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May 05, 2024
 

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Mio Yamada

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Mio Yamada
A freelance arts and lifestyle editor and writer, Mio Yamada focuses on design, crafts and architecture. When she’s not visiting galleries and trade fairs, you'll find her taking photos of everything and being distracted by shiny objects. She's also surprisingly British.
For Mio Yamada's latest contributions to The Japan Times, see below:
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / 20 QUESTIONS
Nov 23, 2019
Robert Hamilton: Making kimono accessible
Though unusual textile designs and traditional techniques, Robert Hamilton's kimono don't break rules — they just make them that little bit more flexible.
Japan Times
LIFE / Style & Design / ON: DESIGN
Oct 19, 2019
Designart Tokyo 2019 takes art and design to a new level in Japan
Now showcasing an impressive 300 designers and brands in over 100 locations, Designart Tokyo 2019 has branched out to include two new areas to it venues list — Shinjuku and Ginza — and introduces a slew of high-profile participants.
Japan Times
LIFE / Style & Design
Sep 22, 2019
Kengo Kuma: Seeing the forest for the trees in Eskisehir
Nestled between the traditional buildings of Turkey's city of Eskisehir, Kengo Kuma & Associates' design of the new Odunpazari Modern Museum is a love letter to Seljuk, Ottoman and Turkish history.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / 20 QUESTIONS
Sep 21, 2019
Maurice Eric Zacher: Designs on Japan
Japanologist and product designer Zacher on Japanese design, gadgets and university scholarships.
Japan Times
LIFE / Style & Design / ON: DESIGN
Aug 25, 2019
Enhancing the power of a flower
From elegant bud vases to innovative color-changing vessels, ceramists in Japan prove you don't need an elaborate bouquet to highlight flowers in the home.
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel
Aug 23, 2019
Enjoy Ishigaki's island life without sea, sun or sand
The Okinawan island of Ishigaki is a haven for beach lovers, but there's plenty to experience for those with no love for the ocean, including fresh fruit, star gazing and limestone caves.
Japan Times
LIFE / Style & Design / ON: DESIGN
Jul 28, 2019
Elegance from the factory floor
Striking designs can come from unusual inspirations. This month looks at designer collaborations with Japanese veteran manufacturers, including a laboratory glassware maker, and an injection mold specialist.
Japan Times
LIFE / Style & Design / ON: DESIGN
Jun 23, 2019
Here's to good old household items
Manufacturing in Japan has had a lot to contend with since its latter Showa Era (1926-1989) golden years. With so many cheaper imports available, locally made everyday items are becoming increasingly harder to find. But there are some manufacturing stalwarts out there who are surviving and surprisingly producing the same ubiquitous items they always have.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / 20 QUESTIONS
Jun 22, 2019
David Wang: Designing a space between Asia and the world
Now that technology has made it so easy to get the word out, it's a great time for Japanese brands to join the Asian online marketplace says David Wang of Pinkoi.
Japan Times
LIFE / Style & Design / ON: DESIGN
May 26, 2019
New brands to delight design fans
From cat beds to toy DJ decks and sleek furniture, plenty of stylish goods are emerging from Japan's new brand lines.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
May 21, 2019
'Information or Inspiration?': The paths of perception
A review of 'Information or Inspiration?' at the Suntory Museum of Art almost needs a spoiler alert — it includes many surprises that make it more than a showcase of glassware, lacquerware, enamel, ceramic and calligraphy works: It's an immersive, thought-provoking experience.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Apr 30, 2019
Motohiko Katano: Tied to shibori dyeing
A pioneer of shibori textile dyeing, Motohiko Katano created striking modern designs and fascinating tessellations of motifs that seemed to defy the capricious nature of resist dyeing.
Japan Times
LIFE / Style & Design / ON: DESIGN
Apr 28, 2019
Design winners and favorites
Now that the flurry of activity that surrounds the annual Salone del Mobile has died down, this month's On: Design takes a look at a few of the interiors fair's Japanese prizewinning ideas and new product debuts.
Japan Times
LIFE / Style & Design
Mar 31, 2019
Baku Sakashita: In light of good design
Designer and artisan Baku Sakashita sheds light on his striking Suki series of lamps and the history of design in Japan.
Japan Times
LIFE / Style & Design / ON: DESIGN
Mar 24, 2019
Japan is ready for Milan Salone 2019
As Salone del Mobile (April 9-14) in Milan, Italy, approaches, some of Japan's top designers are now releasing teasers for their contributions to the world's largest interior and furniture fair. This month On: Design previews a few installations that look set to promote Japan's industries in a show-stopping way.
Japan Times
LIFE / Style & Design / ON: DESIGN
Feb 24, 2019
Japan's hotels design new experiences
Among a crop of new hotels in Japan are several unique establishments aiming to support local artisans, while offering guests experiences that go way beyond a comfy bed and fine dining.
Japan Times
LIFE / Style & Design / ON: DESIGN
Jan 27, 2019
The last 2018 concept winners
Now 2019 is in full swing, On: Design takes a final look at a few of 2018's end of year noteworthy prizewinners.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / 20 QUESTIONS
Dec 22, 2018
Ayako Minase can put a song in your heart
Singer-songwriter Ayako Minase's 'mature pop,' with its fun retro-influences and contemporary sensibilities, comes from the heart.
Japan Times
LIFE / Style & Design
Dec 12, 2018
Shared spaces, locally produced goods and everyday objects
Making physical connections with people, whether via large-scale events and spaces or design concepts, and a continued celebration of traditional crafts, appeared to be a key direction for design in Japan this year.
Japan Times
LIFE / Style & Design / ON: DESIGN
Dec 2, 2018
When the thought really counts
This month's On: Design focuses on a few everyday items that offer much more than meets the naked eye.
Japan says Biden's description of nation as xenophobic is 'unfortunate'
The National Diet building in Tokyo
With eye on China, defense chiefs agree to bolster interoperability
From left: U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin, Australian defense chief Richard Marles, Japanese Defense Minister Minoru Kihara and Philippine Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro hold a joint news conference in Honolulu on Thursday.
The 'outsiders' creating some of Japan's greenest spaces
Rows of irises resemble a rice field at the Peter Walker-designed Toyota Municipal Museum of Art.
Japan drops to 70th in press freedom rankings
A businessman reads a newspaper outside a train station in Tokyo.
Traders spooked by intervention risk trim record yen shorts
Traders edged back from record bets on yen weakness this past week, in a period that included a likely bout of intervention by Japan to prop up the currency.
Kishida sets sights on energy and climate in South America trip
Prime Minister Fumio Kishida will use a policy speech in Sao Paulo to set out his vision for ties between Japan and South America, almost 10 years after former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe advocated for stronger ties between the two in the same city.
Yellow sand allergy: A health issue made worse by climate change
A screenshot of the Meteorological Agency's satellite image of clouds and yellow sand (in pink) on Sunday.
Climate change, chalky grains and the risks for Japan’s rice farmers
A farmer plants seedlings in Satsumasendai, Kagoshima Prefecture. Japan’s self sufficiency rate for rice is nearly 100%, compared with 38% for food overall, on a calorie basis.
Japan wants you to spend more with ‘luxury tourism’
Performers play a traditional drum unique to Wajima, Ishikawa Prefecture, in the prefectural capital of Kanazawa on March 16 to mark the extension of the Hokuriku Shinkansen line to Tsuruga Station in Fukui Prefecture.
Theaster Gates’ ambitious ‘Afro-Mingei’ brings Black Chicago to Tokyo
Theaster Gates' “A Heavenly Chord” lines up church pews before seven speakers and a Hammond B3 organ, a type of electric organ prevalent in Black American churches.

Podcast

From easily navigable train stations to the helpfulness of its municipal staff, Tokyo has earned high praise for its commitment to accessibility for disabled travelers.
[Rebroadcast] Japan is doing better on accessibility than you may think

Longform

Rows of irises resemble a rice field at the Peter Walker-designed Toyota Municipal Museum of Art.
The 'outsiders' creating some of Japan's greenest spaces
By Stephen Mansfield

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