[On Naoto Fukasawa]
The design philosophy of Naoto Fukasawa, one of Japan's leading product designers active on the global stage, is centered around the concept of "Without Thought." This approach focuses on the actions and habits people perform naturally without thinking, drawing out beauty and convenience from within them. It is about creating things that become so integrated that their presence is taken for granted. Designs that blend into the background of daily life provide a sense of comfort without making the user conscious of them. Items that do not assert themselves are not swayed by trends and do not grow old, even as eras change.
This philosophy shares common ground with the Mingei (folk crafts) movement advocated by Soetsu Yanagi. The "beauty of utility" (yo-no-bi) that Yanagi spoke of is the idea that true beauty lies in the vessels and tools made by nameless craftsmen for everyday use. These forms are born not from individual expression or self-assertion, but from following nature and tradition. I feel that Fukasawa's designs are deeply connected to this very idea.
His stance is not to create something "special," but rather that "the form is on the other side." Here, "the other side" refers to people and the environment (space). It is the idea that a design does not exist as a standalone object, but is born within the relationship between people and things. Instead of imposing a designer's individuality, he scoops up the "ordinary" forms that lie deep within people's memories. For example, the MUJI wall-mounted CD player, which is in the collection of MoMA (The Museum of Modern Art, New York), was inspired by the everyday action of pulling a cord on a ventilation fan. By giving shape to that natural behavior, he created a comfort that exists outside of conscious awareness.
What Fukasawa refers to as the "archetype" of design is the ordinary form that everyone knows. It is a paradoxical aesthetic: the more the creator's self-expression is stripped away, the more universal beauty and function emerge. In other words, I believe Fukasawa is reinterpreting what the Mingei movement practiced in the world of crafts as modern industrial design. From this perspective, I find myself newly fascinated by the "new ordinary" forms that will be born in the times to come.
The "SIWA" series handled by Shokunin.com is a collaboration between Fukasawa and Onao, a washi paper manufacturer in Ichikawadaimon, Yamanashi Prefecture. Fukasawa discovered that crumpling "Naoron"—a tear-resistant shoji paper—creates a unique texture, expanding the possibilities of paper as an everyday item. It is truly a design that dissolves into daily life.
SIWA's Book Cover
https://www.shokunin.com/en/siwa/bookcover.html
SIWA's Box
https://www.shokunin.com/en/siwa/box.html
References
https://naotofukasawa.com/about/
https://designcommittee.jp/member/fukasawa_naoto.html
https://www.axismag.jp/posts/2021/03/349572.html
https://www.hermanmiller.com/en_lac/stories/why-magazine/asari-chair-by-herman-miller-naoto-fukasawa/
https://www.2121designsight.jp/documents/column/cat598/
