?

S: Well, we started with jeans in Japan. Our company’s foundation is in textile manufacturing. Our textiles have reached different parts of the globe now. For example, in America we sell our denim to Ralph Lauren and many other companies that seek high quality.

A: I saw a section called Rampuya (Ranpuya) on your website. Can you tell me what that’s all about?

S: Rampuya (Ranpuya) is a company we dedicated solely to high quality Aizome, Japanese indigo dying. Our other company called Collect manufactures and sells textiles. And with those two companies combined creates Japan Blue Group. But we started just as Collect.

A: So the company that has been around from a long time ago is Collect, then you created Rampuya, and now you decided to create the denim brand Momotaro Jeans?

S: Yes. Well we’ve only been around for 19 years actually.

A: So it appears you still sell to brands all over the world. How did you start selling to companies overseas?

S: U–m. As you probably know, there was a huge trend for premium jeans around the world right? So we were the first to create the premium denim material. We were creating the fabric and selling it to luxury brands overseas, for example Louis Vuitton, Gucci, and other companies started buying from us. We were actually surprised in the beginning! After that, the vintage boom in Japan helped our company take off further. (The vintage boom in Japan started with people paying hefty prices for real American vintage Levi’s, Lee’s, and Wrangler but gradually evolved into a style where brands began to recreate vintage styles in premium denim material)

A: Wow, that is amazing.

S: However, there are many business-focused companies in Japan that are geared towards copying textile designs and lowering costs. It was difficult to compete only with our artisan dyed and crafted denim so we split the company into two. Collect became dedicated for purely denim manufacturing. And Rampuya was created to allow us to continue the artisan methods and sell to only people that understand or really care.

A: What was your drive to start the Momotaro Jeans denim brand?

S: It is disappointing, but the population of people who truly understand denim are on the decline in Japan. This I feel is especially true for people who like fashion than the “average” person. When we thought about how we can get high-quality denim in their hands, we figured the best way would be to create our own brand and sell to them directly.

A: Does that mean the concept for Momotaro Jeans is simply high-quality denim?

S: That’s exactly correct. We do care about design, but that isn’t our main focus. We simply would like more people to wear and udnerstand high-quality denim.

A: I was in Tokyo before coming to Okayama and I met a few people in the fashion industry. I can only speak for the people I met, but they seemed to respect Momotaro Jeans so I think your concept is reaching the minds of people who like fashion.

A: So what brought you to this company?

S: Kojima is where I grew up and I was just looking for a job. Back then, this was pretty much the only type of work available. To me, I was following the natural flow of a boy in this area.

A: What was Kojima like when Japan Blue Group first started 19 years ago?

S: It’s not like how it is now. The artisan culture was diminishing because denim manufactures began outsourcing to Korea and China where cost was much cheaper. It was right around the time when the economic bubble of Japan burst.

A: Does Japan Blue Group still continue to make everything locally?

S: Yes, everything is Made in Japan and we outsource to various denim makers in the area. All of our manufacturers are the first denim makers in Japan.

A: I’m aware that there are various ways to make denim. For example by using manual shuttles to automated machines. What method or methods do Collect use?

S: We do both manual and by machine. Same for Momotaro Jeans. It all depends on the quality our customers would like and depending on the different lines we have for Momotaro Jeans.

A: I saw two Momotaro Jeans facilities on my way over here. Are they both shops?

S: The one you saw on an average-looking street with rice fields is a shop and also functions as our warehouse. We also manufacture denim there. The other one, on Kojima “Jeans Street” is our original store and showroom.

A: What processes are necessary to create high-quality denim? How do you distinguish from the cheaper quality denim?

S: First and foremost is the cotton. I think of it as the same with ingredients in food. The better the cotton, the better the material. That aside, it’s all about paying attention to detail and taking time to make. As for the machines, the older machines are less efficient but can create denim closer to what is handmade.

A: Does that mean denim loses it’s unique qualities as machines do more of the work?

S: Right. They all become flat like paper and you cannot create unique material that way.

A: You mentioned earlier that Momotaro Jeans does not emphasize design, but who does the designing? Is this all done in-house?

S: Actuallly I do. I design the denim material too.

A: You’re Vice-President and Chief-Designer at the same time? You are very talented!

S: Not at all. (Laughs) Well, I don’t see it as design because we are simply sticking to our philosophy of creating everything high-quality and being transparent about it.

A: Are you also the one who came up with the Momotaro Jeans brand name?

S: That was actually the President. It was sort of a coincidence though. There’s a Momotaro emblem on our flashers we used in the manufacturing process and it was our customers who started calling us Momotaro Jeans. Well and ofcourse because we felt it is most Okayama-like for it to be named Momotaro Jeans, because Okayama is well known for “Momotaro,” the Peach Boy folktale which originates from Okayama.

A: I think the name is cool because it represents Okayama roots very well. There was a time when I was thinking a lot about the name of this project when we started Made with Japan. There are a lot of Japanese that I have met who were embarrassed by the word, “Japan.” So I stuck Japan in the name on purpose with my underlying message that Japanese should be more proud of who they are as people and shouldn’t be afraid to express their identities more openly. What do you think?

S: Well, I think the new generations are changing and I hope it will continue to change for the better. But similarly to the Japanese who hide their Japanese-ness when they go abroad, people from Okayama often hid the fact that they were from Okayamma when they moved out to Tokyo. They didn’t want to be made fun of being from the country-side. I always thought, “Why should we be embarrassed?” This is where we grew up and we a culture to be proud of like the denim industry. So I began openly appealing our Okayama roots in the denim industry.

A: The labels on Momotaro Jeans, doesn’t say Made in Japan, but says Made in Okayama right? Since when have you started this?

S: From the very beginning. I even say that we’re from Okayama when I go overseas too. Today, more and more people in the industry associate more with the name Kojima.

A: I’ve read quite a few articles online written in English where Kojima or Okayama is mentioned.

S: Yeah, it’s gotten to the point where Kojima is a brand name of itself.

A: On that point, is Made in Japan = to Made in Kojima? Do other areas in Japan make denim?

S: There are some, but the majority is in Okayama, especially jeans. It’s because Okayama was first to start making denim in Japan.

A: I did some research on Kojima, and I learned that Kojima started making jeans because of influences from existing  industries for manufacturing Sailing Canvases, school uniforms, and Tabi shoes (Japanese working shoes). Can you tell us more about the history of denim in Okayama?

S: Yes, but if you look even further back in history, Kojima used to have a cotton industry. We used to grow cotton and from this naturally came textile factories. And transportation was not nearly as convenient as it is now. This was during a time when it used to take a whole day to go to Tokyo, and while Japan was rapidly becoming a global leader, Okayama was still rural and behind the time so to speak. However, it was because of this environment that most things stayed the same and became what we are presently.

A: I assume there were many many factories closing shop, outsourcing the work to take advantage of production costs.

S: Yes, but why things remained, is because of the artisan workers’ pride and spirit. It’s been only 50 or 60 years since Japan started making denim, which means that there are still many artisans of Kojima who have been doing this from the beginning. These people that made denim went though it all including the war. The U.S. Army used to drop relief supplies from helicopters wrapped in denim material. This was Okayama’s first contact with denim. They thought, “What is this material? We’ve never seen such a durable material.” Japan didn’t have the technology to make such material or sew such material so we imported denim and sewing machines and began to experiment, with the artisans determined catch up and make even better denim than America. The artisans that manufacture our denim today are these people today and they have pride in their accomplishments.

A: It may have been a natural progression, but do you feel the chain of events is a miracle in a way?

S: It can be said it’s a miracle.

A: Are there shops in the U.S. that carry your jeans right?

S: Not that many right now. Blue in Green in New York is one that does. You know, even though things may not lead to big business right away we don’t really care. We would like people to know about us though.

A: This is a personal question, what are some things you like about Japan?

S: To me, it’s the culture of caring  and paying attention to detail when it comes to making things. I like the spirit of the artisans. It’s not really me, but the people like my seniors and my parents. Even talking about denim, it was because of their will power and aspirations to create the best denim in the world that my led to the continuation of my hometown’s industry in the present. I have just inherited the history and I would like to further develop it. So, it’s not really Japan that I like, but more Okayama. (laughs)

A: Is it possible to make denim that is even better than what you make now?

S: We’re always creating what is possibly the best we can do at all time. But if we say that this is perfection, that’s the end of it. So, we work with that in mind and strive to create even better. But we don’t have strategic plans for the following year or what not. We make progress when we make progress.

A: Then, does your company have goals for next year?

S: Not really. We work hard hoping that next year will be better than this year. That’s just how we’ve lived. This year rather than last year. We are the most happy at the present.

A: Are there any things you dislike about Japan or would like for it to change?

S: The fact that this society tries to undermine people like us.

A: Any closing words or messages?

S: Because of the United States and Japan, the jeans we make exist today so I would like both countries to work harder to create good denim. I am happy that Japanese denim has become highly valued and recognized for the quality. However, I think it would create interesting results if U.S. denim makers come back with something even better or unique. After-all, denim is originally a U.S. creation.

Momotaro Jeans (Japan Blue Group) official website:
http://www.japanblue.co.jp/momotaro/

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日本デニムのサクセスストーリー
MADE WITH JAPANインタビュー： 桃太郎ジーンズ

現在、日本のデニムは世界のジーンズ業界にも高く評価され、今でも勢いよく海外に広がってますが、どうやってここまでこられたんだろう？って思ったことありませんか？

クリエーターを通じて、日本を世界に伝えていくプロジェクト、”Made with Japan”としてこの歴史は紹介したいとずっと思っていました。そこで、それを自分の目と耳で確かめたくて、日本のデニムメッカと呼ばれる岡山に行って みました。そして児島にある桃太郎ジーンズの親会社である”Japan Blue Group”本部を訪ねさせていただきました。

本部で会ってくれたのがなんと、Japan Blue Groupの副社長兼チーフデザイナーとして活躍する洲脇 將宏（すわき　まさひろ）さんでした。彼が働き始めた頃は、デニムに限らず生産コストを下げるために海外へ外注するビジネスが増えてた時代。だが、 Japan Blue Groupは児島のデニム産業を守り、職人としてのプライドを持って、質とこだわりで勝負にでた。この経験とプライドを持つ人達と共に今も働く洲脇さんに、桃太郎 ジーンズのフィロソフィーとデニムの歴史を語っていただきました。

A: まずは桃太郎ジーンズの歴史を教えて頂けますか？

S: ま、日本のジーンズからスタートして。元々うちはテキスタイルのメーカーが土台で。ま、それこそ今テキスタイルは世界的に広がって、アメリカだったらRalph Laurenとかそういうとこにも生地をおろしとる。

A: あのー桃太郎ジーンズのウェブサイトにらんぷ屋ってありましたが、あれはなんですか？

S: ランプ屋は藍染めを中心に作った会社で。もう一つのコレクトって言うのが生地の販売で、その二つを合わせたのがジャパン・ブルー・グループ(Japan Blue Group)。でもコレクトって言うのがスタート。

A: 昔からあったのがコレクトで、染め専門のランプ屋を作って、その次にジーンズのブランドとして出したのが桃太郎ジーンズなんですね。

S: そうですね。ま、でも昔っていってもまだ創業１９年目ですけどね。

A: って言う事は世界の色んなブランドなどに売ってたりもするんですね。どうやって海外の会社に売るようになったんですか？

S: ちょうど世界的にいわゆるプレミアムジーンズと言うのが広がったよな？あれの元々の生地を作ったのがうち。高級なジーンズの素材を作って、海外のラグジュアリーブランドが、例えばVuittonとかGucciが最初使ってくれて。あれ？見たいな感じになって。そのあとビンテージブームで日本でもいいものってことになって。

A: Wow! それは驚きますね！

S: ただ日本ではやっぱり、単なるその物真似をするビジネスライクの会社も多くて。どうしても本質だけの商売は難しくて、で会社を分けました。コレクトは広くやりますよーって。で、らんぷ屋って言うのはこだわって本当にやりたいもんだけをやって。分ってくれる人だけに売るって言う風に会社を二つに分けて。

A: コレクトとらんぷ屋があって、そこでなぜデニムブランドを始めることになったんですか？

S: 悲しいけど、本当に分ってくれる人は日本の国内に非常に少なくなってきてる。ファッションに興味があるような人達には特に少なくて、一般にはまだ多い気はするけれど。どうやって本当に良い生地とデニムを、この人達に届けるかって考えたときに、じゃあやっぱり自分のとこでブランドを作って販売した方が良いんじゃないかって。

A: ってことは、桃太郎ジーンズのブランドとしてのコンセプトは、素材なんですね？

S: そう。本当に良い素材のジーンズを履いて欲しい。デザインでもないんですよね。

A: 岡山へ来る前に東京にいて、ファッションに関わっている人にも話したんですけど、桃太郎ジーンズのこと知ってる人はもちろんいて。中には桃太郎ジーンズをすごく尊敬している方もいましたよ。だから、洲脇さんのメーセージはファッション関係の人達にも伝わって来ているのではないかと思いますよ。

A: 洲脇さんはどうしてJapan Blue Groupに勤めることになったんですか？

S: 地元で、単に就職をしただけ。こういう仕事しかここら辺はなかったから、昔は。

A: 自然の流れでここにきたんですね。Japan Blue Groupが始まった前はこのエリアはどうなってたんですか？

S: 今みたいに本物の物作りってのは当時はもうあんまなかった。すでに中国とか韓国とか、海外生産でコストが下がってきてた時代。ちょうど日本で言うとバブルが弾けた時なんで。

A: 生地を作ってるのもここなんですか？

S: ここの外注で、全てMade in Japanでここからちょっと離れたとこで作ったりしてます。うちのデニムを作ってる旗屋さんは日本で初めてデニムを作った旗屋さん。

A: デニムの作り方ってオートメイションの機械を使うなど、マニュアルのシャトルでもできますが。コレクトはどうやって作っているんですか？

S: 手織りもやっとるし、機械でも。桃太郎ジーンズもどっちも。ラインによって作り方も違うってこと。

A: ここに来る途中に桃太郎ジーンズの建物がありましたが。あれは普通の店舗ですか？

S: ショップだけど、あそこもあの中で生地を織っとる。あと倉庫もありますね。

A: どういうプロセスで、質の高いデニムが作れるんですか？質の悪い物とはどう区別をつけたらいいんですか？

S: まずは食べ物と一緒で材料。良いコットンを使うと。あとは手間ひまをかけて、時間かけてゆっくりと作ると。で当然、機械は昔の物の方が手作りに近い。

A: だんだん機械化されて行くと、同じになっちゃうんでしょうか？

S: うーん。そうそう。機械でやるとどうしても紙みたいになるから個性のある生地は作れない。

A: さっき、デザインでは売りにしてないと仰ってましたが、デザインは誰が？

S: 僕が。生地も僕がデザインしてます。

A: オーー。副社長しながらデザインまでやってるんですね。すごい人なんですね！

S: いやいや。（笑）デザインって言うかいかに嘘つかずにやるか。ちゃんとやるかってことだから。

A: 例えば、今洲脇さんが履いてるジーンズも桃太郎ジーンズですよね？スティッチがピンクだったり、そんなポイントもこだわってるみたいですが。ピンクは桃がピンクだからですか？

S: そうそう。

A: 桃太郎ジーンズのブランド名をつけたのも洲脇さんなんですか？

S: いや、それは社長が。でも付けたというか、生地を織る為のフラッシャーに桃太郎のマークがついてて。そしたらお客さんが桃太郎ジーンズって呼んでくれるようになりだしたから。ま、それともちろん一番岡山らしいからかな。

S: 日本のブランドって日本人だから欧米に対する憧れがあったりして、どうしても横文字のブランド名を付けたがる。でもいざ欧米に行くと、直訳されると．．要はまあ、中国人がいま日本語名でブランドを始めて、日本人が何だこりゃ？ってなるようなことがよくある。やっぱり日本のブランドは日本の名前でだしたら良いんじゃないかと。で、岡山らしさをだすにはこれ以上の名前は無いなと思って。

A: かなり岡山を代表する名前ですよね。かっこいい。僕もMade with Japanを始める前に色々ネーミングを考えてた時期もありまして。そこで結構、僕が今まで会ってきた日本人が「Japan」って言葉を恥ずかしがる人が多かったので。だからわざとプロジェクト名にJapanって入れました、日本人にもっと堂々と日本らしさを出して欲しいって言う意味も込めて。

S: まあ多分、そ今はまた時代が変わってきてて今の若い人達も変わってくるとは思うけど。例えば今、日本人が海外に行った時にどうしてもそれを隠したがるのと同じで、昔は岡山って隠したがっとって、東京に行くと。田舎者って馬鹿にされたく無いから。僕は別に恥ずかしがることないじゃん。ここで生まれたし、岡山にはこんなに素晴らしい背景があって、岡山でしかジーンズ作れないんだから。堂々と岡山ってアピールして良いんじゃない？ってアピールしだして、ジーンズ業界で岡山って全面に出すようになった。

A: Momotaro Jeansは確かラベルにMade in Okayamaって出してますよね？それはいつからなんですか？

S: 最初からそうです。だから海外に行っても岡山って言うし。逆に今児島でデニムを作ってますって言う方が通じるし。

A: ネットでデニムについて記事を探したときも英語サイトで「Made in Kojima」って頻繁に言ってましたね～。

S: そうそう。逆に児島ってのがブランドになってしまうぐらいで。

A: それに関して、Made in Japan = Made in Kojimaなんですか？国内で他の土地でも作っているんですか？

S: まーあるけど、でもほぼ岡山が多いかなー。ジーンズに限っては。元々日本でジーンズを作りだしたのが岡山だから。

A: 少し児島のことをリサーチしてきたんですけど、児島がジーンズを作り始めたきっかけは、昔から帆布とか学生服とか足袋の産業がこの辺にあった影響も大きいんですよね？

S: そう。もっと昔をいうと、地域的にここは綿産業があって。コットンの栽培をしとって昔は。そういう流れがあって、で、コットンを栽培しとたっから、自然織物工場があって。

S: それで昔は交通がまだ発達してなくて。東京に行くのに一日かかったりしとった時代にどんどんどんどん産業が発展してきてて。でグローバル化して行く日本の中で、岡山って言うのは田舎だから、用は時代おくれだった。まんまが残っていてくれたから、いまだに残ってる。

A: そうですよねー。実際テキスタイル関係の会社はコストを下げるために海外へ外注して、国内の工場は閉鎖していましたからね。

S: なぜ残ったかって言うと、職人の意地というか誇りというか、それはまだ日本でデニムが生まれてまだ50年、60年しか経ってないわけで。そうすると、その時を知ってる人達がまだおるから。その人達がデニムを作った時に戦争で日本がアメリカに負けて、で日本でデニムを作り出したきっかけは、アメリカの救援物資をヘリコプターからジーンズで包んで空から来たから。それを見たこの辺の人達は、「なんだこれ？！見たことない、こんな丈夫な生地」っていうことで目覚めた。最初はアメリカのジーンズは日本では生地が作れんし縫製もできんし。だから追いつけ追い越せで徹底的に研究して、最初は生地とかミシンを輸入して、研究して。結局アメリカよりもっと良い物を作ってやろう、が日本のジーンズの始まりで、その課程を知ってる人はやっぱプライドがあるから。

A: そういう人がこの辺には今でもいらっしゃるんですね。なんか自然的な流れなのかもしれないですけど、奇跡的な流れでもありますね。

S: 奇跡と言えば奇跡。

A: 海外には桃太郎ジーンズを扱っているお店は結構あるんですか？

S: まだあまりないですね。ジーンズ業界の中で一番有名なのはニューヨークのBlue in Greenかな。別にすぐにビジネスにならんでもいいと思ってるけど、知ってもらいたいってのはある。

A: 個人的な質問になってくるんですけど、日本のいいなと思うところはどこですか？

S: やっぱり物作りに対してのこだわり、職人魂が好きかな。自分が、というよりも、代々の自分の親とか地域の先輩。例えばデニムに限って言ってもアメリカのデニムを見て、感動して、それに追いつく物を作りたいう魂があって、この地域の産業が今に繋がっているから。僕はそれを受け継いで、さらに発展させて行きたい気持ちを持ってるし。だから日本がというより、岡山が好きなんですよ。

A: 今以上いいデニムは作れるんですか？それとも、もっと追求したいと思ってますか？

S: 今できる最善の物を常に追求はしとるけど。それが完璧って言うてしもうたら終わってしまうから。当然それをまたさらに進化させて行つもりではやっとるけど。計画的に来年はあーしてこーしててって言うもんではなくて、それが出来た時が進化の時だから。

A: 会社として一年後ここにいたいってのはあまりないんですか？

S: あまりないね。今年より来年の方が良ければいいなってだけ。そうやって生きてきたから、去年より今年、今が一番幸せってね。

A: では逆に、日本の変わって欲しいところや嫌なところはどこですか？

S: そういう人間を潰すとこ。

A: そうっすよね。余計難しくしますよね。

A: 最後に、一言メッセージをお願いします。

S: 日本人もアメリカ人も、まーアメリカって言う国があって、日本って国があって。この二つの国があって今のジーンズが存在するわけだからどっちも頑張って欲しい。だからアメリカのジーンズに負けないジーンズを作る日本の職人魂が今こう発展して。で、日本のジーンズが今いいと評価されるのは嬉しい。けど本当はそこで、待てよ、ジーンズは元々俺らの物だぞって、またこうアメリカがきてくれるといいんじゃないかなとは思いますよね。

MADE WITH JAPANをフォロー!

桃太郎ジーンズ、オフィシャルウェブサイト:
http://www.japanblue.co.jp/momotaro/

Made with Japan wishes you a happy and prosperous year 2011. We hope you will wish us the same!

新年明けましておめでとうございます、今年もよろしくお願いいたします！

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Hope you “like us” to support this independently run project.

Naoshi flew over to Los Angeles, California to participate in the Sanrio 50th Anniversary Event “Small Gift LA (11/12/2010 through 11/21/2010.)
The first picture above are of her works commissioned by and made special for Sanrio. This time she chose the queen of Sanrio, Hello Kitty, in her works. All three pieces can be described as cute, shiny, and surreal- a style that Naoshi has become well known for. Despite owning this style, Naoshi does an amazing job of always keeping it fresh.

On the 13th, she instructed her first overseas Sunae painting workshop as part of the Sanrio event. This cute video above which Naoshi and her friends made titled, “How to Make Sunae” walks you through the steps of well,,, how to make sunae! This will give you a basic idea of what you would have learned from Naoshi if you were at the workshop. Try it at home!

“I was a little scared of the outcome because my day started out with me running to the store in tears. I forgot to bring a bunch of supplies I needed for the workshop! I ended up enjoying the workshop though, and being able to see everybody having lots of fun making their own sunae Hello Kitty put a big big smile on my face. I would definitely love to do more sunae workshops in 2011!” -Naoshi

NAOSHI’S WEBSITE

2011年11月12日～11月21日にLos Angelesで開催されたサンリオ50周年記念イベント『Small Gift LA』に参加してきました。

13日は、海外で初となる砂絵ワークショップ。必要な道具を忘れて涙目で買いに行ったり、どうなることかと思いましたが、参加者の方たちがオリジナルキティを楽しそうに作る姿を見て、わたしも笑顔になりました。

来年は、砂絵ワークショップもどんどんやっていこうと思います。

ナオ氏のウェブサイト

Short trip over to Hakone to relax in the onsen hot springs.
Staying at a ryokan inn and soaking in onsen are a popular tourist activity as well as a favorite domestic vacation for many Japanese. Families, friends, couples, co-workers, etc. all go to ryokans which are more often located in rural areas, to get some relaxation time away from their hectic everyday lives. Culturally, we love baths but natural onsen is said to have healing properties from its mineral contents which makes it special.

Instead of going straight to the ryokan,  I decided to do some sightseeing first. Took a walk through a garden.

After enjoying the walk, I took the ropeway up the mountains. It was super cold and windy once I got to the top. A popular item to bring back as a souvenir from Hakone are hard-boiled eggs with blackened shells. You can see in the picture here, they’ve asked Hello Kitty to promote theses eggs outside the gift shop. I didn’t buy any, but I asked one of the employees what made these eggs so special. She explained that the eggs are boiled in natural geothermal hot spring water. The chemical reactions between the minerals in the water turn the eggs black, she told me. If you remove the black shell, the actual egg looks normal inside. I assume and hope, that they have a different flavor from eggs boiled in regular water.

I went back near the train station to catch a bus to get to the inn. Off to the ryokan. Yes, it’s onsen time!

The ryokan I stayed at was called Aura Tachibana. It was a renovated ryokan with modern Japanese interiors. There were a total of three different spots where I could enjoy the onsen.

You share the same bath with strangers? Yes. Butt naked? Yes. Well you can use a little towel to wrap around your waste if you want. Bathing suits not allowed. With opposite sex? Traditionally yes, but very rare now, unless the onsen is a private one. There is onsen etiquette you should know before going. Make sure you clean yourself before going in any onsen. There are showers you can use with everything you need. No tattoos. The rule has gotten slightly relaxed these days and you can sometimes get away if the tattoo is discrete but it is still seriously enforced. Why? Because tattoos are associated with gangstas. The Japanese yakuza are known to have elaborate tattoos all over their bodies. They weren’t allowed in onsen because customers would be scared off, ruining business for ryokans and onsen owners.

The picture above is a private onsen on the roof terrace which each guest picks a time to go in. Great view of the mountains.

The second was another private onsen located on the balcony attached to my room. Panoramic view of mountains town of Hakone-Yumoto. I found myself staying here most of the time.

Another option to bathe in was the public onsen with various types (waterfall bath, jet bath, cold bath, outside bath. ) and a sauna room.

A shot of the bath outside.

Picture of lobby and dining area. Food was great of course.
You aren’t allowed to bring cameras into public hot springs, and even if I snuck one in,  I think the lens would’ve fogged. These pictures of Aura Tachibana are from their website HERE.
Everything else taken by Made with Japan.

Aura Tachibana
574 Yumoto Hakone machi Ashigara shimo-gun
Kanagawa Japan 250-0311
Tel: (81)460-85-5541
Web: www.aura-tachibana.com

To be continued…

Alain is a calligrapher based in Tokyo, Japan. Growing up in Okinawa, he learned the traditional ways of Japanese calligraphy known as “shodo.” One of the principles (and beauties) of shodo is that one has only a single shot when writing on the washi paper with a brush loaded with sumi ink. There is no way to touch up the brush stokes later so it can be said that the end result represents the calligrapher’s state of mind at that moment. This stems from the teachings of Zen Buddhism, stressing connection to the spiritual rather than the physical and requires one to have a clear mind to let the brush strokes flow naturally.

While Alain is deeply rooted in this traditional discipline of shodo, many of his works also demonstrate unconventional ways of using this traditional style of calligraphy. One of his current goals is demonstrate that shodo is fun, and that there are different approaches one can make to a traditional style. While you’ll see him paint live at events and holding solo exhibitions around Tokyo as a calligrapher, you might also be able to catch him on a billboard in Shibuya or various fashion magazines as he is also a popular men’s fashion model.

Alain recently created a new website where you can view some of his work.

http://alain-tokyo.com

東京で書家とモデルとして活躍しているAlain(阿嵐)の新しいウェブサイトがアップされました。彼の斬新な作品を是非チェックして見て下さい。

http://alain-tokyo.com

A series of amusing subway manner posters that appeared in Tokyo sometime between 1976 and 1982.
1976年から1982年あたりに地下鉄で見かけられていた面白いマナーポスター。

Careful not to get your bag caught between the train doors.

シマッタ。閉まるドアにご注意。

This poster shows the three types of trouble-making monsters on the train. As you can see, they are taking up space and being annoying. “Asshi-” crossing it’s legs. “Nesshi-” sleeping. “Shinbunshi-” opening up a newspaper when crowded.

車内のメイワク三大怪獣–アッシー、ネッシー、シンブンシー。昔こんな人よく見かけてましたが怪獣だったんですね。

THERE’S MORE>>

Don’t spit out chewing gum on the ground of the train platform. It’ll damage even superman.

ホームに捨てるなチューインガム

Superman reminds us to show the train pass clearly to train station attendant even when flying through the gate. This was back in the day when train stations didn’t have automatic machines to process tickets and passes.

定期券はっきり。東京も昔は駅員さんに定期券と切符を毎回見せないとダメだったんですね。

“Are you telling me I look like Santa to you? Boy, you’ve had too much to drink. It’s still October silly.” Behave even if you’re drunk.

これ、ツボです。

Sumo wrestler, trying to get the opponent to safety, by putting him on the proper side of the safety line while waiting for the train.

勇足。とてもクレバーなデザイン。ホームでこんな光景を見てみたい。

Space Invader. Damn you, space saving alien. The Japanese men in suits look more surprised by the fact it’s an alien sitting next to them rather than being annoyed by it invading their space though.

スペースインベーダー。新聞はまわりの迷惑にならないように読みましょう。

Doraemon, cat robot from the future, reminds Dad to keep the dreaming at home and off the train.

夢はお家で。

Title translates to, “Non-thinker” parodying Auguste Rodin’s “The Thinker” to be considerate of others around you on the train.

オーギュスト・ロダンの”The Thinker”をパロディーして、「考えない人」。

Kappa, a mythical water-dwelling monster, encourages smokers to endure their nicotine cravings while riding the train. Smoking was permitted on local trains before the ban.

我慢ぐらいはへの河童。

Offer to give up your seat to the elderly and disabled.

僕立ちます。

Osamu Tezuka’s android hero, Astro Boy saying, “Humans are sure forgetful.” Trying to remind riders to hold on to their belongings.

人間って忘れっぽいなあ。

Goku from Journey to the West saying, “No way, I ain’t smoking.” (on the train)

タバコなんか吸うモンキー。

Popular manga/anime character, “Doraemon” reminds people not to forget your umbrella on the train. This is a common problem because many people in Tokyo buy cheap clear plastic umbrellas at convenience stores when it rains, but often forget them.

ワスレえもん。座布団いちまい。

No Smoking Time. John Wayne reminding you not to smoke during non-smoking hours. We don’t have a problem with this anymore. Smoking is prohibited on all trains and train platforms in Tokyo.

禁煙タイム。そんな時間帯もあったんですね。

(Source: Manner Poster 100, published by Teito Rapid Transit Authority, 1983 via Pink Tentacle)

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原宿と高円寺にショップがあるストリートファッションブランドDOG in香港。
香港のWTC MoreショッピングモールでDOGのファッションショーとポップアップ・ストアを１２／９公開。上のビデオはイベントとDOGを香港の人達へ紹介する為に作られたもの。えんじょい！

The WTC More shopping mall in Hong Kong hosted a fashion show and pop-up store exclusively featuring the eccentric fashion of Dog Harajuku this past Thursday. These videos promoting the event in Hong Kong introduces Dog and will give you a glimpse of what their store and fashion looks like. Video is mostly in Chinese, hosted by my friend Ivan Wang. But wait! There’s a commentary by American fashion designer Jeremy Scott in the middle. (In English ofcourse)

Dog is a Japanese street fashion brand that has lead the underground fashion scene in Tokyo throughout the decade and consistently remains a staple store to the kids who live by the sub-culture.  Their shop is hidden away in a basement on Harajuku Street selling a variety of vintage and reworked items. They also own another located called Secret Dog in the Kita-Kore building in Koenji. Dog owner Satake Kai and designer Takuma Fuji create the pieces themselves, often incorporating an industrial punk flair. Expect to see a lot of metal plates, studs, spikes, and other bling of the sorts. Sometime within the past few years, even Lady Gaga has fallen victim of the Dog fashion and visits the store to get her fix when she’s in Japan. We respect Gaga, but who in the underground cares what celebrities think, right? Made with Japan guarantees you their high level of street creds. Owner and designer of Nincompoop Capacity, another popular street fashion brand likewise with shops in Harajuku and Koenji, expressed respect for Dog by mentioning their continuing popularity with the young kids in their interview with us HERE.

Jingumae 3-23-3 B1, Shibuya-ku
Tel: 03 3746 8110
Web: http://www.dog-hjk.com/

Our fellow Made with Japan contributor, NOIZ-DAVI who is also founder and member of the famous Rinpa Eshidan art crew, mixes it up with the rest of the group to promote the new Mini-Cooper in Ginza. NOIZ-DAVI is wearing a black cap and is painting the hood of the Mini in the beginning of the video.

アートクルー輪派絵師団（りんぱえしだん）がMini-Cooper Ginzaでペインティング。輪派絵師団のリーダーでもあるMWJメンバーNOIZ-DAVIももちろん参加！黒いキャップをかぶってボンネットをペイントしているのがNOIZ-DAVIです。

At Nincompoop Capacity store in Harajuku. I visited Hashio and Take to get an inside look at their underground street fashion brand. You can view pictures of their cool clothing and the interview here. Thanks again Nincompoop!

In front of the popular department store, Laforet Harajuku. While walking back home after the interview, I ran into a Japanese friend of mine whom I met in the U.S.  What a pleasant surprise! to say the least.

While running all over the place in Tokyo for the day, I stop for a quick bite at a yakitori stand. Yakitori is skewered chicken often cooked over a charcoal grill. Us Japanese eat many parts of the chicken such as the heart, gizzards, tail, cartilage. It may sound weird if you’ve never tried it, but they are all very tasty. Comes soy glazed (like teriyaki) or salted.
Ate so fast couldn’t even take a picture of it. The red glow of the paper lanterns adds a nice color to the streets of Tokyo.

A quick stop at a manga kissa (manga cafe) in Shinjuku because I needed to use the internet. These manga cafes are all over the place in Japan. These spots offer all the manga you need, internet access, food and beverage. Many even offer shower rooms and a stay overnight plan.

Shibuya right before 5 AM. These people are here because they were partying the night and are waiting for the trains to start service again.

Yup, this is that famous scramble crosswalk of Shibuya in front of Hachiko square you see in the media all the time. Since there are a gazillion pictures and videos of this place when it’s packed, I thought I would share one when it’s empty.

Good morning Harajuku. I walk home through Takeshita Doori. By noon, this street will be packed with shoppers and people hanging out until the end of the day.

To be continued…

The purpose of our photo diary is to share our snapshots. This first series features my visit to Japan during Fall 2010. Enjoy!

Looking out into Harajuku/Omotesando and Meiji Jingu Shrine in Tokyo. One of the cool things about the concrete labyrinth of Tokyo are the large patches of greenery which can be enjoyed at parks and Shinto shrines where people can go picnicking or take a stroll.

In this area, you will be pleased to find arguably, the best shopping in the world.  Find anything from the cheap and funky fashion items, small underground fashion boutiques, large fast fashion stores, to the international luxury brands. The area is also known as the breeding ground for Tokyo street fashion and youth culture. If you ever come across a Tokyo street fashion snap, chances are they were taken on one of the streets here. The kids here really know how to mix up styles and get away with looking good!

I step out into the city where I browse around a few stores before reuniting with friends from my high-school days. We went to four spots for yummy eats and drinks that night. You can enjoy pretty much any type of cuisine imaginable in Tokyo. However, an Izakaya (Japanese style bar/restaurant) is the most common destination for most Japanese people if you want to eat and drink. There are many different kinds of izakayas in Japan, but they in general known to host a friendly atmosphere where food is quick, cheap, and tasty. The pictures above were taken at an izakaya specialized in serving fresh fish. How the food tasted? I’ll let the picture do the talking.

People in Tokyo typically like to go out whether it be to meet good ol’ friends, new people, loved ones, or the infamous “after-work-party,” a corporate custom which is considered to be a way for workers and their bosses to bond after office hours. Although this culture has taken a calming compared to the 80’s and early 90’s, you’ll still see many of these groups in suits pouring each other beer or sake.

We top the night off with the karaoke! These places are always fun to go to with friends. Many are open 24/7 and will serve you snacking food and drinks. We sang the night away in the black light illuminated private disco until everyone was satisfied . It doesn’t matter if you’re good or suck at singing. Just have fun!

Outside, we found a drunk salaryman out cold on the street. Oh wait, false alarm. That’s my buddy. Although my friend has a bad habit of pretending to be one when the night progresses, the rumors you may have heard about this actually happening are true. When you spot one, don’t panic because he or she (usually a he) is most likely not dead. Please leave them alone unless you think that life may be in danger, which if that is the case you can find a police officer to take care of the situation.

Anyways, Tokyo’s nightlife offers more than any socialite or party animal can handle really. There’s something exciting to do every night of the week if time and money permits!

CONTINUE >>

This video was taken inside the original Momotaro Jeans store/showroom in Kojima, a small town located in the Okayama prefecture facing west to the Seto Inland Sea (Seto Naikai). The area is well-known for their textile industry and is hailed as the mecca of denim in Japan. Coming from this “mecca”, Momotaro Jeans has a huge presence for sticking to traditional ways of manufacturing high quality denim and occasionally going over-the-top.

The item introduced here is a pair of Momotaro Jeans that costs 178,500 yen. This comes out to approximately 2000 U.S. Dollars or 1500 Euros with the current exchange rate. Some of you may be thinking, “That’s more expensive than the first car I owned!” For the curious, here are some of the reasons to what makes these jeans Japan’s finest and one of the most expensive today.

First, the cotton used to make the fabric goes through an extremely time-consuming process of hand-dying using only true indigo from natural plants. The denim is then woven by hand as seen in the video, on a loom that used to be used in Kyoto’s Nishijin district for weaving Kimono silks. It takes up to 8 hours to produce 1 meter (3 feet) of denim. The resulting denim is incredibly soft and flexible but at the same time very durable. The button is made of pure silver, and the back of the jeans is lined with silk. Every piece made becomes an authentic handmade “Made in Japan” garment that requires the skill of artisans.

If you aren’t bold enough to purchase this work of art but would still like a nice pair of premium Made in Japan denim jeans we have great news for you.  Momotaro makes various lines at different price points with the bottom of the line going for about $200 U.S.. which wouldn’t be considered bad at all for premium jeans by denim fans.

For anyone who may be wondering… the guy in the video isn’t me, although I’ve been to this store myself. I found the video on Youtube, user name: Japanflyer. According to his profile, he is a “foreign person living in Japan.” Thank you sir for the great video!

Made with Japan has some pictures from Kojima, so stay posted for more about Momotaro Jeans and Japanese denim.

MOMOTARO JEANS WEBSITE

綿はまず手間も時間もかかる藍染めの手作業から始まります。その素材がビデオに出てくるマニュアルのシャトルを使って生地を織ってきます。このシャトルは昔、京都の西陣で着物の生地を織るために使われていた物で、デニム用に改造されています。八時間かけてやっと１メートル程度の生地しか作れません。だけど結果できるのは丈夫なのに柔らかくて柔軟性のあるデニム。職人さん達の技術で出来た、質の高い本物の”Made in Japan”ジーンズに。その他に拘りがあって、シルクのライニングやボタンはシルバーで仕上げてます。

芸術作品と言ってもいいこのモデルは買えなくても、￥18000ぐらいからプライスされたモデルもあります。プレミアムジーンズとしてはリーズナブルな値段ですね。

桃太郎ジーンズのWEBSITE

In the world of typography, terms such as typeface, character, body, etc are used to describe the form of a letter. The reason why they use expressions closely related to a human body, is perhaps because each different letter has a distinct quality and personality, in a similar way that us humans are all unique.

In the designing process of these shirts, I aimed to capture the character of each typeface and tried to give them a unique look and presence once worn. By collaborating with Itaru Yonenaga, I feel we were able to produce a collection of shirts that is not only conceptual, but wearable as real clothes. I hope you will find your favorite shirt/typeface. - Masahi Kawamura

What a beautiful way to bring typography and fashion together! Everybody has probably seen a typeface motif print t-shirt over the years, but Masashi Kawamura and Itaru Yonenaga did one heck of an amazing job taking typography off the two-dimensional plane and bringing it to life. We look forward to seeing these silhouettes receive worldwide recognition once they are available for sale from No Control Air in January 2011. All the ‘T’ Shirts for Women come in a one size medium and the guys can rock the Helvetica in a Men’s medium. For those who cannot wait until January and are twitching to put in the order, Masashi Kawamura kindly put up a price list and order form for download on his website.

Made with Japan currently works on our next t-shirt collection, and we hope to create new works as inspiring as Masashi’s ‘T’ shirts.

CONTINUE reading for close-up pictures of the entire collection
My personal favorite was Cooper. What’s yours?

Masashi Kawamura
Itaru Yonenaga / No Control Air

川村真司 x No Control Airのコラボ「‘T’ shirts」

川村真司（かわむら・まさし）と大阪ベースのファッションブランド「No Control Air」の米永至（よねなが・いたる）がコラボレーションしたTシャツコレクション。５つのフォントCooper, Helvetica, Courier, Caslon, Baskervilleからアルファベット”T”のフォルムをモティーフにしたシルエットはどれもかっこう良く仕上がった上着心地も良さそうです。川村真司の奇策な発想とコンセプトを実用的なファッションアイテムにした米永至も、この二人だったからこそできた作品だと感ます。なんて素晴らしいファッションとタイポグラフィーの合流！

2011年一月に「No Control Air」で発売されたらもっと注目されて欲しいアイテムです。レディースは全作Mサイズ。Helveticaだけは特別にメンズのMサイズも制作されてます。今直ぐ注文入れたい方は川村真司さんのウェブサイトでオーダー表がダウンロード可。

Made with Japanは次のプリントTシャツコレクションに向けて頑張っていますが、川村真司さんのようなインスピレーションが湧く作品を目指して行きたいです。

次のページ（”T” shirtコレクションの写真を見る)
私はCooperのフォルムが一番好きですが皆さんはどれがお気に入りでしょう？

川村真司
米永至 / No Control Air

Typeface: Cooper 4452 pt
Model: Mandy Harris

Typeface: Helvetica 2852 pt
Model: Maja Folgero

Typface: Courier 3100 pt
Model: Kana Kimura

Typeface: Caslon 2940 pt
Model: Toshka Kroshka

Typeface: Baskerville 3980 pt
Model: Heidi Hackemer
All Photos (Source: http://www.masa-ka.com)

CREDITS:
Concept & design:
Masashi Kawamura

Production & design:
Itaru Yonenaga / No Control Air
(www.nocontrolair.com)

Models:
Mandy Harris(Cooper)
Maja Folgero(Helvetica)
Heidi Hackemer(Baskerville)
Kana Kimura(Courier)
Toshka Kroshka(Caslon)

Photograph:
Munetaka Tokuyama (www.munetakatokuyama.com)

Hair styling:
Takahide Tokuyama

Make up:
Chichi Saito (www.chichisaito.com)

Exhibition space:
Now Idea / Utrecht (www.utrecht.jp)

Holographic virtual idol in Japan performs live!

Miku Hatsune is a Vocaloid (Vocal + Android) and idol character created by Crypton Future Media to market their software package built on Yamaha’s synthesized vocal technology. This technology allows virtually anyone make Miku sing any lyrics on any melody using a computer. There have been thousands of songs made by fans and some of her songs have been featured as anime openings. All over Youtube and now featured on recent news, Miku and her virtual idol friends have taken their next big step into the real world as their 3-D holographic images perform sold out concerts in Japan.

As you can see in the video, the fans just loooove her as they all sing along waving their glow sticks. Is it her sweet vocaloid voice that makes her so popular? her catchy melodies? her 16 year-old physique fans now see in 3-D …? (according to her profile on Crypton’s website, she is 16 and I assume she doesn’t age) Who knows, and whatever it is, she has the formula down to the pixel.

Otakus from the rest of the world have already picked up on Miku’s charm. To give you an idea of her growing international fan-base, she has over 44,000 people following her on Facebook with a petition going around on the web to bring Miku Hatsune on a World Tour.

My opinion is that I think this is what the Otaku community has been long waiting for. I mean, who needs virtual pop groups like AKB48 when you have an eternally young Miku? I know a few hardcore Otakus in Japan, and they are not too keen on well, reality including humans of the opposite sex. “We like to keep it as virtual as possible,” one of the guys told me. In fact, as I was writing this post, I remembered one of these guys let me listen to a track he made using the Miku Hatsune package on his ipod several years ago. I bet he’s thrilled.

But all jokes aside, it is amazing to see what technology is capable of and that as a result of this technology Miku may become, if she isn’t already the most internationally recognized pop idol to come out of Japan.

-Yuuki

Youtubeにアップされたライブ動画を見てファンになった人も世界中に大勢いる見たいで、SNSサイトFacebookだけでも4,4000人ファンページに登録。あるウェブサイトには「初音ミク」のワールドツアー請願などのムーブメントもあるそうです。

私はボーカロイドやオタクカルチャーについてはあまり詳しくないのですが、多分バーチャルを好む人にとって萌えるのが当然なのでしょう。キャラクターを作ってるのはファンが好むポイントを掴んでるクリエーターだし、年も取らない永久アイドルでもある。その点AKB48とかに比べて大きなアドバンテージもあるとは考えられます。しかし冗談抜きで、テクノロジーの進歩は凄いなと思って。「初音ミク」が日本人なのかはまだ疑問点ですが、日本が生んだパフォーマーで一番知名度の高い国際アイドルになれる可能性がさらにすごいなと．．．

日本の素晴らしい文化の一部としてアニメ、ゲーム、マンガなどは堂々と誇り持つべき物だとは思うし、ミクさんも応援してます。しかし、Made with Japanとしてはもっと日本の違うとこも見て欲しい。まだ知られてない日本の良さを分かってもらいたい。そのために我々は頑張ります。

-Allan

While I was in Japan this fall, I met with Japanese designers and other cool people who have influence on youth-culture of Japan today. I interviewed these people with the goal to introduce their work while at the same time, to get a more personal view of them as individuals. I also asked them to share their thoughts on various topics about Japan. My heart was filled with appreciation as these people were kind enough to take time out of their super busy schedules to make it happen.

The first people I met was Hashio and Take from Nincompoop Capacity. Nincompoop Capacity is a underground U.K. punk influenced fashion brand from Tokyo, with their original store in Koenji and their newer second store in the backstreets of Harajuku. Nincompoop design and make the clothing for their brand themselves and sell a wide range of original, one-off remakes, and vintage clothing.

2010年の秋、日本でかっこいい事をしている人達、主にデザイナーやモデルさんをインタビューさせて頂きました。Made with Japanのインタビューの目的は世界に彼らの作品や仕事を紹介するだけでわなく、個人の考えやフィロソフィーの事を話すこと。その他、「日本」について様々なトピックを語ります。皆めちゃくちゃ忙しいスケジュールの中、インタビューさせて頂く時間を作ってくれました。一人一人に対しての感謝の気持ちと会えた喜びで胸がいっぱいになりました。本当にありがとう。

東京に着いた一週間目に会ってくれたのは高円寺と原宿でオリジナル作、リメーク作、古着をショップに並べている「Nincompoop Capacity」のオーナー兼デザイナー、はしおーさんとタケさんでした。Nincompoop CapacityはU.K.パンク乗りのストリートブランドです。

CONTINUE READING↓

MADE WITH JAPAN: INTERVIEW WITH NINCOMPOOP CAPACITY
MADE WITH JAPAN: ニンカンプープキャパシティーとインタビュー
Place: Nincompoop Capacity Harajuku
A: Interviewer Allan from Made with Japan
H: Interviewee Hashio from Nincompoop Capacity

H: Um, I started the store when I was 24 years old, but I had started the brand before that. That was around 4 years ago after I graduated from school at the age of 22.
H: え～っと、お店は２４歳の時に初めて、ブランドはその前からありました。ブランド自体は四年前にありました。学校卒業してから、２２のとき。

A: What were the beginnings of Nincompoop Capacity like and what motivated you to get started?
A: Nincompoop Capactiyはどう言うきっかけで始めたんですか？

H: The store, we started on impulse kind of. We were like, maybe we should start a shop. The brand started on a natural ebb and flow. I was always making clothes and I felt I should come up with a name. That was when Take, came down to Tokyo so I asked him if he would be interested in making Nincompoop Capacity together.
H:お店は、そろそろやろうかって乗りで始めて。ブランドは自然な流れで、取りあえずまー僕はちょっとだけ洋服は作ってたんですよ、その前から。で、なんかブランド名つけた方が良いかなってなって、おもって。そのタイミングにたけが東京に状況してきて。でそれじゃ、二人でやろうかってなって。

A: So you were making the clothes you felt like creating, just without a brand name.
A: 自分の好きな物を作っていたけど、ブランド名は無かったんですね。

H: It wasn’t like I was making clothes for anyone to sell at the time. I mainly started by creating remake clothing for myself to wear. But I felt I want to make this my full time job, so I started Nincompoop Capacity.
H: 誰かのために商品として作っていた訳でもなくて、自分で着るためにリメークとか、着たいなって思う服をちょっとだけ作っていて、もうそろそろ仕事にしたいなとは思っていたので、始めました。

A: Okay, how did you guys come up with the name Nincompoop Capacity?
A: じゃー、ブランド名、ニンカンプープ・キャパシティーはどう決まったんですか？

H: I wanted a name that was a little different. But I’m not good with stuff like that, so I was using a dictionary on my cell phone browsing through words. I’ve always like the letter P so I started looking for a word with a lot of P’s. When I came across the word “nincompoop,” I was excited because there were a lot of p’s in it. (laughs) Then the word even had a playful nuance of stupidity to it which I liked. And the word capacity, I simply liked and wanted in the brand name. Put the two together and it sounded cool so I went with it. Don’t you think  P is cool? I’m not sure how it sounds to English speaking people though…
H: え～なんか、なんだろうちょっと変な名前がよくて。でもそういうの決めるの苦手なんで、携帯の辞書で。それで、アルファベットのPが好きで。Pがいっぱい入ってるのがいいなと、思ってて。それで探してたらNincompoopがでてきて、あ～Pがいっぱいあると思って。（笑い）
意味は何だろうと、思っていたらバカとかちょっとふざけた意味があって、お～と思って。
それでCapacityって言葉は僕が好きで、単純に名前に入れたいって思ってて、その二つを合わせて、響きがよかったから…「P」ってなんかかっこうよくないっすか？かっこいいって言うかひびきがいいというか。アメリカ人からしてみたらどう聞こえるか分からないけど。

A: Weeeeell. I thought it was a very strange name. (laughs)
A: まー。変わった名前だなっとは思いました。（笑

H: When foreigners come to my store it’s definitely because of the name. They’re like, “what is this?” it says Nincompoop Capacity on the sign and laughs.
H: 外国の人が決行見に来てくれたりして、絶対名前のおかで。看板にNincompoop Capacityって書いてたからーって絶対笑ってくれる。なにこれ？ってね。

A: Do you get a lot of customers from abroad?
A: 外国からのお客さまは多いですか？

H: Yeah, especially for our store in Koenji.
H: そうっすねー、特に高円寺の方は外国人の人が多くて。

A: Really? Are there a lot of foreigners in that area?
A: あのエリアって決行外国の人達が多いんですか？

H: I’m not sure why, but I think Koenji has become a quite popular tourist spot.
H: どうなんだろう。でも多分高円寺がちょっとした観光スポットとして知られてるようになってるのかもしれませんね。

A: What kind of stuff do they often buy?
A: NPCでどんな物買っていきますか？

H: Remakes and some of our original wear as well.
H: 特にリメークとか一点ものは人気ですね。

A: So, are you guys thinking about marketing to international markets?
A: 海外をターゲットはしてないんですか？

H: Right now we aren’t. But I want to try if it’s possible though.
H: 今のところはしてないですね。できればやってみたいけど。

A: I’m sure the fashion taste of foreigners and body build must be very different from Japanese. Do you ever feel that is an barrier for your brand?
A: 外国人のテーストとか体系とか日本人と違うんじゃないですか？そういうのには、壁を感じますか？

H: Yeah. There are definitely more taller and bigger people compared to Japanese. I never really thought about it, but It’s made me realize how much more my clothes suites Japanese people.
H: ある。やっぱり背大きかったり、がたいよかったりする人たちが多いと思うんで。そう考えると想像以上に日本人向けなんだなとは思いました。

A: Nincompoop Capacity does remakes, your original line, and some vintage too right? Can you show me some of your clothes?
A: NPCはリメークとかオリジナルとか確か古着もおいてるんですよね？服を見せてもらってもいいですか？

H: Yeah, we’re a mix of one-off remakes, original and vintage clothing. These are remakes, This one too.
H: リメークとオリジナルと古着のミックスですね。このへんはリメークで。これもリメークで。

H: Stuff like this we sew ourselves from scratch.
H: これとかは最初から、一からつくってます。

A: I only see one of these. Do you make only one piece of your original line?
A: オリジナル作は一着しか作らないんですか？

H: No no, we make them in different sized and colors as well.
H: いや、このへんサイズとか色別のも作ってますよ。

A: When I looked at pictures of the Koenji store, there just seemed to be a lot more stuff in general.
A: 高円寺のお店の写真を見ると、決行古着もだけど色んなものおいてる風に見えましたけど。

H: Yup. You’re right. Right now the Koenji store carries mostly used and vintage clothing with some of our original stuff as well.
H: はい、そうですね。今は高円寺の方は結構古着が多いお店で。一点ものちょっと並んでるかんじですね。

A: Oh! This one. I really like this series.
A: あ！これだ！このシリーズかなりかっこいい。

H: This is something we started recently.
H: 最近始めたやつです。

A: How is this made? (pointing at a pair of sneakers with metal plate attachments)
A：これとか、どういう風になってるんですか？

H: I used some of the parts that were leftover from when we were building this store. (laughs)
H: この店を始める時に大工してて、その時から余ったもので。（笑）

A: Cooool. Do you have any personal favorites? Or something you feel that represents Nincompoop Capacity?
A: へ～かっけえ〜。はしおーさん的に自信作はありますか？俺らはこれ、見たいなの。

H: I would say our setups. The setups that match bottom and top might be what we’re most well known for. We’ve been making these every year. We make them from all kinds of material too for example bedsheets.
H: セットアップかな。上と下で合わせたりできる物は決行定番かもしれませんね。ここら辺は毎年作ってますね。あとは、ベッドシーツとかを生地にして、こういうのとかも作ってます。

A: Yeah, I saw the ones with bold stripes and neon colored ones too!
A: ストライプのやつとかネオン色のやつとかもありましたよ！

A: U~m. Can you share with us about the shop’s and brand’s concept and your philosophy for designing clothes?
A: え～っと。ショップとブランドのコンセプトとフィロソフィーを少し聞かせて貰っていいですか？

H: Basically, our original stuff we make so that pretty much anyone can wear. Guys and girls, tall or short, fat or skinny. We put a lot of thought into designing cuts so when anyone wears it, they would feel it’s a good fit. We use stretchy material sometimes, which helps.

H: 基本的にオリジナルは、誰でも着れるって言うか、男も女も、背の高い人も低い人も、太った人も痩せた人も何となく着た時にサイズが、あ、ちょうどいいやと思えるような形を心がけてます。だから延びるストレッチ素材も使ったりします。

A: So to you it’s not only about the style, but you put practicality into the equation as well.
A: スタイルだけでわなくて、実用性のことも考えてるんですね。

H: Yeah, we wrap our minds around a lot of factors like that. Also comfortability is important too.
As for the remakes, we try to make stuff that no one can copy. Until recently, we weren’t doing remakes because in Japan, there are a lot of people doing it. They look at a finished remake and think oh, I can do this too and I didn’t like that. But I recently thought that’s okay. If someone wants to copy, let them copy but as long as we were the first ones to do it. Now, I just think that the important thing is to continue doing it and let people know that we’re the ones creating our clothing. So getting over that hump has expanded our horizons a bit.

H: そう。そういうのは結構考えてる。着やすさとかもすごい考えてる。
で、リメークとかは本当に誰もまねできないものとか。ちょっと前まではあまりリメークはやってなくて。決行日本でリメークをやってる人もいて。パッとみて、あーこれなら俺もできるわとか言う人達が決行多いんだけど、それが嫌であまりやってなくて。でも最近はいいやと思って。まねしたければすればいいけどやったのは俺らが先だから。だからけっこうやれる事が広がったかな？僕らがやったことだし、結局はそれを広めていって、僕らの物だってことを分かってもらえればいいかなって今は思う。

A: It is difficult to be happy about being copied, however it is a form of flattery, a sign that people look up to you guys. I get the impression from both your remakes and originals, that Nincompoop Capacity has fun experimenting with many unique styles and material. There’s definitely a strong D.I.Y. and free spirit image from what I gather.

A: コピーされて喜ぶ人も少ないと思うけど、評価でもありますからね。
リーメークに関してもオリジナルも、素材もスタイルも楽しんでいろんなものを使ってるイメージが僕には強いですね。D.I.Y.精神のあふれた自由な感じが僕には伝ってきます。

A: If you were to categorize Nincompoop Capacity, where would you be?
A: ジャンルで言ったら、NPCはなんなんでしょうか？

H: For the most part, I think that we’re just casual but there is a punk element in our heart and spirit. There is a lot we rebel against. I’m also not good at socializing and I’m the type of person that dislikes things quickly. At the same time, I easily think that we’re the best too. (laughs) In that sense, I guess we’re sort of punk.
H: 基本的にはキャジュアルでいいと思うんですけど。やってる精神と言うか心はパンク。色んなものに反発はしてるから。あまり人とうまく接することもできないし。色んなものを嫌いになっちゃうタイプで..結構僕らが一番ってすぐ思っちゃう。（笑）そういう意味でわパンクかな？

A: Are there any strong influences to you and Nincompoop Capacity? Like music or people.
A: 個人的にもブランドにも影響受けてきたのってなんですか？音楽とか、人とか。

H: There aren’t too many things I feel that I’ve been influenced by. But Hiroshi Fujiwara the founder of Head Porter would be one. He’s a famous Japanese fashion icon from a long time ago. Hmmm (trying to think of anyone else) Yeah, that’s the one person that has influenced me. Was because of him that I wanted to come out to Harajuku. He was doing a lot of cool stuff when he was around my age. That’s about it for people. But ofcourse I am constantly being influenced by my partner Take and also Cathy (nickname) who is mostly at the Koenji shop. We all have different interests so we each bring something different to the plate.

H: 影響されたものはあまりいないんだけど、ヘッドポーターの設立者、藤原ヒロシさんかな？日本の有名なファッションアイコンであって、ずっと昔から。あとはなんだろうなー。一番影響されてるのは彼。それで原宿に来ようと思った。彼は今の僕らぐらいの年齢からやってたこととか凄いなと思って。人はそれくらいかもしれない。
あとはもちろん相方のたけしと高円寺のお店にいるキャシー。いつも影響受けてます。全然僕が分からないところの情報をもってきたり、だから全然違うんですよ趣味が。

A: How do you guys unify the differences between your members?
A: それをどうやってまとめてるんですか？

H: That, we don’t have to. We each do what we want to and that becomes Nincompoop Capacity.
H: それはまとめないで、自分達の好きなことをやってて、それがNincompoop Capacityになる.

H: . . . There are many things that I do not understand and disagree with lately.
H: . . .最近納得いかない事が多い。

A: Like what?
A: 例えば？

H: Like, it’s no fun because I feel like the gap between fast fashion and vintage clothing shops or brands like us has become too far apart. The shoppers too ofcourse. There are so many different kinds of stores in Harajuku. There aren’t too many places in the world like this I think. So for the people that like underground fashion, if you’re going to come out to Harajuku, why not take a look at Forever 21 for example. Or for the people that usually shop only at at Forever, why not explore what’s going on in the little back streets of Harajuku?

H: なんか面白くないなと思って。
分かれすぎて。ファストファッションと、古着とか僕らがやってるようなブランドの差がありすぎて。
着てる人と着てる物の種類に差がありすぎて。
せっかく原宿にいろんなお店があって。こんなごちゃ混ぜなとこって中々ないと思うし。せっかく原宿来たんだったら、どうせだったらForever入って見ようって。逆にForever行ってる人はこういう小道に入って見ようとか。

A: People are becoming narrow-minded?
A: 頭固くなっちゃうんですね？

H: Yeah.
H: そうそう。

A: What shops or people do you think are big influences on youth culture in Tokyo right now?
A: 今の東京のユースカルチャーを影響してるのは誰・何だと思いますか？

H: When you look at it as a total, the fast fashion giants are definitely a big influence especially with the economic recession playing a large role in customers’ purchases. But in our circle of underground fashion, there’s a store named Dog and I think they influence youth culture. There’s one in Harajuku as well as Koenji.
H: 全体的に見ると、まー確かに不況な影響もあるしファストファッションがでかいかもしれませんね。でもうちらの中でわDogって言うお店があるんですけど。高円寺にもあって。若い人から指示受けてるお店だと思いますね。

A: So even during tough times like this, underground fashion’s foundation is still strong?
A: アンダーグランドファッションの土台は今もちゃんとあって、強くささえているんですね。

H: Yees, or at least that’s what I would like to believe. The scene has shrunk compared to before though. When I first came to Tokyo 6 to 7 years ago, there were more people looking. People were looking for their own store. I don’t see that as much anymore. Dog was very popular from back then, and they are still going strong.
H: はい、僕はそうしんじたい。減ってるとは思いますけど。僕が東京に来た時、６-７年前はもっと皆探そうとしてた。自分だけのお店とかを探そうとしてて。最近そう感じないかも。そのころからいい感じに指示されてるのは変わらずあるのはDogだと思います。

A: And ofcourse Nincompoop right?!
A: と、もちろんNincompoopも！

H: Hahaha. Maybe from now.
H: ははは。うちらはこれからで。

A: Have you consciously tried to observe Japan or compare with other cultures?
A: はしおーさんは日本を客観的に見ようと意識したことありますか？

H: To be honest no, but I really like Japan. Not really Japan, but Tokyo. I’ll probably never go back to Hokkaido prefecture where I’m originally from. Yeah. I probably love Tokyo so much that many things irritate me. Recently, it’s not clothing but politicians and the government.
H: ぶっちゃけないけど、日本がすごく好きなんで。日本って言うか東京が。多分北海道にはかえる帰る事ないと思うん。はい. もしかしたら好きすぎて色々イライラしちゃうんですよね。最近は洋服っていうより政治がイライラする。

A&H: Hahahaha
A&H: はははは

H: I’ve never been interested in these topics before. But I started to from about a year ago.
H: ずっとそんな事なかったし。興味全くなかったんですけどね。この一年興味もちだしました。

A: Do you put emotions like this to work with your brand?
A: そういう感情とかをブランドと一緒にしちゃうこととかはあるんでしょうか？

H: We like clothes. So everything for us transfers over to clothing. Whether we’re doing so consciously or unconsciously, I think it shows.
H: やっぱり僕らは、洋服がすきなんで。なんでも洋服に置き換えるんですよね。意識してたりしてなくても、服に現れると思う。

A: Cool. So what are some things you like about Japan?
A: じゃー日本の好きな事は？

H: Things I like about Japan… Hmmmm. Hehehe. The food is great.
H: 日本の好きな事…うーん。へへへ。ご飯が美味しい。

A: That’s for sure.
A: 間違いないっすね。

H: Not only Japanese food but you can eat food from many different countries. Also I think Japan is a very safe and peaceful country, everyone is kind, everyone speaks Japanese. Television shows are fun to watch.
H: 色んな国の料理も食べれるとこ。あとは平和で、あとわ皆親切で、日本語も通じるし。あとわTVが面白い。

A: For sure again to all of that! I’m always sad that I can’t turn on the TV to watch all the fun Japanese shows when I’m in the U.S..So it seems like you know the good things about Japan even though you’ve never been to other countries to compare.
A: それも間違いない！テレビに関しては、アメリカに住んでてテレビつけた時、日本の番組が見えないのはいまだに寂しいですね。意外と外にでてなくても、色々日本のいいとこ分かってるんですね。

A:What about some things you don’t like about Japan?
A:じゃー日本の嫌なとこは？

H: Um, maybe the fact that everything costs money. For example, there are public restrooms in Shinjuku that  ask you to put money in… Or it costs money to make a identification card even though we’re paying taxes. Everywhere you go, money money money.
H: えっと。なんでもお金かかる事。たとえば新宿とかトイレ入るだけででお金入れて下さいって、書いてあるトイレもあったりするし。公的機関っていうんですか？自分の身分証明書、を作るためにもお金かかるとか。税金も払ってるのに。なんでも金金金ってね。

A: I didn’t know about that. Japanese government, please try harder when using our tax money!
A: 確かに、日本の政治ももっと頑張ってくれよ！

Harajuku Store
原宿店
MAP

Koenji Store
高円寺店
MAP

NINCOMPOOP CAPACITY WEBSITE

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LIKE MADE WITH JAPAN ON FACEBOOK!

Source: Gaigosan Gallery

Takashi Murakami’s art will be available for public viewing starting this week at the Gagosian Gallery for his first solo exhibition in Rome.

Murakami is credited for creating “Superflat,” a style of art which draws influence from Japanese otaku sub-cultures (manga and anime) in a colorful pop art format. From the galleries to the department stores, Murakami’s techni-color charged illustrations with images of smiling flowers, mushrooms with eyes, and a slew of other characters from a fantasy realm took the world by storm. An instant success, his product collaboration line of handbags, wallets, and purses with French design house Louis Vuitton took art to a whole new level of commercial success.

However, this time Murakami is being highlighted for a style he owns but more rooted in traditional Japanese art. He painted two monolithic dragons that will break your neck trying to look from one side to the other. Painted simply in two colors, red and blue, each piece is comprised of nine panels measuring a whopping eighteen meters (59 feet) long.

It will be interesting to hear what people will say about a style that most mainstream Murakami fans are not used to seeing.

–Made with Japan

–Takashi Murakami

“Two epic paintings - Dragon in Clouds – Red Mutation and Dragon in Clouds – Indigo Blue – each comprise nine panels and measure eighteen meters long. Cloud- and-dragon paintings, known as Unryūzu, were also key references for Soga Shōhaku, an eighteenth century Japanese artist whose eccentric and daring visual inventiveness has been a great inspiration for Murakami.

Unlike the dragon’s dark associations in Western iconography, the Japanese dragon - an amalgam of the Buddhist iconography that originated in India before reaching China and then Japan - is considered a symbol of good fortune and optimism. Several Buddhist and Shinto temples in Japan are designated as dragon shrines that denote the creature’s exalted status.

Takashi Murakami
November 13, 2010 - January 15, 2011
Via Francesco Crispi 16
00187 Rome
T. 39.06.4208.6498
F. 39.06.4201.4765
roma@gagosian.com
Hours: Tue-Sat 10:30-7 & by appointment
Gaigosan Gallery

Source: 00S/S

HISUI is a Japanese women’s wear brand created and designed by Hiroko Ito. She made her debut in 1999, immediately after creating the company 00S/S (zerozeroesuesu) with artist and art director Takeshi Matsuoka. Ito graduated from the Fashion Institute of Technology New York and worked for Comme des Garcons (1994 to 1998) creating accessories prior to establishing HISUI.

Ito’s designs are a feminine mix of casual and elegant styles.  This and her signature layered look is prevalent in this 2011 S/S Collection titled, “Dwarves’ Prank - Clothing that enjoys changes brought by dwarves’ pranks.” The translation is a courageous attempt by me and is unofficial, but you can see what I am talking about if you watch the video at the end of the post.

Hisui’s 2011 S/S collection has uite a few unique items. First are the skirts and tank tops deliberately designed with an excessive amount of snap buttons on them so that when desire comes, what is attached (which is sometimes pretty much the entire garment) may be detached and unravelled. In addition to are shirts that come with a fairly large-sized dwarf doll on them, (yes, we’ll get to the dwarves in a second) which adds another touch of humor to this conceptual collection.

スタイルはHISUIならではのキャジュアルとエレガントなミックス。それに程よいユームアが加わった、明るいコレクションに仕上がっていると思います。

Source: 00S/S and Nuan Press

OFFICIAL WEBSITE OF HISUI

photo by Ludion

“Yohji Yamamoto - My Dear Bomb” will be the first ever published biography of the Japanese designer Yohji Yamamoto. Based in Tokyo and Paris, Yohji Yamamoto is best known internationally for his avant-garde clothing lines and redefining fashion since his Paris runway debut in 1981. Together with colleagues such as Rei Kawakubo (Comme des Garçons) and Issey Miyake (ISSEY MIYAKE), there is no doubt that Yohji Yamamoto is one of the most influential designers of the twentieth century.

According to the press release from Ludion, “this will be an unique opportunity to discover his philosophy as a man as well as a fashion designer.” Yohji Yamamoto abandons the chronological format of most autobiographies and begins with a series of short fictions interwoven with his memories and inspirations, followed by a philosophical essay discussing the “Japanese elements in Yohji Yamamoto.” The book’s total of 200 pages will be filled with 100 of Yohji Yamamoto’s illustrations and hand drawings. After being mesmerized by all of this, the book closes with a timeline of his life including photos never seen before.

Published in English, Japanese, French, and Chinese. Available December 2010.

ベルギーの出版社Ludionによると、「山本耀司- MY DEAR BOMB」のポイントはタイムライン形式の自叙伝だけでわないとこ。山本耀司さんの思い出やインスピレーションも込めてあるフィクションシリーズから始まり、「山本耀司にある日本のエレメント」と彼の哲学を語るエッセイに続く。その他、オリジナルな絵やイラストが100かかれている。最後に今までの人生と歴史のアウトライン、写真付きで閉まります。

山本耀司の独特なカリスマ性、アバンギャルドな精神、そして生きてきた道に興味ある方は　CHECK IT OUT。

英語、日本語、フランス語、中国語で公開。
Written by Yohji Yamaoto & Ai Mitsuda
Softcover
15 x 22cm
200 pages
100 illustrations
October 2010

ISBN 978-90-5544-979-8 EN
ISBN 978-90-5544-983-5 FR

Source: Ludion

Yohji Yamamoto’s Website

Small Gift - Celebrating 50 Years of Sanrio

Our Sunae artist Naoshi will be in Los Angeles this weekend at Barker Hangar as part of Sanrio’s 50th Anniversary celebration event. Inspired by their “small gift, big smile” philosophy, Sanrio’s Small Gift event will offer a multi-dimensional experience for fans of all ages featuring a character product retrospective, pop-up shop, interactive activities and special event programming, in a carnival theme. Curated by Jamie Rivadeneira, owner of JapanLA, Small Gift Los Angeles will showcase works by 50 artists including Naoshi’s on exhibition in eleven unique installation rooms. Artists will transform their favorite Sanrio characters such as Hello Kitty®, Little Twin Stars®, My Melody®, Patty & Jimmy™, Tuxedosam™, Keroppi®, Badtz-Maru®, Chococat® and many more into stunning original works that will be available for sale to the public.

As a special feature in the event, Naoshi will be conducting a special Sunae Workshop on 11/13/2010 from 1:00 PM to 3:00 PM. Everyone who joins will learn how to make Sunae and additionally walk out with their very own Sanrio inspired Sunae. Registration is required. (details below)

「Small Gift」- サンリオの５０周年記念

Los Angelesで行われるサンリオ５０周年記念イベント、「SMALL GIFT」に砂絵アーティストナオ氏が参加。世界中からサンリオに選ばれたアーティスト５０人。描いた絵はイベントのインスタレーションに展示されるサンリオのキャラクターとのコラボ作品。
その５０人の中に選ばれたナオ氏は、13日の13:00から15:00まで砂絵ワークショップも行います。

L.A.にいる方は是非来て下さい！

Sunae Workshop by Naoshi
November 13, 2010 1:00 PM - 3:00 PM
Barker Hangar
3021 Airport Avenue
Santa Monica, CA 90405

Price : $25.00
Registration is required at www.brownpapertickets.com

Small Gift Los Angeles
November 12 - 21, 2010
Barker Hangar, Santa Monica, CA
www.sanrio.com/smallgift

Sanrio’s Website

Naoshi’s Website

Model Kiko Mizuhara on commercial for Japanese fast fashion giant Uniqlo, comments on her debut as actress in movie, “Norwegian Wood”.

Kiko will be making her movie debut playing the role of Midori in “Norwegian Wood,” an adaptation film directed by Vietnamese-French Trần Anh Hùng. For those who are unaware, Norwegian Wood is a 1987 novel, an acclaimed international bestseller written by Japanese novelist Haruki Murakami. Very briefly, Kiku(I think) is commenting on how her experience shooting for the movie has affected her in the Uniqlo commercial. (Dialogue below)

“Who are you?”

“I’m a model. The moment I went to a model job after shooting for the movie, I felt that something had changed inside me. I felt like striving for even better. I think that from now on I will do the same but also because I want to accomplish something fulfilling, the end result to be satisfying. So my feelings with everyone when involved to make it happen became stronger and stronger. By everyone, I mean not me, everyone.”

We are looking forward to seeing Kiko act on the big screen and interesting to see how well Trần Anh Hùng can capture Haruki Murakami’s bestseller. This was the first Murakami novel I read back when I was still in school so I’m extra excited. Just looooooove his mind twisting plots.

Below is the trailer of “Norwegian Wood.” Scheduled to premiere on 12/11/2010 in Japan.

「ノルウェイの森」で女優デビューする水原希子のユニクロCM

「あなたは誰ですか？」

「モデルです 映画が終わった後にモデルの仕事をした瞬間って何か確実に自分の中で変わったんですよ」
「もっと追求するようになってこれからもそうだと思うけど、ちゃんと満足のあるものに­したいからみんなで作り上げようっていう気持ちにもっとなりました みんなでって自分じゃなくてみんなで」

書き下ろし作品として１９８７年に刊行された村上春樹の小説「ノルウェイの森」。英語圏のほか、フランス、ドイツ、ロシア、韓国、中国、台湾などでも翻訳されたベストセラー。

このストーリーがベトナム系フランス人監督トラン・アン・ユンにより映画化され、２０１０年１２月１１日に日本公開。

緑の役を演技初挑戦するモデル水原希子と映画化監督トラン・アン・ユンのテクニックに注目。

「ノルウェイの森」のトレイラー。２０１０年１２月１１日（土）　日本公開

Murakami Haruki’s Website

Mizuhara Kiko’s Blog

Norwegian Wood Website (Japanese)

Stay tuned for updates.